newsletter COUNSELING CONNECTION
DECEMBER 2025
FRESHMEN SOPHOMORES JUNIORS SENIORS
Tips For Critical Listening Be Careful With Your Social Media Plan Ahead, Stress Less With This Planner Academic Support Is Available
Get Started On Your Career Exploration Lower Your Stress & Get Organized With This Planner & Academic Support Tips Clean Up Your Social Media
Sign Up For A Spring Date to Take the SAT & ACT
Prep For the SAT & ACT
Identify Your Best-Fit Qualities In a College Time To Hit the Road & Visit Colleges
Clean Up Your Social Media
Understanding When Colleges Will Release Financial Aid & Scholarships Final Application Deadlines Are Approaching Next Steps For Your College Applications Senioritis Kicking In? Use This Amazing Planner Thank Your Letter Writers
SENIORS
UNDERSTANDING WHEN COLLEGES RELEASE FINANCIAL AID & SCHOLARSHIPS
UNDERSTANDING WHEN COLLEGES RELEASE FINANCIAL AID & SCHOLARSHIPS
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES
Manyreleaseinitialmeritaidoffersalongwith admissionsdecisionsafterJanuary. Thatfirstofferistypicallytheminimumamount; additionalstackablescholarshipsmayfollow Example:PLUoffersarenewable$1,000 scholarshipforcompletingacampusvisit Someschoolsreleaseallscholarshipoffersin batchesinFebruaryorMarch,andoccasionally aslateasApril.
STATE UNIVERSITIES
OftenwaitforFAFSAresultsbeforeissuing financialaidpackages. Typicallyofferlessinstitutionalaidbecause studentsalreadybenefitfromin-statetuitionor, insomecases,WUEtuitionrates
IF YOU ARE NOT FILING THE FAFSA
Notifyeachcollege’sFinancialAidOfficesothey donotdelayyourapplicationwhilewaitingfor FAFSAinformation
FAFSA PROCESSING TIMELINE
Oncesubmitted,theFAFSAisusuallysentto collegeswithin7-11days.
WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange)
170+publicuniversitiesofferreducedtuition ratesthroughWUEtoqualifyingstudents.Check yourprospectivecolleges’websitesfortheir individualprocess.
IF YOU HAVEN’T RECEIVED A FINANCIAL AID OFFER
Allowtheschooltimetoprocessyourmaterials. Processingtimelinesvary,especiallyduring peakmonths
DECISION TIMELINE
Youareencouragedtowaituntilyoucan comparealloffersbeforemakinga commitment
YouhaveuntilMay1sttomakeyourfinalcollege decision
REG DECISION APPLICATION DEADLINES ARE APPROACHING
REG DECISION APPLICATION DEADLINES ARE APPROACHING
DON’T MISS YOUR DEADLINES!
CompleteallapplicationsbyDec.30,soyoucan enjoyyourChristmasBreak!
SUBMIT THE FAFSA
Werecommendthateveryonedothisifyou haven’talready,toexploreloanandscholarship opportunitiesrightaway
CHECK YOUR APPLICANT PORTALS & EMAILS CHECK YOUR APPLICANT PORTALS & EMAILS
COLLEGES MAY REQUEST INFORMATION & COMMUNICATE NEXT STEPS
Don'tmissanythingoryourapplicationcouldbe dismissed.
SOME COLLEGES WILL SEND AUTOMATED REQUESTS FOR MIDYEAR REPORTS UNTIL THEY ARE RECEIVED.
Thisisnormal,andyourapplicationwillnotbein jeopardyifyoucommunicatewiththem. Pleaserespondinanemailtoexplainwearestill insessionuntilJan 27,2026andafterthe gradesarefinalized,counselorswillpromptly sendthemidyearreportbyFebruary14,2026.
IS SENIORITIS SETTING IN? IS SENIORITIS SETTING IN?
ELIMINATE PROCRASTINATION AND GET STUFF DONE TO HELP YOU FREE UP YOUR WEEKENDS
Usethisfreeversionorlow-costdigitalShovel Plannertohelpyoudoitall:schedule,plan, synctasks,timemanage,andreducestress Orthesefreeprintableplannersheetsmade justforyou!
THANK YOUR LETTER WRITERS! THANK YOUR LETTER WRITERS!
SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION BY WRITING A THANKYOU CARD FOR YOUR TEACHERS AND COUNSELOR Howtowriteathank-younote
JUNIORS
TESTING TESTING
PLAN AHEAD FOR THE SAT OR ACT IN THE SPRING OF YOUR JUNIOR YEAR IF YOU ARE COLLEGEBOUND!
BellarmineIn-SchoolSAT:April15,2026
LookforaninternalSign-upinMarch RegisterindependentlyatSATorgandACTorgif youpreferadifferentdateoryouwouldliketo considerSuperScoring
Superscoringisacollegeadmissionspractice inwhichaschoolcombinesastudent’s highestsectionscoresfrommultipletestdates tocreateasingle“super”compositescore.
TEST PREP TEST PREP
PLAN TO PREP FOR THE SAT OR ACT
BellarminewillhostTutorsAcrossAmericaBoot CampMarch27-29,2026
Thisisanopportunitytolearntipsandtricks fortakingbothSATandACTandgain familiaritybytakingbothexamsunofficiallyto comparescores.
SignupafterChristmasBreakontheirwebsite Forotheroptions,seeBellarmine’sVettedVendor Listfortestprep
COLLEGE APPLICATION TIMELINE
COLLEGE APPLICATION TIMELINE
WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING AS A JUNIOR TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE?
UsethisChecklist
TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2026
AT 6 - 7:30 PM IN THE CAMPUS CENTER
WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A COLLEGE?
WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A COLLEGE?
WHAT ARE YOUR PREFERENCES & INTERESTS?
CollegeMatchSelfSurvey
QualitiesThatWillMakeaRightFitForYoubytaking ashortquestionnaire
TheCollegeTourCoreClasswalkyouthroughthe fourpillarsoffindingtherightcollegeforyouusing shortvideos
DiscoveryourcollegepreferenceswithCorsava’s FreeTool.Thisawesomeresourcehelpsyoufigure outwhatyouwant(anddon’twant)fromyour collegeexperience
TIME TO HIT THE ROAD & VISIT COLLEGES! TIME TO HIT THE ROAD & VISIT COLLEGES!
AIM TO VISIT 3 TO 5 SCHOOLS THIS YEAR
Manycollegesarewithinashortdriveofhome Starthereinourstate.
Flytoseeotherprospectivecollegesorvirtually takeatour.
Everycampushasitsownvibe&culture,soyouwill wanttoexperiencethem.
BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
CLEAN UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
Collegesandevenfutureemployersmayreview yourpublicsocialmediaaccountsaspartoftheir decision-makingprocess.
Tomakeapositiveimpression,keepyourprofiles updated,maintainqualityinposts,andshowcase meaningfulachievements
Useaprofessionalemailaddress
Avoidnegativeorrudecomments,inappropriate photos,oranythingyouwouldn’tincludeina collegeapplication.
AVOID SENDING INAPPROPRIATE TEXT MESSAGES THAT SOMEONE COULD SCREENSHOT AND POST
Anypicturesortextedconversationsyousendto someonecouldbesharedwithothers Don’t assumesomeonewillbetrustworthyandkeep thingsconfidential
SOPHOMORES
GET STARTED ON YOUR CAREER EXPLORATION JOURNEY GET STARTED ON YOUR CAREER EXPLORATION JOURNEY
START W TAKES Y
Road care
Use p andtakequickassessmentsin“Discovery”Ifyou missedthemlastmonth,completethemnow! Discoveryourcareeraptitudesandstrengthsthrough ourresourcepagefullofmorefunwaystoexplore!
CLEAN UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
Collegesandevenfutureemployersmayreview yourpublicsocialmediaaccountsaspartoftheir decision-makingprocess
Tomakeapositiveimpression,keepyourprofiles updated,maintainqualityinposts,andshowcase meaningfulachievements
Useaprofessionalemailaddress
ARE YOU FEELING OVERWHELMED WITH EVERYTHING ON YOUR PLATE?
ARE YOU FEELING OVERWHELMED WITH EVERYTHING ON YOUR PLATE?
THE BEST WAY TO LOWER YOUR STRESS IS TO GET ORGANIZED AND MAKE A PLAN
Usethisfreeversionorlow-costdigitalShovelPlanner tohelpyoudoitall:schedule,plan,synctasks,time manage,andreducestress.
Orthesefreeprintableplannersheetsmadejustfor you!
Makeastudyplanforyourtestsandfinals. Spreadoutyourstudyingandreviewoftento rememberthematerialbetter
GoseetheACEforacademicsupportandtutoring
SeethescheduleforsupportintheResourcetile WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING AS A SOPHOMORE TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE?
UsethisChecklist
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2026 AT 6 PM- 7:30 PM IN THE CAMPUS CENTER
Avoidnegativeorrudecomments,inappropriate photos,oranythingyouwouldn’tincludeina collegeapplicationbecauseitcouldbecomepart ofyourpermanentdigitalrecord&preventyou fromgettingajoborintoacollege.
AVOID SENDING INAPPROPRIATE TEXT MESSAGES THAT SOMEONE COULD SCREENSHOT AND POST Anypicturesortextedconversationsyousendto someonecouldbesharedwithothers Don’t assumesomeonewillbetrustworthyandkeep thingsconfidential.
Thingscanbesharedwithfunnyintentionsand getintothewronghandswithoutcontextor someonecouldsharewithwrongintentions. Bestnottoputsomethingouttherethatwould hurtyoulaterifitbecamepartofyour permanentdigitalrecord
INDIVIDUAL FAMILY MEETINGS THIS SPRING!
INDIVIDUAL FAMILY MEETINGS THIS SPRING!
OUR COUNSELING TEAM IS EXCITED TO PARTNER WITH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AS YOU PLAN FOR THE YEARS AHEAD
Wewillinviteeachfamilyindividuallytomeet withtheirstudent’scounselortocreatean individualizedhighschoolplanthatsupports academicsuccess,personalgrowth,andpost–highschoolgoals
Asign-uplinkwillbesharedinthespringsoyou canscheduleatimeinAprilthatworksbestfor yourfamily Welookforwardtomeetingwith you!
FRESHMEN
FOR CRITICAL LISTENING
TIPS FOR CRITICAL LISTENING
TRY THESE STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU GET MORE FROM YOUR LISTENING.
Trytocenteryourselfandfeelopen-minded withtheintentionofunderstanding. Feelingstressedwillreleasecortisolin yourbodyandturnoffthepartofyour mindthatstoresinformationandthinks clearly.
Ifyoucan’tfocus,trytakingafewdeep breaths,holding4secondsbetweenthe inhaleandexhale Thentakeadrinkof water
Trytorepeatwhattheteachersaysinyour mind.
Takenotesinyourownwordsanduse visualslikesmalldrawingsorhighlightersto helpyourbrainstoretheinformationin differentways
Nod Movingyourheadinagreementcan engageyou,especiallyifyoulearnbest throughmovement.
Makeconnectionsbetweenwhatthe teachersaysandwhatyoualreadyknow.If youcan'tmakeaconnection,askthe teachertomakeone
Whenyouhearkeyphrases,writedownthe informationthatfollows.
Ifsomethingdoesn’tmakesense,askyour teachertoclarifyorexplainitinadifferent way.Chancesare,othershavethesame question Ifyoudon’tfeelcomfortable askingduringclass,trycatchingyour teacherafterward.
BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
AVOID SENDING INAPPROPRIATE TEXT MESSAGES THAT SOMEONE COULD SCREENSHOT AND POST Anypicturesortextedconversationsyousendto someonecouldbesharedwithothers.Don’t assumesomeonewillbetrustworthyandkeep thingsconfidential
ELIMINATE PROCRASTINATION AND GET STUFF DONE TO HELP YOU FREE UP YOUR WEEKENDS.
Usethisfreeversionorlow-costdigital ShovelPlannertohelpyoudoitall: schedule,plan,synctasks,timemanage, andreducestress.
Orthesefreeprintableplannersheets madejustforyou!
Consistentattendanceandsmallroutines helpyoustayontrack.
Itisn’ttoolatetoturnitaroundifyouhave gottenbehind Usethebreaktogetcaught upandprepareforfinals
ACADEMIC SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE ACADEMIC SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE COME TO THE ACE!
Hours
8:00am-3:45pmMonday-Thursday 8:00am-3:00p.m.Friday AcademicSupportandDrop-InTutoringare availableforallcoreclasses,religion,and worldlanguage.
GotoMyBellarmine,clickonResources> theACEtile,andscrolltoseethelistof links Tutoringsupportisthefirstlinkunder resourceslistedasACEAcademicSupport EveryoneiswelcomeintheACE!