• Enter each college decision you receive into your Naviance account under "Colleges I'm Applying To"
• Turn your paper Senior Exit Form in to Ms. Wosczyna
• Withdraw or decline offers when you are certain you will not attend. You can do this by sending an email to the general admissions office email address.
• Complete all necessary Financial Aid forms – FAFSA is always required and the CSS Profile is sometimes required. See the FAFSA and CSS Profile banners below for access.
• Update your teacher recommenders when you are adding colleges that were not there originally
• Many colleges are still accepting applications - please see your counselor or Dr. Bell for help.
• When you have made a final decision, set your attending college in Naviance. Deposit to 1 college by May 1st (or later, due to this year's FAFSA schedule). If you are on a waitlist, you must still deposit to your 2nd choice college to secure your spot. You will need to send a final transcript - more info to come about how to request your final transcript.

Our wonderful interns created a wall of resources for jobs, volunteer opportunities, and summer experiences. The wall is located across from Student Services on the wall between Rooms 169 and 170.

They are available to talk with you about yourself and others you care about.

This following link contains a description to every event that the LMSD Counseling Department held this year. We will also post videos and/or slide decks for all of our programs. Links for the virtual programs will be sent prior to the event.

• Schedule your junior meeting with Ms. Burke (see reminder below)
• Explore colleges and careers in Naviance
• Prepare and plan for the SAT or ACT - see registration links below
• Take time to visit colleges virtually and in person by registering online with each college's admission website and/or social media pages - this is an excused absence
• Begin to build your "Colleges I'm Thinking About List" in Naviance
• Introduce yourself to the Common App and the Essay prompts
• Ask two teachers that know you well to write a letter of recommendation for you
• Complete the Junior Questionnaire and turn it in to your counselor by May 31- a copy is provided below. The parent questionnaire/brag sheet is also due by May 31. For juniors, you may fill the questionnaire out in Naviance. Click on your initials in the top right corner of the Naviance homepage, then select the Surveys from Your School Link. The survey is called High School Student Questionnaire.
• Attend the virtual LMSD summer workshops in July and August: Writing the College Essay and Navigating the Common Application and the SRAR - more information to come

Harriton HS and Lower Merion HS juniors are encouraged to join us for a hands-on virtual college essay workshop this summer in July, date TBD. The Career and College Access counselors are partnering with a college admission representative to bring you a power hour full of information to help you write a dynamic and impactful college essay. This hour will be useful for students at any level - just getting started or well on their way. There will be something for every rising senior who plans to apply to college this fall.

Stay tuned for more details. This workshop will answer many questions that rising seniors have once the Common App and SRAR open on August 1. Look for a separate email with the date and registration information. For now, use this resource as a guide.

There are no changes in the Common App Essay Prompts for the 2025-26 school year! Juniors - you can find the essay prompts here: https://www.commonapp.org/blog/announcing-2025-2026-common-app-essay-prompts

Sophomores are invited to schedule a meeting with their school counselor this spring. In the optional meeting, students will review their individual goals and begin taking steps to develop their post-secondary plans. Sophomores may look at the upcoming Virtual College Fair (3/6) AND the Career Symposium (5/21) as opportunities to think about and develop their career and college goals.

• Consider taking a class: Worried that summer college programs are too expensive? Don’t be afraid to ask if they offer financial aid! OR take a free online class - Sites like edX and Coursera offer free college courses that are taped or streamed from universities. With tons of subjects from robotics to American poetry, you get to participate in real-time or watch past lectures from professors at places like Stanford and Harvard
• Create your own project - Turn your interests and talents into your own summer-long project. A few ideas: Form a garage band with some musically-inclined friends and practice with local gigs. Teach yourself how to program. Practice your creative writing and submit your work to journals that publish high school students.
• Get a job: Colleges are impressed when students have jobs, whether they are working for family income or just for fun. Your work history demonstrates your initiative and responsibility. Take note: you may need a work permit, depending on your age.
• Be an Entrepreneur: Start a business with friends that offers a service in your community. We’ve heard of students starting babysitters' clubs, walking dogs for the neighborhood, or landscape work for the elderly.
• Volunteer in your Community: Start now, and volunteer two hours a week through your senior year. For example, you could visit residents at nursing homes a few days a week. Or, spend your Saturday mornings feeding animals at the animal shelter.

Check your Goals one last time to see if you made progress towards it. Go to Naviance, then click on Planner at the top of the page, and Goals. See Dr. Bell or your school counselor if you need assistance!