FAFSA Festival 2025-26
Do you need assistance completing the FAFSA, the form required to apply for college financial aid? Join MEFA for a virtual FAFSA Festival. You can log in anytime 4-6 PM, and you will be paired with an expert who can answer your FAFSA or other financial aid questions and help you complete the online application. Before you join, we encourage you to start filling out the FAFSA at fafsa.gov. If you want to learn about financial aid, view our recorded webinar, Financial Aid 101, here.
Berkshire Community College - Spring 2026 Dual Enrollment Update
Berkshire Community College is preparing for Spring 2026 Bridge to College - Dual Enrollment Course Registration. Course registration will open on December 15 and end January 6th.
Taking a Dual Enrollment course at Berkshire Community College involves a high school student enrolling in a college course for credit with a BCC professor. The course can be taken either in-person at BCC, asynchronously (fully online), or hybrid (in person at BCC and online). In some cases, dual enrollment courses may be taught at Wahconah by a BCC professor. ie. Foundations of Early Childhood (semester course @ WRHS) and Development & Early Childhood Growth & Development (semester course @ WRHS).
Eligibility criteria can be found on the Bridge to College website, along with newly updated information about the application and registration process for Spring 2026 dual enrollment classes.
Eligible High School Juniors and Seniors can sign up for a virtual Spring 2026 information session to learn more details about dual enrollment.
BCC Counselors are also available to help as you consider this possibility. You can email them at bridgetocollege@berkshirecc.
We look forward to helping you! 
WRHS Guidance Department
Mrs. Sookey <msookey@cbrsd.org> (A-G)
Mr. Andersen <pandersen@cbrsd.org> (H-M)
Mrs. Salavantis <ksalavantis@cbrsd.org> (N-Z)
Williamstown League of Women Voters offering Supporting Democracy Leadership award
The Williamstown League of Voters is offering the Supporting Democracy Leadership Award ($500) for youth ages 16-21 who are preregistered or registered voters. Three awards will be given to applications from North, Central and South Berkshire County.
Applications are available in the WRHS Guidance Department and seniors can download them via their Naviance account.
College/University/Trade Open Houses announced
Now is the time that many Colleges/Universities & Trade schools are announcing open houses. These events are an excellent opportunity to visit a campus, meet faculty, and coaches. You can find information about specific open houses with a simple google search by typing "open house" & the College/University name.
Below are some direct links to open houses you may be interested in:
Senior College Application Planning Presentations
School Guidance Counselors will be going into Senior English Classes to review the College Application process. Counselors will review the various steps needed to submit a good quality application along with supporting documents. During this presentation we will review the WRHS Postsecondary Guide with Seniors.
Naviance Career Interest Profiler
If you’re feeling unsure about your career path—or even if you have some ideas but want to explore more options—we highly recommend taking the Naviance Career Interest Profiler! It’s a great tool that can help you discover careers that align with your interests and strengths. Remember, there are many paths beyond college. Trade schools, apprenticeships, and gap years can provide valuable experiences and skills. Keep an open mind about what might suit you best.
To access it, simply log into your Naviance account (https://student.naviance.com/wahconahreghi), navigate to the Self-Discovery tab, and select Career Interest Profiler. It only takes a little time and can provide you with valuable insights into your future! As you find careers that interest you, you can even use the Favorite🩷 option to save them for easy access later.
Please feel free to reach out to your School Counselor if you need help logging in to your Naviance account.
Seniors - Letters of Recommendation
It is time to ask for letters of recommendation from teachers and/or mentors.
Remember to ask for letters of recommendation in person! Choose two teachers who know you well or who teach subjects related to your career interests. Be sure to provide them with information about your future plans, and it is also helpful to provide them with your resume. Always allow at least two school weeks for teachers to complete their letter.
*Please remember that some colleges require counselor recommendation letters. To help your counselor write a strong letter, please fill out the brag sheet no later than three weeks prior to your first college application deadline. Your insights will be invaluable!
SUNY Tuition Match Program
The State University of New York offers tuition matching to help make SUNY's excellent education more accessible and affordable for students outside of New York State.
Massachusetts is one of eight states where SUNY will match the tuition and fees of our state flagship campus: The University of Massachusetts @ Amherst. ($18,487). Note, this figure does not include room & board.
The participating SUNY campuses include: University at Albany, SUNY Brockport, Buffalo State University, SUNY Canton, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Delhi, SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry, Farmingdale State College, SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY Maritime, SUNY Morrisville, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Old Westbury, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
MassHire YouthWorks programming
Students interested in looking for a job can receive assistance from the Berkshire MassHire Youth Works program. More information can be found here: https://www.masshireberkshirecc.com/youth/youth-programs/
You can reach out to Mrs. Grady at cgrady@cbrsd.org and Mrs. Kelly Groves-Skrocki, Youth Program Coordinator at kskrocki@masshireberkshirecc.com for further details and assistance.
Common Application is now live
The Common Application for the 2025-2026 application cycle is live as of August 1, 2025. With the Common Application, students can apply to over 1,000 schools.
Here is a video to help you learn more about the details when completing the Common Application: https://youtu.be/uV81sGa9ZVY?si=YcytK981m64inswV
College Admission Counselor visits
College representatives will visit our Seniors in the Guidance Department starting
September 15th. Students can find our full College Admission visit calendar and
register on their Wahconah Naviance.com account. If you need help with logging in
to Naviance, please reach out to your School Counselor.
The following colleges are scheduled to visit:
Friday - 12/5 - Hartford Art School (University of Hartford) - 1:30pm
A new program titled MassEducate has been initiated by Governer Maura Healey and the Massachusetts Association for Community Colleges that allow Massachusetts residents who have not yet earned a bachelor's degree to attend any of the state's 15 community colleges and pay no tuition or fees. Both programs include an allowance for books and supplies for certain students.
To be eligible, students must:
1. Complete the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA)
2. Apply to your local community college and enroll in an approved program of study. Applications are open all year long and there is never an application fee.
3. Have physically resided in Massachusetts for at least one year, as of the start of your first enrolled term.
4. Have earned a high school diploma or equivalent.
5. Are enrolled in at least six credits (usually two classes) per semester in an approved program of study leading to an associate degree or certificate.
6. Maintain satisfactory academic progress in accordance with the college's requirements.
part of their holistic admission and placement decisions, and your score is a valid way to show what you've learned. Most juniors take their first SAT in the spring, and many take it again in the fall of their senior year to improve their score. It can help you keep your college options open, demonstrate your unique strengths, and even qualify for scholarships. Note: All students can be considered for a CollegeBoard Fee Waiver and other benefits when they are deemed eligible by completing the CBRSD Supplemental low-income data collection form. Reach out to your School Counselor and they will direct you to the form you can complete for consideration.
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Upcoming 2025-26 SAT Dates
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SAT Practice available to all students. When students take a full-length digital practice test in Bluebook™, they’ll get the full adaptive digital testing experience, as well as receive their scores, tailored information about the questions they got right and wrong, and thorough answer explanations. SAT practice resourses can be found here to ensure they feel confident and prepared to do their very best on test day: practice information FInancial Aid 2026-2027 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2026-27 FAFSA is now open!
WRHS students and their parents are encouraged to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The FAFSA supplies Colleges & Universities with important information used to create a student's financial aid offer. This will allow your students to maximize their financial aid including federal, state and institutional aid.
Here are links to resources to help you fill out the 2026-27 FAFSA:
- View the Pro Tips for the 2026-27 FAFSA form
- Stay up-to-date with FAFSA announcements and events
- The U.S. Department of Education's FAFSA help information
Financial Aid - Create an FSA ID
If you plan to submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to apply for college financial aid, you’ll need to create an FSA ID first, which allows you to begin the FAFSA process. And you need to create your FSA ID at least a few days before you start the FAFSA, so now’s a great time to check that step off your list. Join us for this webinar where we walk through the process of creating an FSA ID, explain who needs to create one, and discuss other things to know before completing the FAFSA.
https://youtu.be/ziaXYHe5864?si=w2ZU1sR_G9ehHEnz
Financial Aid Process
You can find excellent Financial Aid resource videos from the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority regarding the financial aid process and details regarding financial aid forms that you will be asked to complete via the link below.
Below is a link to an update regarding the FAFSA
https://www.mefa.org/fafsa-simplification-updates-resources
Seniors can access many regional and national scholarships through Naviance. Once logged in click Colleges>Scholarships & Money>Scholarship Search to access.
Scholarships recently added:
Raise Me Scholarships
RaiseMe partners with universities to offer students scholarships for their
achievements during high school and college. WRHS students grades 9-12 can
access this website to participate via this link. https://www.raise.me/how-it-works
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College search resource: College Scorecard
Search and compare colleges: their fields of study, costs, admissions, results, and more.
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
CGN College/Career Library The College Guidance Network provides an excellent library of resources through a video library to help students and families obtain information about their College & Career search. You can find it here via this link:
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