College Counseling at St. Margaret's

During this time of year, parents of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors frequently ask two questions: how do I plan a college visit and what should my child do this summer? The SMES College Counseling office offers these tips:

When planning college visits keep an open mind about college choices. Don’t narrow the search too early in the process. There are a few reasons for this.

• Students will learn a lot about themselves during their final years in Upper School. They will mature and possibly develop new likes and dislikes.
• Your child will begin to become more independent as she or he matures.
• Your child’s academic profile is still developing; this is an important factor in making a college match.

While these are important factors to consider in making a college match, the college counseling office understands that some parents cannot avoid becoming anxious about the looming prospect of college. If this is the case, start visiting colleges. The purpose of your visit should be to see the differences that exist among college choices. By going on tours and attending information sessions, the student, and parents can begin to learn the “language” of college admission

The process should be that simple at this early point. The college counseling office believes that students should spend time being high school students. Students who are fully engaged in the wonderful things that this school has to offer will be the best applicants when it comes time to apply to college.

In planning for college, summers can and should be used productively. This doesn’t mean that everyone NEEDS to find something exotic to do over the summer. In fact, getting a job may produce the best learning experiences for any high school student. If a student is interested in finding formal programs, many universities have summer programs for high school students.

Some of the better known programs are at Boston University, Boston College, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Cornell and Columbia. Many of the New England boarding schools have interesting summer programs. Andover’s math and science program is highly respected. Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism has a strong program for aspiring writers, as do Kenyon College, Lewis and Clark College and Duke University. International programs are offered by the Oxbridge Academic programs at Oxford and Cambridge Universities and in the south of France. The Oxbridge programs are better suited for older students (rising juniors and seniors) and, TASIS (The American School in Switzerland) offers highly structured programs in Switzerland, France and England, which works nicely for younger students whose parents prefer a more supervised environment. There are hundreds of possible opportunities available to students. The college counseling office catalogs a number of programs that may be of interest.