February Updates From the AHS Counseling Department!

Welcome to February... the SHORTEST month of the year!  Twenty-eight quick days and we are in March, which means its spring, which means we're one season behind summer.  (See how easy that was to get us that much closer to summer?!?)

Here are some updates from the AHS Counseling Department. As always, we hope these are helpful!

💓 Second semester has begun and students will often have one or two new classes on their schedule.  We still will have an add/drop period, and this will last for five school days.  See your counselor as soon as possible if you are contemplating a change to your schedule.

💓 Sign up for X-Blocks!  The Counseling Department are hosting lots of good X-block college and career information sessions coming up in February and March.  Our career options coming up have a specific focus on serving our country with some good military service options. See below for the current list.  These are available in your FlexTime manager account right now, so go ahead and sign up and get your spot! 

CAREER INFORMATION:

Monday, February 7th - Massachusetts Air National Guard

Monday, February 14th - US Marine Corps

Monday, March 7th - US Army

Monday, March 14th - Coast Guard

COLLEGE INFORMATION:

Friday, February 18th - Rutgers University

Tuesday, March 1st - Regis College

Friday, March 4th - UMass-Dartmouth

Tuesday, March 15th - Clarkson University

Friday, March 18th - SUNY Stony Brook

💓 Students looking to get an early look at what a typical college experience would be like should think about attending a Pre-College program.  The Pre-College Association is hosting a Pre-College fair for students and families on February 26th.  Information below!

Pre-College Association Virtual Fair - https://www.precollegeassociation.org/fairs 

Current high school students, parents/guardians, and education professionals are invited to register for our February 26, 2022 event from 10:00am-12:30pm ET. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with pre-college representatives from over 40 U.S. colleges and universities.

  • Visit virtual program booths where you can chat 1-on-1 via text or video with summer program representatives.

  • Access program details before the event and up to 6 months after the event ends.

Registration is FREE to attendees! Limit one event registration per household.

💓SENIORS: Now that term two has come to an end, once grades have been entered and GPA's and Deciles updated, we will begin the process of sending your updated transcripts to all of the colleges you have already submitted Transcript Request Forms for.  No need for you to do anything, we do it automatically!  Please be patient as this does take time, and it takes time for the colleges to update the information on their end that they have received it. They receive a lot of transcripts this time of year...

💓SENIORS: Quite a few seniors are still in need of community service hours, and February break is an ideal time to do it.  Be sure to listen/read the announcements as there are sometimes advertisements from organizations looking for student volunteers.  Make sure you jump on these opportunities! Keep in mind, though, that the most sought after service options don't need to advertise as they get students all of the time.  You have to be proactive.  See your school counselor if you need help finding a community service option that is a good fit for you.  We can help!

💓 SENIORS the "Wall of Acceptance" is filling up with your acceptance letters, and we love it!  We want to continue to recognize everyone's successes.  If you get an acceptance letter from a college, job, gap year program, military branch - anything! - we want to post it and recognize the win.  Bring them to us!

💓 JUNIORS: Thursday, February 17th the AHS Counseling Department is hosting "College Knowledge Night For Juniors and Families at 7:00pm.  This will be an online Zoom presentation geared towards juniors who are interested in attending college upon high school graduation.  The seminar is recommended for all families, but particularly those who are going through the college research process for the first time.  We will review all of the pertinent information, everything you need to know, tips and tricks, dos and don'ts, and lots of good advice!  To sign up for the event, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/k9vo2N3y25n7SUnn7 

We will send out the Zoom link the day of the event.

💓 JUNIORS: Ashland Community Ed is hosting an in-person SAT prep class held at the middle school starting March 6th that helps students prep for either the May or June SAT test.  The discounted tuition is $465. For more information or to register, visit lentzsatprep.com or call 845-638-2826.  (For those looking for FREE SAT prep, the best way is to utilize Khan Academy, as they have a partnership with the College Board and provide really good practice and tutorials).

💓 JUNIORS: Now is an excellent time to register to take either the SAT or the ACT if you have not done so already.  It is advised that juniors take either of these tests at the end of junior year.  If you intend on taking it a second time, it is recommended that you take it again at the very beginning of senior year (and after doing some exam prep!). Links to where you register are below:

SAT Registration: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/registration

ACT Registration: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration.html

Keep in mind that most colleges have continued to stay SAT/ACT Optional, but it helps to take the exam in case you do well and are able to send strong scores to the colleges to help give you an admissions advantage.

💓 SOPHOMORES: Second semester means that you have picked up your Wellness II class.  Part of your Wellness II class will be counselors coming in and delivering our sophomore counseling curriculum.  Our focus for sophomore year is career exploration.  You don't have to 100% completely know what you want to do for a career, but we want you thinking about it, exploring options and opportunities, and getting yourself ready for post-high school.  Our lesson plans will help you do this!



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