The first semester of the school year is a mad dash for the School’s college counselors as they prepare essays, write letters, and assist in the application process, but their work and responsibilities continue well into the second semester.

Their first duty is to continue working with the senior class on communicating with schools and making decisions. Director of College Counseling Ms. Anna Wright dedicates part of her day towards reaching out to schools and receiving feedback and information. 

“Right now we are helping seniors who have been deferred communicate in a positive way to their university and help to make sure they are still very much on that school’s profile, and we are also helping students decide where to go if they have gotten decisions back,” Ms. Wright said. “Today one of my tasks is to follow up with colleges that may be releasing decisions and just talking to them about what that means and what their numbers look like.”

On reassuring seniors in their process, Ms. Wright said,“I think one of the worst parts of being a senior is the anxiety that comes naturally with the college process so really we do a lot of stress relief and making sure students feel comfortable with everything.”

In addition to continuing their work with the seniors, the college counselors are meeting with juniors to start them on their path to college. 

“Starting in late December and early January we have to start taking our juniors into deeper consideration,” Ms. Wright said. “Right now the biggest thing that we have to do is help them pick their courses for next year, so we have to meet individually with all of our students to get that sorted out.” 

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has altered the way juniors compile the list of schools they wish to apply to. Ms. Wright said, “It’s looking very different this year because many juniors have not been on a college campus and have to do extra research to know what they will and won’t like in a school.”

Despite the challenges, Ms. Wright hopes to help her students get a general idea of their application list.“Not to necessarily have a solid list, but I want to help my students create a pretty good idea of where they are looking to apply. This way, they aren’t worried about having to do all that research next year, so next August when they start their school year they can just worry about the applications and not what their list looks like.”

The College Counseling Department is making up for the lack of visits by scheduling panels and virtual visits with numerous colleges and planning events that better prepare students for the elements of an application.

“It allows the actual admissions officers who read the applications to tell students what they are expecting and how it can be achieved. The panels help ease some of the stress students are feeling about the unknown.”

Summarizing the difference between the work done in the two semesters, Ms. Wright said, “The urgency we feel in the fall is much quieter, but there’s still a steady pile of things to do.”