<b>College Counseling Program: A Primer on the College Process</b>
Millbrook's V form parents brought plenty of questions with them to the recent College Counseling Program, as they joined us for a full day in February to explore in-depth the complicated and important college process.
Fortunately, they had the opportunity to get their questions answered, speak with an experienced college admissions officer and a highly regarded financial aid director, and meet with college representatives from a wide variety of institutions of higher learning.
The program kicked-off with a mock admissions workshop, as parents met with Terry Cowdrey, vice president and dean of admissions at Colby College, before breaking up into small groups. After reviewing complete college applications for three qualified students, parents in each group had to decide which student to admit, which to waitlist, and which to deny. This exercise is designed to demonstrate the complexity of the process, the multitude of factors and the balancing of these factors, the difference in outcomes depending on who is reviewing the applications, and the unfortunate fact that most colleges and universities receive far too many applications from qualified students for the spots available. The lesson learned: students can't possibly write their application to suit every reader, so they must simply create the most genuine representation of themselves, their passions and their achievements.
After lunch parents met with Millbrook's Director of College Counseling Nancy Keller-Coffey in the Flagler Memorial Chapel. This special program was dedicated to explaining Millbrook's college counseling process - the nuts & bolts, the planning, the timing, and the testing - and discussing some of the current trends in college admissions. Nancy conveyed to parents the crux of the college counseling program: it is truly a voyage of self-discovery for the student, beginning with the very first list of colleges the student puts together for himself/herself. The college counselors are here to guide and answer questions, but the exploration, the thought, and the work that needs to go into the process, must be done by the student.
While parents met in the chapel, students were doing practice interviews with college representatives in the Wray Gymnasium before the mini college fair began. Nearly 50 colleges were in attendance, and once the fair was underway, representatives met with both students and parents. It was a great opportunity for everyone to ask questions, pick up brochures, and get a glimpse of the range of size, type, and academic focus of different institutions.
The final session of the day was a financial aid presentation by Roberta Daskin, associate director of financial aid at Sarah Lawrence College. Her presentation was clear and pithy, a challenge when speaking about the very complicated financial aid process. Her iimportant takeaways included: how the process works, where and when to begin applying for FA, and the most useful and reliable resources.
Both V form parents and students left campus with information and insight into the college process at Millbrook, as well as the college's perspective in the admission process. We hope this day also provided an impetus for each student to ask more questions and delve into the quest to find the best place to pursue his/her higher education.
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The program kicked-off with a mock admissions workshop, as parents met with Terry Cowdrey, vice president and dean of admissions at Colby College, before breaking up into small groups. After reviewing complete college applications for three qualified students, parents in each group had to decide which student to admit, which to waitlist, and which to deny. This exercise is designed to demonstrate the complexity of the process, the multitude of factors and the balancing of these factors, the difference in outcomes depending on who is reviewing the applications, and the unfortunate fact that most colleges and universities receive far too many applications from qualified students for the spots available. The lesson learned: students can't possibly write their application to suit every reader, so they must simply create the most genuine representation of themselves, their passions and their achievements.
After lunch parents met with Millbrook's Director of College Counseling Nancy Keller-Coffey in the Flagler Memorial Chapel. This special program was dedicated to explaining Millbrook's college counseling process - the nuts & bolts, the planning, the timing, and the testing - and discussing some of the current trends in college admissions. Nancy conveyed to parents the crux of the college counseling program: it is truly a voyage of self-discovery for the student, beginning with the very first list of colleges the student puts together for himself/herself. The college counselors are here to guide and answer questions, but the exploration, the thought, and the work that needs to go into the process, must be done by the student.
While parents met in the chapel, students were doing practice interviews with college representatives in the Wray Gymnasium before the mini college fair began. Nearly 50 colleges were in attendance, and once the fair was underway, representatives met with both students and parents. It was a great opportunity for everyone to ask questions, pick up brochures, and get a glimpse of the range of size, type, and academic focus of different institutions.
The final session of the day was a financial aid presentation by Roberta Daskin, associate director of financial aid at Sarah Lawrence College. Her presentation was clear and pithy, a challenge when speaking about the very complicated financial aid process. Her iimportant takeaways included: how the process works, where and when to begin applying for FA, and the most useful and reliable resources.
Both V form parents and students left campus with information and insight into the college process at Millbrook, as well as the college's perspective in the admission process. We hope this day also provided an impetus for each student to ask more questions and delve into the quest to find the best place to pursue his/her higher education.
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