Freshmen and Sophomores:

In order to help students set and reach their goals and maximize their potential, we offer a pre-college planning program for freshmen and sophomores.  This program includes the proactive design of a plan that addresses academic coursework, extracurricular activities, and summer programs/jobs.  It also includes individual counseling to encourage personal growth and development.

This program consists of three meetings, each lasting approximately one hour, encompassing the following:

First Meeting (early to mid-spring, with parent)
I will spend time getting to know your child both personally and academically.  We will discuss academic progress to date, course selections for the following year, interests, extracurricular activity involvement, resume building, and summer plans. 

Second Meeting (after year-end grades are available) 
This meeting is a one-on-one meeting with the student and me.  We will discuss student’s perceived strengths and weaknesses, personal goals and aspirations (and how these relate to the strengths and weaknesses).  The student may also complete a computer-based introductory career interest inventory. We will begin to discuss college visitations and types of colleges that may be in line with his/her interests, goals, and grades/scores to date.

Third Meeting (November of the following year)
We will check progress in all areas to date, set personal and academic goals for the first semester, start discussing the sophomore- and/or junior-year timeline, including starting the college process, college visits, standardized testing, etc.

Comprehensive 9th -12th   and 10th -12th grade  packages are also available.

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Juniors and Seniors:

The formal college planning and selection process ideally begins no later than the spring of the student's junior year.  However you can begin this process as late as the fall of the student's senior year and still be successful.  The more ownership the student takes in this process, the more rewarding it will ultimately be. 

The following outlines my general approach to working with students, but is designed to be flexible to accommodate each family's needs. 

Initial Meeting
The first meeting will take approximately 2-3 three hours and will encompass an overview of the entire application process, as well as the financial aid process, college visitations and general interview  and essay techniques.  We will review transcripts, report cards and course selections for the following year, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, honors and awards, and summer plans. We will also discuss what you and your child are looking for in a college and any schools currently under consideration.

Standardized Testing Preparation
We will make recommendations for a testing timeline and discuss different types of test preparation depending on the needs of each student.  We have a list of private SAT/ACT tutors and companies we work with and will make appropriate recommendations.

List Development and Research Facilitation
After the initial meeting, we will research all college options and generate a customized list of potential schools based on information gleaned at our initial meeting and the results of an in-depth survey the student will complete and review at the first meeting. We will set up a Skype session with each student to walk them through how to effectively research a college online so that they are able to make an informed choice as to how each school “rates” in terms of their own priorities.  Together we will work with the student and family to refine the list to facilitate the decision of where your child should apply.   

Essays, Applications and Interviews
During the summer and fall of senior year, we will focus on completing the essays and supplements for the applications. We do a brainstorming session to help the student develop ideas for the main essay and any supplements. As the student is writing the essay drafts, we provide feedback until the essay is finalized.

We will work together to determine the application timeline for each student, including whether to take advantage of Early Decision and Early Action options.   We provide online tools to help the student keep track of schools, requirements and essays.  We will review applications for accuracy and thoroughness before they are submitted.  As needed, we will also conduct a mock-interview.  

 

Decision Support and Financial Aid
For students who receive multiple school acceptances, we can help facilitate the decision-making process by helping the student and family evaluate pro’s and con’s of each.  We also offer a financial aid workshop in the fall to address how “regular people” can afford to send their kids to college.  

We, of course, are here provide consultation and answer any questions you have along the way.

 

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