1. Making The Most Of Your Junior Year

2. Graduation Requirements To earn a diploma from Nashoba Valley Technical High School all students must meet state MCAS requirements and complete the following: English 4 years Mathematics 4 years Science 4 years Social Studies 4 years Physical Education 4 years Technical Program 4 years World Languages 2 years recommended for those pursuing post secondary education Community Service 5 hours per year Four Year Writing Project including a senior project and senior presentation

3. The more education and skills you have, the more you can earn.

4. Post-Secondary Education Opportunities Post Graduate Opportunity 2 Year Associate Degree 4 Year Bachelors Degree Professional Degree –Masters –Doctorate

5. SATs You may already have an account from sophomore year. If not, you may start an account and complete your profile on COLLEGEBOARD.ORG Register for available dates. As Juniors, you should take them in the Spring: March 5, May 7, June 4. The SAT will test your knowledge of reading, writing, and mathematics Scores range from 200-800 for each subject You can not fail the test. It is simply testing your knowledge.

6. SATs continued….. You can not fail the test. It is simply testing your knowledge. Even if you are not sure about college, take it anyway! If you have free or reduced lunch, It’s Free! See your counselor for more information.

7. Public and Private Schools PublicPrivate Funding mostly from state government; causes tuition to be lower Funding mostly from tuition and private contributions; tuition is generally higher Tend to have a higher student population and larger class sizes Tend to have smaller student population and smaller class sizes Tend to offer larger variety of majorsLess variety in major options Example: UMass AmherstExample: Clark University

8. www.collegeboard.org www.collegeboard.org Username: first 5 letters of your last name + ID number Example: Ms. Callahan = calla1118 Filters on the left include selectivity, type of school, location, majors, sports, etc. Visit schools! Narrow down the search to less than 10 schools including safety and reach schools Speak to College Representatives College Search

9. Paying for College Financial Aid: FAFSA Loan Grant “Free Money” Work Study Scholarships Please come to our MEFA College Financing Seminar in December

10. United States Military Service Please sign up to take the ASVAB during your senior year to discover what military careers may be most suitable for you. ASVAB at Nashoba Tech: December 7

11. Start thinking about building your resume now. A resume will be needed to give to the person who you are asking to write a recommendation for you Your resume serves to describe to colleges how great of a student you are Resumes should include: school activities (clubs, committees, etc), athletic activities, community activities and service, special awards and recognitions, and work experience Having a resume may also help you if you are planning on going out on Co-Op. Resume

12. Co-Op If you are looking to gain real world work experience prior to graduation, speak with Mr. Jussaume about possible co-op opportunities with area companies who look to hire Nashoba students upon graduation.

13. Dual Enrollment Dual Enrollment is an option available to you for your 11 th and 12 th grade school years. While still retaining your standing at NVTHS, you can “dual enroll” in one of four local colleges: Middlesex Community College, Mt. Wachusett Community College, UMASS Lowell, or Fitchburg State If interested, please attend our Dual Enrollment meeting in the Spring, when applications will be available for you to fill out. APPLICATIONS ARE DUE IN EARLY MAY. Your participation in Dual Enrollment is based on a number of factors. By participating in Dual, you can earn your NVTHS diploma while earning enough credits to earn an associates degree at one of the partner schools. A student out on Dual is still required to complete the community service requirement. If he or she is out during senior year, the student does not have to complete the senior paper/presentation.

14. Dual Enrollment Requirements Student must have earned a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0 (85%) while in high school. Student must have passed Algebra I with a C or better. Student must have positive recommendations from all teachers, the Assistant Principal and the Principal. Student must be going into either his or her junior or senior year. Student must have earned 80 points or more on the Dual Enrollment rubric. Student MUST take Accuplacer Exam and score high enough to be placed in “college level” courses, in order to attend Middlesex CC or Mount Wachusett CC specifically

15. Dual School Comparison Name of SchoolCost (Ranked least – most exp. 1-4) Course Sign-UpsAccuplacer Middlesex Community College (Lowell & Bedford) 1Sign up with the rest of the students Needs “College Level” for math and English Fitchburg State University (Fitchburg) 2 Sign up after ALL other students Allowed to take remedial courses that only count for HS credit Mount Wachusett Community College (Gardner & Devens) 3Sign up with the rest of the students Needs “College Level” for math and English UMASS Lowell (Lowell) 4 – Costs the same as going there as a freshman, but with no access to FAFSA Not sure, we have never had a student attend

16. Accuplacer The Accuplacer exam is given to our junior class every April at NT, and is administered by people from MCC. If you are considering Dual Enrollment, your results from this test will affect your eligibility to attend at MCC or MWCC. Since you are only in the 10 th grade, we can organize it for you to take the test a year early; however, it must be set up and seats are limited. PLEASE SEE MR. NARDI-WILLIAMS, if you are interested in taking the test early. You may prepare for the exam ahead of time with FREE testing materials. Please see Mr. Nardi-Williams for access to them. If you are unhappy with your test scores, you may take the test up to three times per academic calendar year. The test includes a reading, writing, editing (English) section and a tiered math section. If you do not do well on the first math section, you do not get access to the second part of the test. So on and so forth, so it is in your best interest to brush up on older math skills you learned in middle school. The test begins with very basic math.

17. Post Graduate Opportunity If you decide after graduation that you are not interested in attending college or entering the military, Nashoba Tech. offers a Post Graduate Certificate Program. Students are able to pursue certification in one of our 18 programs. Successful completion of Post Graduate programs will qualify the student to earn state and national certifications. As a resident of our district, You are able to participate TUITION-FREE!

18. Coordinator of Guidance Ms. Callahan Guidance Counselors: A-F: Ms. Silva G-N: Mr. Spencer O-Z: Mr. Nardi-Williams School Psychologist Ms. Gilgun Student Service Secretary Ms. Judge Nashoba Valley Technical High School Student Services