Notes for MHS
Class of 2005 and Beyond

The CES program was changed beginning with the Class of 2005 due to the inadequacies in the "old" CES structure. Milton Hershey School is certain these changes will benefit our graduates toward the shared goal of helping students to graduate with a post-secondary degree or certificate. The following points serve to simply reemphasize some of the guidelines that are now in place for the Class of 2005 and beyond:

• Students earn potential CES funding in 9th-12th grade;
• CES funding, while still the most generous program of its kind, will have a dollar "cap" that is determined in November of the senior year of high school;
• Graduation Plans will only be approved by College & Career Counselors if they meet the six criteria: Family/Milton Hershey School Support, Post-Secondary School Support Services, Post-Secondary School Visit, Course of Study, Financial Feasibility, and Rigor Matrix;
• Students who do not have enough CES funding to last for five years at their post-secondary school will have to sign a 4-Year Agreement indicating they realize their CES funding will be depleted within four years and their annual CES disbursements will be further limited;
• Students signing a 4-Year Agreement will need to complete an average of 15.5 credits per semester in order to graduate in four years (assuming a 124 credit degree requirement);
• Students may not necessarily be able to receive 1/5th of their CES each year (or 1/4th each year for those with a 4-Year Agreement). Due to the rapidly rising cost of post-secondary education and the way in which student loan borrowing is structured, the Financial Aid Coordinator may need to approve less than 1/5 (or 1/4 for those with 4-Year Agreements) of a student's total CES in the first or second years of study so that enough funding remains for the later years. [For a student with $60,000 CES funding for example - instead of paying $15,000 in each the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th years, Milton Hershey School may need to pay $13,800, $14,700, $15,500 & $16,000 (same total of $60,000) to do our best to ensure enough funding remains to compensate for three or four years of tuition increases.];
• Students wishing to transfer schools will be held accountable to the same Graduation Plan standards as they were during their initial post-secondary school approval process.