Graduating Seniors

FAQs for Graduating Seniors

Congratulations on your achievement!  Please see some Frequently asked questions that will be helpful as you depart from The Hotchkiss School.

1. Question: Can I keep my MacBook Air?

Answer: If you have been a student at Hotchkiss for more than one year, and you graduate, you may retain your device for future use beyond graduation. If you are a one year student and graduate, you will be expected to return your laptop after graduation.

2. Question: When will my Hotchkiss account be closed?

Answer: Please note that your Hotchkiss accounts will be accessible through June 19th. There will be no access to email or data in your Hotchkiss google account following that date.

3. Question: Can I transfer my information after my account is deactivated?

Answer: No.  The option to transfer data to another Google account is not available and files that are shared with other accounts will no longer be available after accounts are closed. 

4. Question: What can I use to transfer all of my data so that I can keep it?

Answer:  If you wish to download a copy of all of the data in your google account please use the Google Takeout service which is available at https://takeout.google.com/. This service will enable you to select the data you would like to download and copy it to your computer as an archive file. Be sure you have enough room on your hard drive or external drive to hold all the data.

*Note: Email is archived as an MBOX file which can be opened by email client software such as Apple Mail.

5. Question: How long will the Google Takeout Service take to complete?

Answer: It can take several days for Google to prepare your data for download.  You must complete the download before the end of the day on June 30th and this can take a long time depending on the amount of data you have.  Please, do not wait until June 30th to start the process as it might take several days to complete.

This Google Help article contains helpful information: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190?hl=en

6. Question: Will I still be able to use my Hotchkiss email address after June?
    

Answer: No, your email address will be unavailable after June.  If you used your Hotchkiss email address for communication with colleges or other post-graduate activities, be sure to update those places with a personal address before June 30.

7. Question: How can I reset my laptop and remove Hotchkiss related software from my device?

      Answer: Follow these steps below.  

BEFORE you reset remember to back up ALL of your data!

Requirements: You will need to keep your computer plugged into a power source and remain in range of a Wi-Fi signal.

Note: There are two sets of instructions. Follow the green/black instructions if you have a Model A2179 laptop. Follow the blue/black instructions if you have a Model A2337 laptop. The model number is written on the underside of your laptop.

Step 1: Reboot your Mac into recovery mode

Shut down your Mac. While the computer is powered down...

• If the bottom of your computer says "Model A2179" - Hold Command + R until you see a progress bar below the Apple logo.

• If the bottom of your computer says "Model A2337" - Hold the power button until you see a progress bar below the Apple logo.

This will put your computer into recovery mode. From here, select "Disk Utility" and click "Continue".

Step 2:  Erase the drive

With the Disk Utility Window active, Press Command + 2 to show all internal devices. Highlight "APPLE SSD XXXXXXX Media" and select "Erase". Enter "Macintosh HD" into the Name field, then click "Erase". 

• If the bottom of your computer says "Model A2179", your Mac's internal drive will be erased and you will need to reinstall the Operating System. Proceed to Step 3.

• If the bottom of your computer says "Model A2337", you will be prompted to confirm that you wish to erase this Mac, click "Erase Mac", then click "Erase Mac and Restart". Your computer's internal drive will be erased and your computer will restart in Recovery mode. Proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Reinstall Operating System

• If the bottom of your computer says "Model A2179", once you've followed those steps to erase drive, close the disk utility window. Click the Wi-Fi symbol in the top right corner and enter the credentials for the Wi-Fi network you wish to utilize.

• If the bottom of your computer says "Model A2337", after restarting, your Mac will indicate it requires a Wi-Fi network to proceed. Click the Wi-Fi symbol in the top right corner and enter the credentials for the Wi-Fi network you wish to utilize. Click "Next" to activate your Mac, then click "Exit to Recovery". 

Your Mac will now be at the macOS Recovery screen. Select "Reinstall macOS XXXXXXX", click "Continue", and "Agree" until you are presented with the option to select the installation drive. Click the "Macintosh HD" hard drive icon and click "Continue". 

The operating system will install complete over the next couple of hours (more or less). When the installation is complete, you will be presented with an out-of-box experience, similar to a newly purchased device, ie. your computer will no longer have Hotchkiss software installed.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at help@hotchkiss.org or stop by the Service Desk in the Library.