MCSH Senior General Information

MCSH Senior General Information

Seniors must have 10 hours of community service that they completed from June 2016till May 2017-Download the paper from the web or pick up in front office-TURN IN TO Ms. Scottie Alford in the guidance office.
Donating blood earns 2 community service hours-if student gives at all 4 blood drives it can complete their community service. Also they receive 2 hours for each person that comes in and donates for them. See Mrs. Cindy Baker for information.
College Days-1 each semester-get form from attendance office or guidance office-complete before going on the visit. No college days after April. See Ms. Scottie Alford or the attendance office clerk.
Infinite Campus Parent Portal-You may print transcripts off of portal for college visits, insurance, etc…and check student grades. Ms. Gwen Currens or Ms. Scottie Alford can help with parent/student access. If you need a password reset for portal contact Susan Record at Central Office. To get access you must come into the office to complete portal paperwork.

College Information

Seniors should start on college admissions NOW! Deadlines are approaching for certain college scholarships.
If you are on free/reduced lunch application fees can be waived. Student/parent should see counselor for details.
A free/reduced lunch student can receive 2 free ACT Test registrations. See counselor for waiver.
Local Scholarships will start coming in around December and will come in all the way through May. Have students stop by guidance office and check for hard copies or parents/students can check school website where they will be posted and can be downloaded. We will not fax oremail applications and deadlines are firm. Several will require signatures, transcripts, and recommendation letters. Those are to be taken care of in advance, not the day applications aredue. Waiting until the last minute can result in a missed deadline. To have a transcript printed there is a signup sheet in the guidance office and they are printed daily or you can email Ms.Alford at Some scholarships are due to the guidance office and some will need the student to postmark and mail themselves. Read directionsthoroughly. Do not contact guidance office on weekends to complete applications. Office hours are Monday-Friday 7:30 am-3:30 PM.
National/College Scholarships-Many colleges have additional honors, religious, leadership, and club scholarships. They have separate deadlines and dates. Contact the colleges to make sure that you have applied for everything they have available.

Complete your child’s FAFSA (Financial Aid) starting October 1st!!!!! This date is changed from prior year dates.
Financial Aid Night- October 24th 5:30-7:30. MCSHS will provide one on one help in the media center for completing your students financial aid for college. Make sure and bring your 2016 tax return. This is the ONLY time this help will be offered. Financial aid is NOW completed in the fall and NOT January of the following year. Federal and State money will run out so get this completed ASAP!!! Apply at
KEES Scholarship Money- No application necessary. Once student is enrolled in college and paperwork is completed. The state automatically sends the money to Students College. MCSH does not do this, also CHECK your KEES money and make sure it is accurate. There can and have been mistakes. You can see your amount at
ACT Scores- ACT scores are on the transcripts. They are NOT OFFICIAL scores. Once your child decides which college they are attending you will need to go to the ACT website and have the official score sent to that college.
Dual Credit Information-If your student takes dual credit classes through Campbellsville, Morehead, or Murray they/you must contact that college after grades are posted to have the transcript sent to the college they will be attending. MCSH cannot do this it is up to the student/parent. Contact the college by calling or going to their website to request the transcript. This needs to be completed in June after graduating. (Campbellsville, Morehead, BCTC)
Sending AP Scores-When registering for AP test as senior-- students will need to put the college down that they will be attending. Then, College Board will automatically send the scores. If a student has not decided in May then parents/students will need to contact have scores sent.
Letters of recommendation-Students should be requesting those now. When students ask for a letter please make sure they have a resume they can give the teacher. (Resume that states clubs, awards, etc…it will help the teacher write a thorough recommendation.) DO NOT WAIT TIL LAST MINUTE. Teachers/administration requireat least 1 week for completing the letter. If you wait till the last minute you may not receive the best letter had you given ample time or letter could be denied.
Requesting Transcripts to be sent to college-After completing the college application you MUST request your transcript to be sent to that college. Students cannot gain admission until these are sent. College admission transcripts are sent electronically through a service called PARCHMENT. Your student should set up their PARCHMENT account. It is the student’s responsibility to create their account and request the transcript. Colleges only take electronic copies of the transcript. After this account is created they then log on and request a transcript to be sent to the schools in which they have applied or are applying. If a student is going on a college visit it is always a good idea to take a hard copy. Those can be printed off of parent or student portal or requested prior to the visit in the guidance office.

HOW TO HAVE MY TRANSCRIPT SENT TO COLLEGES

1.)Go to

2.)Sign Up Now-Green Button

3.)Do not sign up through Facebook

4.)Use real names not nicknames

5.)Complete Registration

6.)Make sure you keep your password and email written down

7.)Sign Up

**If you need transcripts for college visits, scholarship applications, driver’s license insurance discount, etc…they must be requested in advance in the guidance office. The directions above are for transcripts to be sent to colleges. It is always a good idea to take a transcript on your college visit day as well.

Transcripts for local scholarship applications, insurance discount, college visits, etc.. Must be requested through the guidance office in advance. Request those through Ms. Alford in the guidance office. There is a 24 hour turnaround for transcripts.
Completing ILP- ALL Students must complete their ILP before the end of each school year. In order to graduate seniors must have everything completed. The ILP can be a valuable tool if used correctly. If your senior needs access to complete their ILP (should be done at school) see Mr. Kidd.

How can seniors use the ILP to assist them in college planning?

1)They can search for colleges in all states; compare tuition rates, majors, college scholarship opportunities, and housing plans.

2)Research different careers; find out the level of education required, expected salary, and job outlook.

3)They can record their extracurricular activities, awards, work, and community service.

4)They can create a professional resume.

5)Receive notifications about scholarships and program opportunities that they may qualify for.

Making sure you are on track to graduate- Counselors have done senior credit checks and will review with the student in the next few weeks. If you have not heard from them at this point all is fine! Keep up with your grades!
Hold your student responsible. As parents you are getting ready to send your student off into a new world. A world where when they are 18 the school won’t talk to you, release info to you, or give you any details. Start now, making them do what they need to do to get into college. Whether it’s sending an email, making a phone call, scheduling a visit, and completing applications. The biggest peeve with our local scholarship agencies is that they receive so many scholarships that they can tell the parent completed. Some have told me they throw those in the trash. Start holding them accountable for their future.

Students Playing sports at the college level

NCAA Clearinghouse-Students who are planning to enroll in college as a freshman and wish to participate in Division I or II athletics must be certified by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse. In order to be certified by the clearinghouse, a student must graduate from high school with an acceptable GPA and ACT score. Students must complete a specified number of credits in academic core courses. There is a registration fee. Go to to register and pay fee. If you are unsure of which to apply, (NAIA or NCAA) talk to your coaches. After registering see Mr. Kidd for him to send your transcript.

NAIA Eligibility- Students who are planning to enroll in college as a freshman and wish to participate in NAIA level athletics. This is the same type of registration except it is for those that are planning on playing at a small college. Go to register and pay your fee. After registering see Mr. Kidd for him to send your transcript

FOR NAIA and NCAA information contact Mr. Steve Kidd-counselor at MCSHS

Important Links

College Board

KEES Money

Applying for Financial Aid

Have transcripts sent to colleges

School website

NAIA Eligibility

NCAA Clearinghouse

Mercer County School System

ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS

The testing fee is approximately $100 per test. Advanced Placement Exam dates are the first week of May. See the school website for dates and times or talk with your AP teacher.

GRADUATION HONORS/CHORDS

3.50 to 3.79 will graduate Cum Laude

3.80-3.99 will graduate Magna Cum Laude

4.0 And above will graduate Summa Cum Laude

College/Career Readiness

Students can also earn chords for College and Career Readiness. A solid blue chord is given for College or Career Readiness. College Readiness is meeting the benchmarks on the ACT in Reading, Math, English. Career Readiness is completing a Career/Technical Pathway and passing the KOSSA test on their pathway. (Vocational School, Agriculture, Engineering, Business, Family Consumer Science) A blue/white twisted chord is given to students meeting both College and Career readiness. All chords are given at graduation practice. If any chords are lost are misplaced there are no extra chords.

ACT-If not satisfied with score NEED to be retaking. Some colleges accept no scores after December.

Every college is different for application deadlines, and scholarship deadlines.

Benchmarks for the ACT:

Kentucky Benchmarks: English 18, Reading 20, Math 19

National Benchmarks: English 18, Math 22, Reading 22, Science 23

KOSSA-These tests are given later in the school year to students in Agriculture, Business, Engineering, Vocational School, and Family Consumer Science Pathways. College credit can be obtained by passing these tests. Talk to colleges as you go through the process regarding KOSSA test.

Work Keys- Students not meeting benchmarks and have a completed career pathway will take this test later in the school year.

ASVAB-Students not meeting benchmarks and on a KOSSA pathway will take this test and any senior interested in a military career.

KYOTE-Students not meeting the Kentucky math benchmarks (18) will have an opportunity to take the KYOT E test second semester .

MERCER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD ATTENDANCE POLICY 09.123

Any 12th grade student who has accumulated 10 unexcused absences (absent days) will not be allowed to participate in high school graduation ceremonies. Any time period in which a student withdraws from school or has a late enrollment will also be considered as “an unexcused absent day” from the school year. Transfers from 1 public high school to Mercer County Senior High School will be granted an exception of 3 school days for moving and travel. Senior attendance is based on a full year enrollment and official withdrawal from school cannot be used as an avenue to circumvent the 10 day unexcused event rule. A note is required anytime a student misses part or all of the school day.

**See student handbook for all attendance issues regarding PROM, graduation, driving, etc…..

**All outstanding debts (current year and prior years) must be paid including school fees, lunch charges, library fines, athletic uniforms/equipment, and lost text books. Contact school book keeper to check on debts owed.

Grading System

Talk to your student about how courses are graded and when grades for each course are final. We have several courses that run year long and others that are final at Winter Break. Also, several courses are now on a nine week average grading system. Be aware of which courses your child is taking. Teachers have talked with your students regarding the grading system and how they are grading.