Greetings School Counselors, and Happy New Year,

The January issue of MCC 1, 2, 3 hi-lights the January graduate from high school; their process & timeline. With no January Regents exams this year, will there be MORE January 2021 grads? How does financial aid work? Remember, MCC 1, 2, 3 hi-lights: 1 topic, give 2 reasons why it’s important, & 3 ways it benefits students.
  1. Topic January Graduates
  2. Reasons why this is important The timeline can be TIGHT for high school graduates who are slated to graduate in January and intend to start at MCC for the spring semester. Still, successful enrollment is totally possible! Generally speaking, academic admission isn’t the problem, but financial aid can be. It’s important for both the graduate and MCC to know the student’s actual January graduation date, which can be a moving target year-to-year, district-to-district. If the date certifying high school graduation is PRIOR to the start of spring classes – no problem. If the graduation date is AFTER our spring semester start date, then we would advise ATB placement testing to secure NYS aid (TAP).  *MCC’s Spring 2021 semester begins on January 25, 2021.
  3. Ways this benefits students Communication – It’s important that the student & school counselor know and communicate the January graduation/completion date to us. The more we know, the more we can appropriately advise. Opportunity – Don’t let the semester – or TIME – pass by. We successfully enroll January graduates into our spring term every year. Access – Students who begin in spring semester still have access to the same resources as those who start in fall; tutoring, financial aid, orientation, course availability, & on-campus housing.
If you know of a January graduate who is planning to enroll at MCC for spring 2021, feel free to connect your student to me directly. We are also registering juniors & seniors for part-time, non-matriculated courses for those seeking enrichment, or to transfer course(s) back to high school towards graduation requirements. Finally, it’s that time of year when we are reading admissions applications for both fall & spring. Bear with us! At this time, our focus is spring 2021 applications as we aim to bring in our spring class this month. Your students may continue applying for fall 2021, and we will review them both EARNESTLY & EXCLUSIVELY starting the last week of January. As always, thank you for your collegiality and continued cooperation. Meryll Pentz Admissions Counselor , Office of Admissions