Class of 2021 Newsletter
Follow up to the Senior College & Career Planning Night
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Recording and Resources from the Senior College & Career Planning Night
Transcript Request Forms
Prior to submitting your transcript request forms, please be sure that you have completed the following steps:
- If the colleges I am applying to require a counselor letter of recommendation, I have met with my school counselor to request a letter (counselor letters are required by all colleges that use the Common Application).
- I understand that there is a minimum of 15 day school day processing period for ALL transcript and counselor letter of recommendation requests.
- I understand that to send my standardized test scores (SAT/ACT/TOEFL), I must request score reports through the test administrator's website (SAT-www.collegeboard.org; ACT-www.actstudent.org, TOEFL-www.ets.org/toefl).
- I understand that my first quarter grades and my mid-year grades will be automatically sent to the colleges to which I apply.
- I have created a Common Application account (www.commonapp.org).
- I have completed the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Agreement on Common App.
- I have matched my Common App and Naviance accounts.
- All of my Common Application schools are already listed in my Common App.
In order to request a transcript, please click on your counselor's request form:
When in doubt, please schedule an appointment with your counselor!
School Counseling Department Contact Information
Mr. Walcek (Dj-Li) rwalcek@framingham.k12.ma.us
Ms. Uricchio (Ll-P) auricchio@framingham.k12.ma.us
Mrs. DeSimone (Q-Z) sdesimone@framingham.k12.ma.us
College & Career Counselor: Mrs. Erikson rschmid@framingham.k12.ma.us. To schedule an appointment with Mrs. Erikson, please sign up here.
Post-High School Planning Tasks
1. Exploration & Planning
- Please use NAVIANCE to do college and career searches.
- Become familiar with the MassTransfer Program in case that is a good fit.
- Please communicate your plans with your school counselor regardless of if it is college, work, the military, vocational training, a gap year, or otherwise!
- If you are planning on applying to colleges, make a list of your college choices - you can use this chart to keep track.
- For more activities around planning, please consult our list! English Español Português
2. Teacher Recommendations
- If you are applying to a 4-year college, you will likely need 1-2 teacher recommendations.
- When choosing which teachers to ask, think about which teachers know you the best. It does not have to be a teacher who teaches the class you are strongest in. It is more important that they can write about what type of student you are.
- Please communicate as soon as possible with the teachers you have asked to make sure they know your deadlines and have the materials they need from you!
3. Counselor Recommendations
- Most 4-year schools require a counselor recommendation. This is why it is important for you to communicate your plans with your counselor. They will provide you with further instructions and next steps!
4. Standardized Tests
- Many colleges are going test-optional this year. This means that standardized tests are not required. However, this is specific to the college, and you will want to check the college's website for more information to determine if you should take the ACT or SAT this fall. The list of test optional schools increases each week. It is important for you to consider your personal circumstances for whether or not to take the exams. Please visit FairTest.org to review the schools that are in-part or fully test optional. Just remember, it is always best to check the specific school's website to be sure of the requirements!
- The test dates for the SAT and ACT can be found on their websites: https://www.collegeboard.org/ and https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act.html It is important to register soon for these if you plan to take them! If you need a fee waiver, please contact your school counselor or Mrs. Erikson (rschmid@framingham.k12.ma.us).
- For all of the College Board updates, please see: https://pages.collegeboard.org/sat-covid-19-updates
- For more information about ACT registration, exams, etc. please see: http://www.act.org/
5. Common Application
- The Common Application is an application that is used by hundreds of colleges. You can find out if it is used by the colleges you will be applying to by checking each college's website.
- The Common Application is 1 application that is then sent to whichever schools you choose. There is one part of the application that gets sent to each school, and then there are supplemental applications depending on the school (all within the Common Application).
- The Common Application can be found here: https://www.commonapp.org/
**Some schools do NOT use the Common Application. This will be noted on the college's website, and the application that they use will also be listed there.
6. Personal Statement/College Essay
- The college essay/personal statement is an important part of an application, as it shows the colleges who you are and what is important to you.
- The Common Application has essay choices that can be found here: https://www.commonapp.org/blog/common-app-2020-2021-essay-prompts
7. Financial Aid
**While you CANNOT start these until October 1st, it is helpful to just become familiar with the processes; more information can be found here.
- The Financial Aid process is separate from the Admissions process.
- Colleges and universities all require the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to apply for aid. This is found here: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
- Some colleges also require the CSS Profile, which is an additional application: https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/
**While you CANNOT start these until October 1st, it is helpful to just become familiar with the processes; more information can be found here.
The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority is a great resource to learn more: https://www.mefa.org/
Resources
College Fairs and Visits
YouVisit and CampusTours allow you to search for schools for a virtual tour.
We will be adding to our list of College Admissions Events 2020, so check it out!
Looking to explore career options?
O*NET Online: Explore various careers through multiple tools: https://www.onetonline.org/find/
Massachusetts Career Information System: https://masscis.intocareers.org/loginmain.aspx?SiteType=3&cookieTest=y Students enter the site by entering Framingham's zip code. There are a number of career assessments as well as multiple ways to explore careers (Reality Check is a favorite!).
Explore Year Up! Year Up provides training, internships, and career pathways.
College Board's Big Future: This is a tool to explore careers, click here.
- Keefe At Night has various training programs and classes to take to further your skills and credentials after high school. Explore your options here.
- Massachusetts Bay Community College offers certificate programs to gain career credentials and technical skills. These are programs that do not require that you matriculate into the college and rather than earning an Associate's Degree, you earn a Certificate in a particular area.
- Universal Technical Institute: Explore their training programs here!
MetroWest College Planning Collaborative
The MetroWest College Planning Collaborative (http://www.metrowestcpc.org/) is here to help you with your college planning, including with the FAFSA, award letters, college applications, and FAFSA verification.