Opportunities for Class of 2019/2020

COMPUTER SCIENCE OPPORTUNITY

MetroHacks III - a 24-hour high school coding event. It’s free and open to all high school aged students interested in technology, regardless of experience.
It will be held at the Harvard College Student Organization Center at Hilles (SOCH) in Cambridge, MA, on May 19-20 and is an opportunity for students to code, collaborate, and create! There will be speakers, free food and swag, workshops, games, prizes, etc. Applications are now open for all high schoolers ages 13-18 at https://2018.metrohacks.org/register

Bryant Sales Discovery Program
Friday, April 27th, 2018
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
The event is designed to assist students with building confidence, showcasing their unique value, and developing executive presence.
Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVwG4YcTNxIXUGIZlzkXA4Az8Zfigm-3aM2iww72Gx4u1iVQ/viewform

SUMMER PROGRAMS

Assumption College Pre-College Summer Program
July 8 - July 13
Open to rising high school seniors 
Be sure to visit Assumption’s website for more information! You can also email Mark Guerra at mguerra@assumption.edu or the program’s administrative assistant, Mrs. Jacqueline Chlapowski at jchlapowski@assumption.edu

Boston University's Academy of Media Production, where creative high school students develop their cinematic and journalistic storytelling skills producing films, videos, multi-camera productions and more.
July 9, 2018 - August 3, 2018
Find more information and application materials at www.bu.edu/amp

University of Delaware Edge Summer College Program
The Edge Summer College Program is a five-week, credit-bearing summer college experience held July 8 – August 10, 2018 for high school students moving into their junior and senior years.
More information about this program, and the link to apply, can be found at www.udel.edu/edge.

Duke Summer Session
By attending our Summer College program, you will not only have the authentic college experience of living in Duke University’s dorms and taking credit-bearing classes alongside undergraduate students, but also the opportunity to accompany your college application with a letter of recommendation from a Duke instructor and transcript from Duke University – two substantive indicators that you have what it takes to thrive in an elite academic setting.
Application for US Students can be found at https://learnmore.duke.edu/portal/applications/applicationProfile.do?method=loadApplicationIndex&applicationProfileId=3013685

Marist Summer Pre-College
- An academic program offered to rising high school juniors and seniors
- 16 different courses offered on our New York campus
- Choose 2 or 4 week options
- Students will earn 3 to 6 transferable college credits
For more information, including a list of programs, visit www.marist.edu/precollege

Summer 2018 Art Classes at Refuge Lowell
Looking to explore art? 
We have classes for kids, adults, and all skill levels!
Looking to get into Art School?
We also do Portfolio Development and Documentation!
https://www.refugelowell.com

Western New England Mission: Ignition
August 6-17, 2018
Register today!
For more information contact Judy Curran at 413-796-2324 or judith.curran@wne.edu.
Register at https://www1.wne.edu/mission-ignition

Class of 2018 Updates

Graduation Details - June 1, 2018
Graduation will be held on Friday, June 1, 5:30 PM, on the Westford Academy Alumni Field  (First rain date: Saturday, June 2, 5:30 PM.  Second rain date: Sunday, June 3, 2:00 PM) NO TICKETS ARE NEEDED and you may bring an many guests as you wish!  Our seating is first come, first served.  We rent 1,800 chairs in addition to having the use of our bleacher seats.  We have plenty of handicap parking and have a handicap/elderly drop-off area.  There will be people assisting with traffic flow and parking.

Graduation Announcements
Graduation Announcements will be sold in the main office beginning Tuesday, May 1st.  These are not graduation tickets.  They are simply nice announcements to serve as a keepsake for graduation or to send to family members.  The cost is $2.00 per announcement (10 announcements per family while they last.)  Please see Mrs. Langille in the Main Office to purchase.

Landmark College Meet and Greet in Boston

Considering attending Landmark College? Drop in anytime on April 10, between 4 and 8 pm, and meet LC graduates, parents, and admissions team members.

The meet and greet is a great opportunity for students and their families to hear from the Landmark College community about the impact LC has had on their lives. Our admissions team will be on hand to answer questions and help interested students get their applications completed. As an added benefit, we will be waiving the application fee for students who apply to LC at the event and have a door prize raffle for show tickets and other small giveaways!

*RSVP Required*
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/landmark-college-meet-greet-in-boston-tickets-44671050314

Syracuse University Whitman School Virtual Information Session

Join Our Whitman School "Virtual" Online Information Program

Not able to visit Syracuse University's Martin J. Whitman School of Management or need a refresher if you have visited?
“Virtual” Whitman School Information Program
Thursday, April 5, 2018
7 to 8 p.m.
To register, go to https://syr.secure.force.com/events/targetx_eventsb__eventspecificregistration?eid=a0d0P00000MBozqQAD or call the Syracuse University Admissions Office, (315) 443-3611.

Register Now
To join the program on April 5, simply follow these steps.
1. Go to https://webconference.syr.edu/admis1
2. Click on “enter as a guest”
3. Type your first and last names

For more information about the Whitman School, contact Carol Heil, director of undergraduate recruitment, caheil@syr.edu or (315) 443-9222

College Acceptance – or Rejection – Letters: Ten Ways Parents Can Help Students Cope

College Acceptance – or Rejection – Letters: Ten Ways Parents Can Help Students Cope

by Vicki Nelson
The wait is over.  The envelope may be fat, or thin, or the news may have come via e-mail.  However it has arrived, your high school student has received word from his chosen colleges about whether he has been accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.  It is a defining moment for most students.

This may also be a defining moment for you as a parent as well.  You will need to think about how you react to any news, and how you support your student no matter what that news may be.  Your responses will help set the tone for your student.  Your reactions will send important messages to your student.  If the news is good, you’ll want to celebrate with him.  If the news is not what he had hoped for, you’ll need to help your student deal with his disappointment. Giving thought in advance to how you will respond may help you to be prepared for any eventuality.  Here are ten suggestions of things to consider as you, as a parent, confront the college acceptance – or rejection letters.

Remember that this is your student’s process, not yours.  As parents, we often become so involved in the college application process that it feels as though the victory – or rejection – is ours.  We can’t help empathizing with our student, but we need to maintain some distance.  Take a breath.  Step back.

Mute your reactions and follow your student’s lead.  Whatever you feel, try to subdue your reactions at first.  Let your student have the first moment – whether she is elated or devastated. Validate whatever she is feeling.  Even an acceptance letter may provoke a mixed reaction.  It may not be from a first-choice school.  It may suddenly make the whole process very real.  Wait to see how your student reacts and take your cue from her.

Celebrate every acceptance.  Even if this is an acceptance from a last-choice college, it is an acknowledgement of your student’s abilities and it is an accomplishment.  Cheer for this moment.  Try not to let any moment feel second-rate.

Stay calm and hold your tongue.  Don’t panic.  There are always alternatives.  Don’t vent.  This won’t help your student.

Be a sounding board and ask probing questions.  When your student is ready, be there to listen. He may want to share his feelings – or he may not.  She may want to consider her options with you – or she may need to deal with decisions on her own.  Be available if needed.  Ask questions that will help him consider options and factors to be considered. Give him food for thought.

Try to be extra sensitive and take time.  Don’t try to talk to your student right away.  Give her time to process the information – good or bad.  Remember that your student may be feeling particularly vulnerable right now.  The college application process is inextricably linked with many students’ self esteem.  Your student may feel very exposed right now, and aware of the public nature of this acceptance or rejection.  He may now be feeling the pressure to make a final decision.

Let your student decide how to share the news with others.  This is her moment.  Resist the temptation to spread the word. Let her decide how and when she will tell others what she has heard.

Recognize that you can’t shield your student from this moment. Although, as parents, we always want to make things better for our children, your student must come to his own terms with the news he receives.  As difficult as this time may be, this is one of many steps toward independence and maturity that your child will face in the coming years.

Help your student consider the next steps.  Should he attend an Accepted Student Day or other college event to help make a decision?  Will he need to consider financial aid factors before deciding?  Does he need to revisit the campus to consider the “chemistry” of the school once again?

Give the process time.  Once your student receives her acceptance – and possibly rejection – letters, she will need to make some decisions. The ball will be in her court once again.   She will need to put things in perspective.  She will need to deal with her emotions.  This may take some time.  She will eventually need to make choices and take action, but she may not be ready immediately.  Respect her need for processing time.

Whether your student receives good news or unwelcome news when the college letters arrive, it may be difficult for you to step back and allow your student to deal with the process.   This will be one of many moments to come when you, as a parent – and future college parent – will need to consider carefully your role in the moment.  You will continue to be an important part of the college process for your student, and your reactions to that college notification letter may help to set the tone for your future role in the process.

Class of 2019 - Spring College Visits and SAT/ACT

SAT/ACT

SAT DATES/DEADLINES
May 5 - Registration deadline April 6
June 2 - Registration deadline May 3

ACT DATES/DEADLINES
April 14 - Late Registration
June 9 - Registration deadline May 4
July 14 - Registration deadline June 15

COLLEGE VISITS

NACAC College Fair

Providence
Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, RI
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Boston
Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, MA
Thursday, April 12, 2018
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. & 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Friday, April 13, 2018
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Registration is now open for all Spring 2018 fairs: https://www.nacacfairs.org/exhibit/national-college-fairs/

Springfield College Discovery Days
April 13, 16, 20, and 27
Sign up online at springfield.edu/discoverydays

Wellesley College Junior Open Campus
Saturday April 28, 2018
8:00am - 3:30pm
Learn more at www.wellesley.edu/admission/joc

Join us for a Boston UW-Madison Information Session
Date: Saturday, April 7, 2018
Time: 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Location: Noble and Greenough School, Lawrence Auditorium
Address: 10 Campus Drive, Dedham, MA 02026
Register online: visitbucky.wisc.edu/infosession

Article - Wait Listed by Your Dream College? Here Are 6 Steps to Take Now

Wait Listed by Your Dream College? Here Are 6 Steps to Take Now

• Kaitlin Mulhere @KMulhere

When college acceptance letters are mailed out this month, tens of thousands of students will open a mixed bag.
They won’t be denied outright but instead relegated to the limbo known as a “wait list.”

The practice of wait listing—where colleges defer an admissions decision until accepted students have either taken or declined a spot in the freshman class—is essentially a school’s way of saying, “We like you, but we just can’t commit right now.”

Colleges often use a wait list to round out how their class looks. If there aren’t enough students in a certain major or from a particular region, the school will give wait-listed applicants who can help it meet those goals a higher priority. That makes it nearly impossible to predict your chances of getting off a wait list with any certainty, since it all depends on who applied in the first place, who chose to enroll, and how your characteristics compare to theirs.

Being wait listed is especially common for students applying to selective colleges, but some 550 colleges use them. More than 150,000 students accepted a spot on one in the fall of 2015.
Common as they are, however, wait lists remain one of the least transparent parts of the college admissions process. There are no rules for how many students can be put on a wait list, how long applicants can remain there, or even how long those who are accepted off the wait list have to decide whether they want to enroll.

Despite all that uncertainty, there are a few things you can control.

“Most colleges will be as upfront as they can be, if you ask questions,” says Jake Talmage, director of college counseling at St. Paul’s School in Maryland. Here are the steps to take and questions to ask.
1. Consider your odds
Between 2007 and 2010, colleges admitted less than a third of wait-listed students, on average, according to a study from the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC). But that percentage drops considerably at more selective schools. At colleges where fewer than 50% of applicants overall were admitted, just 17% of students got in off the wait list.
These statistics can swing wildly from year to year at any given school, but it’s still worth asking your target college these questions:

• How many students are usually offered spots on the wait list?
• How many usually accept spots?
• How many are ultimately admitted?

You can also look up the college at bigfuture.collegeboard.org. Many schools have wait list statistics under the “applying” tab.

2. Solidify your plan B
No matter how confident you feel that you’ll be admitted off the wait list, you should submit a deposit to another school to ensure that you have a spot somewhere in the fall. Most colleges require a deposit by May 1.

That deposit—typically $100 to $500—is money you won’t get back if you ultimately enroll at the other college where you were wait listed.

Bear in mind that if you aren’t accepted off the wait list, your Plan B college could be where you end up on come fall. So note when its freshman orientation starts and whether you need to send a separate deposit for on-campus housing, too.

3. Show you’re still interested
When Muriel Chase was put on the wait list for Marist College, she wasn’t too upset. The college wasn’t even one of her top schools. But when she went for a visit after she’d been wait listed, she fell hard.

Within about a month, she’d visited again, talked regularly on the phone with her admissions counselor, and ultimately, got accepted. She’s now a student employee in the admissions office and talks to prospective applicants about the process.

Colleges want to close their wait list—that is, fill all their open spots—as soon as possible, so they like to make offers to the applicants who are most likely to accept. In fact, at some schools, such as Vanderbilt University, the wait list is the only time where demonstrating your interest matters.
It’s important to go the extra mile—but not the extra five miles. Kent Rinehart, dean of undergraduate admissions at Marist, says reaching out every two or three weeks to update the admissions staff and ask about the status of the wait list is fine. But don’t call every other day. Also avoid more elaborate ploys, such as sending baked goods or gifts to the admissions staff.

But do consider writing a letter to the admissions officer explaining why that school is still your top choice (or one of them, if that’s the case). Update the office on your academics, too, by sending in recent grades and anything noteworthy, such induction into an honor society.

Finally, parents: Don’t do your child’s bidding here.

“It shows a lot more when you’re the one who’s taking initiative,” Chase say to students.
Be sure to heed any directions the college gives with its wait list notification. Some will ask for specific follow-up information, such as additional recommendation letters.

4. Figure out if you can afford it
When you’re asking colleges about their wait list admission stats, ask about financial aid for wait-listed students, too. Chances are, getting in off the wait list will be more expensive than regular admission.

Nearly four in 10 colleges that have a wait list are need aware, which means they’ll consider how much students can afford to pay in deciding which ones to admit. That’s good news for families who can afford the college without extra help, less good for those who need aid.

Even if a college doesn’t favor students who can afford to pay, you may not be in line for the same aid as students accepted during regular admission. Some colleges, such as Miami and Villanova universities, don’t offer any merit aid to students admitted from the wait list. At many colleges, whether you receive any grants or scholarships will depend on what’s left in the financial aid budget.

Almost half of the colleges in the NACAC study said they provided grant aid to all students admitted off their wait lists. But some of those colleges may have chosen students who needed only limited aid, or they may have awarded some aid, but not enough to make the college truly affordable for the family.

To get a better idea of where you’ll stand, ask the college:

• Are students admitted off the wait list eligible for the same financial aid as other students?
• Have students admitted off the wait list in the past received grants or scholarships from the college?
• When do students admitted off the wait list learn about their financial aid package?

5. Prepare to make a quick decision
With regular admission, students have at least a few weeks to evaluate colleges’ offers, weigh what they like about different schools, and ultimately decide which one they want to go to.

That’s not the case with wait lists. NACAC recommends that colleges give applicants at least 72 hours to decide whether to accept their offer, though there’s no binding rule. You may have even less time to evaluate the financial aid package, which doesn’t always come with the initial offer of acceptance.

One way to make your decision easier is by setting the ceiling price you can afford to pay ahead of time, says Rick Clark, director of undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech.

6. Be positive but realistic
The optimists like to say that the bright side of being wait listed is that it’s not a downright denial. True enough, but the harsh fact is that at most colleges, the majority of wait-listed students will eventually be denied admission anyway.

We get it—a wait list designation from your top college makes it hard to move on. There’s always the “what if” scenario in the back of your head that keeps you from fully committing to the college you sent your deposit to. Clark writes in a blog post that it can be especially tough for wait-listed students to hear their friends talking about who they’re rooming with or what activities they’ll join freshman year.

Most colleges don’t turn to their wait lists until after May 1, and many will still be offering admission to students on wait list through June, well after some high school graduations.
Clark suggests students in that position focus on why they’re excited about college in general, regardless of which school they end up attending. That will let you enjoy the spring of your senior year even as the exact details of your future remain unknown.

Sophia Tewa contributed to reporting.