It's only November, but for seniors across Maine, it's time to start thinking about their future plans. College or career? Maybe a specialty school or entering into the local fishing industry?

To get seniors thinking about it, Boothbay Region High School is joining with other schools across Maine to participate in the third annual Aspire Higher Maine event during the month of November.

“We'll use this as a jumping off point to continue through the end of the year,” BRHS College Access Counselor Kerrin Erhard said.

During the next month there will be events and activities to keep seniors focused on their future educational options. Guest speaker Wendy Thompson, the former assistant dean of admissions at Bowdoin College for 12 years, will give an interactive presentation to juniors and seniors about college admissions on Nov. 18. Students who apply to some type of post secondary program will receive raffle tickets for a substantial prize to be drawn.

There will be after school hours dedicated to helping students fill out their Common Application, which is an undergraduate online application which can be used to apply to over 500 different colleges and universities. Four new bulletin boards have also been installed for college and career awareness and information, and faculty will wear an article of clothing that represents their alma mater at the end of the month.

There will be a Financial Aid Night for seniors and parents on Nov. 12, and interested juniors and seniors will visit two colleges in Boston on Nov. 13. A total of eight different college representatives will be visiting BRHS as well, including ones from the University of Maine at Farmington and Southern Maine Community College.

Aspire Higher Maine is a statewide initiative coordinated by the Maine College Access Network.  It is a participating program of the American Council on Education's American College Application Campaign. For more information visit www.mainecollegeaccess.org or contact Erhard at kerhard@csd3-brhs.org.