MHS School Counseling Newsletter

We hope you all have a great winter break and have the chance to relax and recharge before the new year! School counselors will not be checking their email regularly over the winter break but we will respond to you when we return on Jan. 2nd.

Many of our seniors who have applied to four-year colleges with early action or early decision deadlines have begun to hear back from their schools! For any student applying to schools with regular decisions deadlines, please continue to meet with your school counselor so that we can help support you through this process. Don't hesitate to reach out about any questions or concerns you have!

In partnership with Reach Higher Massachusetts, the nine Massachusetts state universities and colleges are waiving their applications fees for one day only - Friday, January 12, 2024. Students are encouraged to apply to the universities at no cost and can apply using the colleges application on their website or via the Common App. The waiver code is REACHFREE.

This is a great option for any student who is applying to schools with a regular decision deadline!

Brag Sheet for Counselor Recommendation - please fill this out in as much detail as possible so that your school counselor has all of the information to write a great letter of recommendation!

Caregiver Brag Sheet - a questionnaire for parents to fill out in case they want to provide us with some additional background information that would be helpful for us to know for the letter of recommendation, optional but appreciated!

Transcript Release Form - in order to send any students' transcript to a college or scholarship program, we must legally receive permission to do. If under 18, a parent must also electronically sign

The FAFSA will be available on Dec. 31st and families should plan to complete the form in January. In the meantime, students and parents can create their FSA ID (login information needed to fill out the FAFSA and a handful of other federal financial aid websites). Who needs an FSA ID? See the graphic attached for more information on who in your family needs an FSA ID.

DESE & uAspire FAFSA Walkthrough Webinars

The Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education has partnered with the nonprofit uAspire to provide free support to help seniors complete their FAFSA. Their FAFSA webinar for students will be held three times: 4-5pm on Wednesday, January 3, 5-6pm on Tuesday, January 30, and 5:30-6:30pm on Tuesday, February 27. Registration is available at this link.

Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) Resources

FAFSA Festival - Do you need assistance completing the FAFSA, the form required to apply for college financial aid? Join MEFA for a virtual FAFSA Festival on January 24th 4:00 PM-6:00 PM. You can log in anytime and you will be paired with an expert who can answer your FAFSA questions and help you complete the online application. Before you join the event, MEFA encourages you to start filling out the FASFA at fafsa.gov. RSVP for the event here.

7 tips for the new FAFSA - learn who needs to Learn who needs to create an FSA ID, how a student can add or remove a contributor, when the student will receive the FSS, which information a parent will need to update if completing the form for multiple children, how to stop your FAFSA from being deleted after 45 days, and more.

Similar to college applications, the timing of scholarships becoming available is cyclical. Scholarships typically pick up during the second semester, but there are some larger scholarships that students can apply for in the fall. Whenever we learn of a scholarship available to students, we will post it on the Class of 2024 Google classroom. Every year in February, the local Maynard Scholarship Application will open up and we will come into the senior English classes to talk to students about the importance of applying.

In the meantime, please check out this Scholarship Resource List which has information about scholarship search engines and where to get started on your own.

The Manton Scholars Program is seeking applications from students whose families have been significantly and negatively affected by the death or serious illness/incapacitation of a primary income earner, or the serious illness of an immediate family member (i.e., parent/primary care giver or sibling).

Scholars selected into the program will be eligible for up to four years of scholarship support at a two or four-year accredited college or university, or a trade school with a demonstrated track record of successfully placing graduates in long-term jobs. Schools must be located in the U.S or Canada. Scholarships will be up to $30,000 annually. Award size is based on unmet financial need.

Applications must be completed online by Friday, February 2, 2024 by 5PM Eastern Standard Time. More information about the scholarship can be found here.

PSAT scores are now available for any student who took the PSAT with us in October. Students received an email directly from the College Board letting them know that their scores were available and they will have to log in to their College Board account to view their score. Any student who took the PSAT last year or who is in an AP class should have a College Board account. If not, students will be prompted to create one. This video helps outline how to access your scores. If you have trouble accessing your PSAT scores for any reason, please let your school counselor know.

College Board has partnered with Khan Academy to provide every student with a personalized SAT prep based on their PSAT scores. This link details how to link the two accounts and get that personalized SAT prep.

Although all students can get one free breakfast and one free lunch at school, we still encourage any family who may qualify for free or reduced lunch to fill out the free/reduced lunch application. Qualifying for free/reduced lunch can also qualify students for:

- Fee waivers for college applications

- Standardized testing (SAT and/or) ACT fee waivers

- Fee waivers for the bus

- Fee waivers for the athletics/student activities fee

Please go to https://www.schoollunchapp.com/ to apply

The Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line (BHHL) connects individuals and families to the full range of treatment services for mental health and substance use offered in Massachusetts, including outpatient, urgent, and immediate crisis care. Call for real-time support, initial clinical assessment, ad connection to the right evaluation and treatment. The BHHL is staffed by trained clinicians and certified peer specialists to support every caller's needs.

The BHHL is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by phone call and text at 833-733-2445, and online chat at masshelpline.com

Nicole Fernald nfernald@maynard.k12.ma.us (978) 897-8891 ext. 3209

Dana MacPhee dmacphee@maynard.k12.ma.us (978) 897-8891 ext. 3105

Amy Petroskey apetroskey@maynard.k12.ma.us (978) 897-8891 ext. 3210

Please also visit our MHS School Counseling website!