Freshman Parent Breakfast

The Burlington High School Guidance Department will be hosting a breakfast for all parents of freshman students on Wednesday September 28th in the BHS Guidance Conference Room from 8:30 to 9:30 am. The Guidance Department at BHS has recognized that it often takes a full year for students and parents to understand and access the numerous programs, resources, and committed staff we have at Burlington High School. Our goal is to expedite this process for you by discussing topics important for the transition to high school. Please join the Guidance Department for this informative and open dialogue. Parents must RSVP by calling 781-270-1780.

Big FAFSA® Changes for 2017–18

From the MEFA Web-Site

On Sept. 14, 2015, President Obama announced significant changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) process that will impact millions of students. Starting with the 2017­–18 application cycle, the following changes will be put in place: 

• Students will be able to submit a FAFSA^® earlier.  Students will be able to file a 2017–18 FAFSA as early as Oct. 1, 2016, rather than beginning on Jan. 1, 2017. The earlier submission date will be a permanent change, enabling students to complete and submit a FAFSA as early as October 1 every year. (There is NO CHANGE to the 2016–17 schedule. The FAFSA became available January 1 as in previous years.)
• Students will use earlier income information. Beginning with the 2017–18 FAFSA, students will be required to report income information from an earlier tax year. For example, on the 2017–18 FAFSA, students (and parents, as appropriate) will report their 2015 income information, rather than their 2016 income information.  

The following table provides a summary of key dates as we transition to using the early FAFSA submission time-frame and earlier tax information. 

View Accessible Version

If you’d like more details about the upcoming changes, you may read the fact sheet called College Students and Parents: What You Need to Know About the 2017­–18 FAFSA^®.

We will continue to update this site as the 2017–18 FAFSA launch approaches.

Learn more about the FAFSA process.

Reminder that BHS will hold the following  Financial Aid Events:

Thursday October 13th, 2016 at 6:30.PM in the BHS auditorium. MEFA will host and give an overview of the process.

Thursday January 5th, 2017- Financial Aid 101 at 6:30P.M. - Hosted by College Funding Services.

Sunday January 29th, 2017- FAFSA Day at BHS. This event starts at 1:00PM.

BHS Guidance Events

The Guidance Department is happy to announce a full schedule of BHS Guidance Events for the 2016/2017 school year (links can be found on the right hand side of this blog). In addition to ALL the BHS Guidance Events, we have the schedule for the Guidance Parent Breakfast Series. Based on parental feedback the Guidance Department has identified a variety of topics to cover throughout the school year for any interested parent.

Guidance Parent Council

The Guidance Department is continuing with Guidance Parent Council. The purpose of this council is so the guidance department can meet with parents and/or students to discuss how Guidance Services function, get parental feedback on guidance services and possibly implement or review current guidance services. The dates and times still need to be finalized, but meetings will start in late-September and held after 2:00 on Thursdays. Any interested parents or students please contact Joe Attubato, Guidance Director at attubato@bpsk12.org

Free Practice Test

Burlington High School students can take either a free practice SAT or PSAT test at BHS on Saturday 9/17 beginning at 9AM. In order to take either of these free tests students MUST register (registration information below).

Free Full Practice SAT Exam for class of 2017
To register go to:
http://bit.ly/sat_burlington_2016

Free Full Practice PSAT Exam for class of 2018 and 2019
To register go to:
http://bit.ly/psat_burlington_2016

We would recommend that seniors that missed the SAT last spring, or seniors that want to brush up on skills, take the free practice SAT test. 

Juniors and sophomores will take the collegeboard sponsored PSAT on 10/19. The test on 10/19 is a full scale PSAT,  and If students score high enough they can potentially qualify for national merit. So for students in grades 10 and 11, the practice PSAT gives them a chance to prepare for the upcoming PSAT at BHS on 10/19. The PSAT on10/19 is NOT free for juniors, but is free for sophomores. 

For either practice test on 9/17 it gives students a chance to practice under test conditions which hopefully reduces test day stress