2024 Commencement Ceremony
Saturday, May 11
11 a.m., Taylor Field

For all your questions and to read about important details, please click here. 

"Preparing for Life After Lasell" Webinar 
Wednesday, April 24
7-8 p.m. via ZOOM

This event was cancelled due to low registation numbers. Below is the information that would have been shared and was provided by the panelists. 

Thomas Morgan – Director of Student Activities and Orientation

-- Torchlight Parade (for all students) is on Monday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. starting in the STC parking lot and Senior Soiree (for 21+ graduating seniors only) at 8:30 p.m. in the Arnow Campus Center.
-- Midnight Breakfast is on Tuesday, April 30 at 10:00 p.m. in the Valentine Dining Hall.
-- Senior Week begins Monday, May 6. There is a check-in each day for each activity, Monday’s check in is from 6:30-7:45 p.m. in the Arnow Campus Center. The full schedule is available at laserinvolvement.lasell.edu.
-- Residence Halls close at noon on Tuesday, May 7 for seniors who are not participating in Senior Week. Residence Halls close at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 for students who are participating in Senior Week. Your student can contact Residential Life at residentiallife@lasell.edu with any questions.
-- Undergraduate Commencement is on Saturday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m. Students need to check in at the Glow Lounge (Winslow Academic Center) between 9:00-10:00 a.m.
-- The ceremony is about 2 – 2 ½ hours.
-- There are no tickets for the event, unless there is severe weather, and the ceremony moves into the Athletic Center.
-- The ceremony is held on Taylor Field, rain or shine. There is no tent over the audience.
-- Questions about caps and gowns can go to Lasell’s Gear Shop at lasell.shopoakhalli.com, 617-243-2182, or gearshop@lasell.edu. Orders placed for pickup at the Gear Shop can be collected starting Thursday, April 25.
-- Students can send their name pronunciation to Nancy Anderson at nanderson@lasell.edu by Thursday, May 2.
-- Diplomas will be mailed to students’ address on file in the weeks after the ceremony. Any legal name changes to be reflected on diplomas must be submitted to the Registrar at registrar@lasell.edu by Friday, May 5.
-- Proofs of photos of students crossing the stage at Commencement will be mailed to students’ address on file for purchase in the weeks after the ceremony.

Jessi Orlando, Assistant Director – Center for Career Readiness and Internship Programs

-- The Career Center is available to help your students! There is still time to schedule a meeting with me through Starfish and I can work with your students to: finalize resumes, polish cover letters, navigate the job search process, interview process, conduct mock interviews and more.
-- One of the many resources available to students for the job/internship search process is Handshake with 750k+ employers using the platform to recruit college students and recent grads. Seniors should be updating their Handshake login from their lasell.edu email to a personal email so they can keep access!
-- LinkedIn is another great resource for job and internship searching, as well as connecting with peers, faculty, staff, and alumni. Many students have a LinkedIn account, but encourage them to update and maintain their profile!
-- We know that employers are looking for specific skills from recent graduates, and they are expected to be proficient in several areas. The National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE) has surveyed employers this year asking what is most important (see below). In the Career Center, we work with students to ensure that they are articulating these skills sets on their resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, etc. and that they can adequately speak about these skills in an interview.
-- Competencies: Communication, Teamwork, Critical Thinking, Professionalism and Equity and Inclusion 
-- Attributes: Problem-solving skills, Ability to Work on a Team, Communication Skills (written), Strong Work Ethic, and Flexibility/Adaptability
-- Even after students graduate from Lasell, they still have access to the Career Center. Please encourage them to reach out through Starfish or email to schedule a meeting!

Sarah Neil - Assistant Vice President of Alumni Engagement and Philanthropy, University Advancement

-- Alumni Events: In addition to our signature ‘homecoming’ Family, Friends, and Alumni Weekend, there will be plenty of opportunities to return to campus or join online programs designed to meet the interest and needs of our graduates. Consider this a great opportunity to network, connect with classmates, your alum's favorite faculty and meet new friends. Alumni can view the events page for information on upcoming events.
-- Career Services: The Center for Career Readiness and Internship Programs provides alumni with career counseling, career networking, and resume assistance at no cost. The center also offers Handshake, a comprehensive online job and internship system for Lasell alumni and students. For more information, contact the center at careerservices@lasell.edu.
-- Discounts: Alumni can join the growing list of Double Lasers who have both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Lasell and receive a 10% discount on graduate program tuition. For more information, visit the Graduate & Professional Studies website or email gradinfo@lasell.edu. Alumni also receive a 10% discount at Lasell's Gear Shop (in-store only). 
-- Alumni Magazine (LEAVES): Alumni will be mailed a copy of Leaves, the Lasell magazine that is published twice a year. Leaves features University news, student and faculty accomplishments, alumni profiles, and Class Notes. Class notes is a great way to keep informed about other classmates and to share news and milestones after graduation.
-- Volunteer opportunities: Alumni can serve on a Lasell board, a career panel, lend a hand at an event, or mentor a student. This is a great way for alums to find their passion and support their alma mater! For more information and to explore opportunities, contact us at alumni@lasell.edu.
-- Lasell University Alumni Association (LUAA): Alumni can engage and build the expanding alumni network through event-planning and helping to connect alumni with each other and the University. For more information about the LUAA, contact us at alumni@lasell.edu.

Sharon Harrington Hope, LMHC – Director and Clinical Counselor

-- Ending college is a huge transition, and it’s normal to experience mixed emotions during this milestone. It is an achievement, but also the end of time with a known community and a set of routines. Expect that your student may have mood swings and that they may not know to attribute these fluctuations to the current life event they are navigating.  Offer encouragement while making space for them to name that this may feel hard; the “real world” may feel quite daunting.
-- Recommend your student to engage in counseling! More than 1 in 4 Lasell students utilized the Counseling Center this year, and whether your child has accessed this support in the past, the challenges of navigating post-graduation life can be greatly supported by a neutral, caring professional who may have the clarity and distance you cannot offer as a parent. 
-- If your student is returning home, this is a big change for you both. They are not the same child you lived with in high school, so granting independence like they experienced in college may be helpful. It is also your right to communicate clearly and directly about the expectations and responsibilities you have for your child as they return to living under your roof.
-- Encourage your student to be open to all opportunities and make adventurous decisions, if possible. Students may learn a lot by traveling across the country for the summer or interning in a field they did not study during their time at Lasell, for example. Few of us knew precisely know what we wanted to do in life immediately upon graduation, and making space for exploring may allow your student to stumble upon the just-right next phase of their life. Their first job post-graduation doesn’t need to be amazing, just an opportunity to gain an income and begin to learn about what they are skilled in.
-- Cultivating and maintaining positive connections made while at Lasell requires intentionality. Encourage your student to have routine check-ins with friends from college (i.e., every other Sunday night Zoom call, if meeting up in person is not feasible.) Also, your student likely has professors or other members of the Lasell community who would be happy to write a letter of recommendation, and such letters are best written when the relationship is fresh in the mind of the writer. Encourage your student to connect with professors and other professionals on campus about any support they may be able to offer now and what a post-graduation relationship may look like.

Ashley Goulter - Assistant Director of Financial Aid 

-- All student borrowers who are graduating, leaving school, or dropping below half-time enrollment are required (per federal regulations) to complete exit counseling, even if they will be transferring into another school after leaving Lasell. Failure to complete exit counseling could result in a hold on records. 
-- Students may have received more than one type of loan under the Direct Loan Program. Each loan type has its own terms and conditions, such as interest rates. Students can find the interest rates for their Direct Loans and FFEL Program loans by logging in to their account at StudentAid.gov with your FSA ID (account username and password). The StudentAid.gov dashboard is the hub which houses all federal student loan (and any federal grant) information, including how to contact your loan servicer. Any Parent PLUS loan information is displayed under the Parent’s FSA Dashboard.
-- There are 4 parts to completing the exit counseling online: 1). Verify contact information 2). Understanding your loans 3). Preparing to repay 4). Determining a repayment strategy
-- For Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Direct PLUS Loans as a graduate or professional student, the repayment period begins when your grace period ends. Contact your loan servicer for any details about your upcoming repayment plan. 
-- Here is a guide to the Loan Exit Counseling, which is required for all graduating (or transferring) students (only for those who have borrowed their Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans).
-- Here is a video guide and the Student Acknowledgement Form Guide.  
-- Here is a good article from FSA for loan repayment tips.

Submitted Questions
 
Q: Do you have any jobs for students on summer?
A: All students can look for open on-campus job opportunities on MyLasell.

Q: When is graduate housing due?
A: August 20 
 
Q: My child wants to obtain her master’s degree. Any advice on that would be helpful.
A: The advice depends on what class year the student is – but first encourage your student to speak with any Enrollment Counselor. An Enrollment Counselor will walk through various programs (if the student is unsure which masters degree is right for them), understanding blended semesters (if the student is a current Junior, how to take graduate level courses next year for free if they meet certain academic thresholds), or undergraduate courses that will turn into a graduate course requirement waiver (if they’re a Junior/Senior). The Enrollment Counselor will also review the various start dates and any specific prerequisites if applicable for the program they’re desiring.

FAFSA Webinar (March 28)

This recap of the FAFSA Webinar that was held on March 28 has been condensed for brevity. If you have any questions, please contact Alexa Donegan ’16 G’20 (adonegan@lasell.edu), director of parent and community relations. Alexa kicked off the meeting with an overview of the agenda.

Tom Hunt, Associate Director of Financial Aid

-- Lasell’s cost of attendance (tuition, room, and board) for 2024-2025 is $41,080 for full-time students (12 or more credits).
-- If your family had a change in circumstances (loss of income, new job, financial changes, etc.) in the last 12 months, you should complete the FAFSA and fill out a Lasell appeals form explaining your change in circumstances.
-- Lasell will not start creating financial aid award packages for current students until after the completion of the spring semester. Bills for the fall semester will be posted in early July and are due in early August.
-- Lasell recommends that students and parents complete the FAFSA by the end of the semester to ensure that all information is available when financial aid award packages are being created.
-- Massachusetts residents should complete the FAFSA by May 1 to ensure that the student is eligible for additional funding through the state.
-- The amount of Lasell institutional financial aid will generally be the same as last year for returning students. Packages will be recalculated if a student changes from their status from residential to commuter or full time to part time.
-- You will not be able to make changes to FAFSA forms that have already been submitted until early April.

Q: I am in the midst of a court battle over dependence. How do I answer the FAFSA question about dependence?
A: If the student has separated or divorced parents, the student should list the family member who provided more than 50 percent of support in the last 12 months.

Q: I now have a limited income after retiring. Can my student receive additional financial assistance?
A: Yes, your retirement could qualify as a change of circumstance. You should complete an appeals form.

Q: Once the FAFSA has been submitted, when will students hear about financial aid for next school year?
A: Financial aid award packages for returning students will be available in late May or early June.

Q: How do I update the last FASFA I submitted?
A: Go to studentaid.gov and click on “Renew FAFSA” to start putting in financial information. If you filed a 2022 tax return and give permission, the information will automatically populate in the FAFSA. If it doesn’t, then you will have to enter the information manually.

Q: What tax year is used for determining financial aid for the 2024-2025 school year?
A: Tax year 2022.

Q: Do students have to reapply for financial aid every year?
A: Yes. To be eligible for federal financial aid, the FAFSA must be completed every year. For the 2025-2026 academic year, the FAFSA should be available in October 2024.

Q: What are the big changes in the FAFSA?
A: There are now two separate sections: one for the student and one for the parents. The student must grant the parents permission to complete the FAFSA. The new FAFSA is simplified and has many fewer questions. The number of students in college are not factored in as much as before in determining financial aid.