Cadet Guidance
The Delaware Military Academy Guidance Counselors provide students with academic and career planning assistance, help Cadets overcome barriers to success, and work one-on-one with students experiencing problems or crises.
College Planning
Launch Into Your Future Week 2023
Theme: Launch Into Your Future!
Dates: October 23-27, 2023
We will have Senior College Workshops monthly and representatives from universities, the military, and trades visiting every week! Go to your Class of 2024 Band App and click Events to see the schedule!
Who is Your College Counselor?
Last Name A-M
John Grant
Last Name N-Z
Debra Certesio
Cadets interested in ROTC, or Academy default to Mrs. Certesio.
Once you submit any college materials, you must allow 7-10 business days for your counselor to complete the request. If you would like to request a change in your college counselor, please put the request in writing and give it to Mrs. Certesio before you complete ANY college applications.
SAT Prep
All cadets should have a College Board online account by now and are hopefully using it on a regular basis. Once you login to your account, you should be able to see your SAT scores. Under your SAT scores, there is an option to ‘Understand your Scores’ or ‘Send Your Scores.’ Cadets are encouraged to click on the ‘Understanding your Scores’ and look at their strengths and weaknesses. If you click on the button that says “FREE SAT practice with Khan Academy,” cadets will be taken to the Khan Academy website where they can access their personalized SAT prep program.
If you scored below a 550 on any portion of the SAT in April, you should consider taking them again in the fall. You can register to take the SAT through your College Board account. Before you pay to take the SAT again, be sure to review your spring 2020 scores and spend some time preparing for the SAT.
SAT and ACT test dates are posted on the guidance calendar. Be sure to pay attention to the registration dates so you do not have to pay the late fee. Most colleges will “super score” which means they will take your BEST score for each section so it is always wise to take the SAT more than once (everyone has a bad test day once in a while). SAT and ACT fee waivers are available for cadets who qualify for free or reduced lunch. See Mrs. Certesio to get a fee waiver.
Resources for
Future Planning
DMA School Code for College Applications is: 080171
2023-24 Fee Waiver Matrix – Visit this link to learn about local schools that have a free application or have provided a Fee Waiver code and instructions for Launch into Your Future Month.
Big Future – This site is part of the college board and will help juniors and seniors to find schools that match their “wish list” as well as locate scholarships and planning resources.
Delaware Student Success Website – This is the Delaware Higher Education Office. On this site, cadets can register to access scholarships, gather college planning information and access the Academic Common Market (a hidden gem in DE). The college compendium (scholarship book) is also available on this site.
Department of Labor Careers – Use this site if you are interested in learning more about Trades and similar career paths.
Common App Step-by-Step Guide – Walks cadets step-by-step through each question of the Common Application.
Scholarship Search Engines
- Delaware Higher Ed Scholarship Account
- Delaware Scholarship Compendium
- Going Merry.com Scholarship Search
- Cappex College and Scholarship Search
- Fast Web Scholarship Search
- Chegg Scholarships Search
- Get Schooled: College and Career Guidance
- Delaware Scholarship Directory
- StudentScholarships.org
Scholarships
- SeniorCare.com Aging Matters Scholarship
- Boom and Bucket Scholarship
- The Lead Roster B2B Sales & Marketing Scholarship
- The Publicity.ai SEO & Content Marketing Scholarship
- BBB of DE Ed Foundation – Student Ethics Essay Scholarship
- The Dream.US National Scholarship Programs
- DSU Opportunity Scholars Program
- PhentermineClinics Health Scholarship
- Rotary Club of Newark, DE Scholarship
- Greensense EDIS III Scholarship
- Buzzi Scholarship
- Rotary Club of Wilmington, DE Scholarship
- Dunkin Donuts Scholarship
- SAME Scholarship Program
- City of Wilmington Mayor’s Scholarship
- North Carolina Central University Scholarship
- Balanced Man Scholarship
- Dave Reynolds Scholarship, Wesley College
- Dirk Derrick Car & Truck Accident Injury Scholarship
- RevenueZen Social Selling Scholarship
- Brooks Law Group Car Accident Scholarship
Congratulations!
Congratulations to cadets Maria Puka and Giada MacNamara who will be headed to the United States Naval Academy after graduation!
Bravo Zulu!
Congratulations to cadets Jackson Dorsey and Daniel Williams who will be headed to the
United States Coast Guard Academy after graduation!
Bravo Zulu!
Class of 2022 cadet Robert Pistoria will also be headed to the
United States Coast Guard Academy to join Jackson and Daniel for the Class of 2027!
Bravo Zulu!
Additional References
- ENGLISH
- MATH
- DRIVERS EDUCATION
- Practice Figure Eights – With parent guidance in the car, practice is permitted in empty high school parking lots.
If your course or level is not listed, no work is required for the course!
After-school tutoring occurs between 2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Math: Mondays & Thursdays
- English: Wednesdays & Thursdays
Math/Science Placement for Incoming 9th Graders
Placement of incoming cadets to honors math and science courses will be determined based on their 8th course and the final grade in the course:
- If your 8th grader was enrolled in pre-Algebra or 8th-grade math this year, they will be placed in Algebra I & Integrated Science for the 2021 – 2022 school year.
- If your 8th grader was enrolled in Algebra I this year and earned an 80% or higher, they will be placed in Honors Geometry & Honors Biology for the 2021 – 2022 school year.
- If your 8th grader was enrolled in Geometry this year and earned an 80% or higher, they will be placed in Honors Algebra II & Honors Biology for the 2021 – 2022 school year.
It is imperative that you look at your child’s progress in math this year and decide if your cadet should retake Algebra 1 in the 9th grade. Algebra 1 is the basis for all other math courses in high school and if you believe they have not gained all the prerequisite skills, we will honor your request to remain in Algebra 1 for the 2021-22 school year. These requests should be emailed to our Dean of Cadets, Amy Tocyloski.
English/Social Studies Honors Classes AND Spanish placement for incoming 9th graders
Placement of incoming cadets to honors English and Social Studies courses will be determined based on a placement test that will be administered on Saturday, May 1st. The placement test will take place in small groups, in-person, from 7:30 am until 8:45 am. Cadets who have completed previous Spanish courses will have the opportunity to move to Spanish 2 based on a placement assignment during this time. Cadets must be able to speak, read and write basic Spanish to be able to move to Spanish 2. Please contact Mrs. Tocyloski or Mrs. Certesio with any questions about placement.
2021 -2022 Academic Planning Info
DMA will be holding a virtual academic information night on March 29th at 6:30 pm. This program focuses on course options for all rising 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade cadets and their families. The meeting can be accessed here.
Here are the supporting documents for the Academic Information Night:
DMA’s freshman class is made up of cadets who have attended 30 different middle school programs. This creates a unique challenge as each of these programs follows a different curriculum. If your child is not placed in honors for freshman year, they will have the opportunity to move to honors in their 10th-grade year.