Post-Secondary School Requirements
If post-secondary education is desired, admission requirements should be strongly considered when planning a student’s high school program. Because requirements vary widely, the best sources of information are the individual college websites. Students may also research the College Board’s website or Naviance for information about a specific college.
Recommended Entrance Requirements - Highly Selective
Students who plan to attend colleges with highly competitive admissions standards should select the most competitive and demanding courses available.
- 4 years - English
- 4 years - Mathematics *
- 4 years - Science
- 4 years - Social Science
- 3 – 4 consecutive years of the same Foreign Language
Additional courses in the above subject or electives in the arts, humanities, or technology determined by the student’s interests.
The counseling department highly recommends Honors and Advanced Placement courses for students capable of handling the challenging pace.
Recommended Entrance Requirements - Moderately Selective
- 4 years – English
- 4 years – Mathematics *
- 3 years – Science (including two with laboratory work)
- 3 years – Social Science
- 2 years – Foreign Language (of the same language)
- 2 Elective courses – recommended being from the Arts, Humanities or Technology
Massachusetts State Colleges and Universities require four mathematics courses (Algebra I and II and Geometry or Trigonometry or comparable course work), including mathematics during the final year of high school.
More DHS Counseling Resources
Let the DHS Counseling Team Help You In This Process. Visit our page for more information on:
- Includes schedule of College Rep Visits
- Financial Aid Information
- Current Senior Transcript Request Forms
- Scholarship Information
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Planning for Post DHS
Post - Secondary Planning Support
Counselors meet with students to introduce and explain the various parts of the post-secondary planning process in both group and individual sessions with students. Juniors and their parents/guardians are invited to an individual planning conference to develop a personalized college/career search. Students should continue research, visit, and interview at potential schools during their junior year and the first half of their senior year. This process clarifies for students their priorities and the entrance requirements of the schools that interest them. For parent/guardian convenience, counselors are available by appointment on selected evenings. Families will be notified of these virtual evenings by their student’s counselor. In the fall of their senior year, counselors meet with students to focus on the various steps in the college application process. Individual meetings with students and parents/guardians can refine the process further and focus on the list of schools to which a student will apply.
Additionally, we invite all juniors and seniors to participate in X-Block workshops with various college representatives and guest speakers. Our career counselor facilitates these workshops to help support all juniors and seniors in their post-secondary exploration and learn about life on a college campus.
Parent programs include presentations by school counselors on various aspects of college admissions, post-secondary planning, PSAT scores, course planning, and college financial aid resources.