Long-term planning
Planning for college and careers and what comes after high school begins for Maine 207 students even before they begin high school. In partnership with our elementary school districts, students begin exploring their interests and considering a range of possible career options in middle school through our systematic use of Career Cruising.
Students are able to login to their personal Career Cruising accounts, and they will review these results with parents and school staff members.
During their high school years, students will become fluent with the language of career options as they explore and consider a wide range of choices. The organizing structure for this exploration is the Career Clusters.
Earning credit now
While in high school, students can earn college credits both through Dual Credit Courses and Advanced Placement Courses. In both cases, these credits offer an extremely economical way to prepare for college as earning these same college credits and participating in these learning opportunities in high school is much less expensive than doing so in a typical higher education environment. Additional benefits of these experiences include that:
- students are more prepared for college-level work in college
- students are accelerated through the initial stages of college coursework allowing them to either complete their course of study sooner or being able to explore other, additional options more easily, including but not limited to double majors, minors, and study abroad opportunities
- students learn more deeply about what they may or may not be interested in studying further in college
College planning & financial aid
The college planning and financial aid process is facilitated by Student Services staff. Counselors and the College and Career Counselor lead students through this process both in groups and individually throughout their high school experience. In addition to planning for the alignment of classes and supporting students in selecting their best options for post-high school learning, the Student Services team also guides students through The Common Application, used by many colleges and universities, writing college application essays, and the financial aid process, including everything from private scholarships to Federal Student Aid.
Throughout this process, the focus is to help students individually determine what they want to pursue as well as the most economically feasible ways to successfully follow that path. Ultimately, Maine 207 seeks to measure its success with students long-term based on whether or not they are financially stable and pursuing their passions as adults.