College Counseling

Class of 2008 colleges and universities College handbook (pdf) and addendum Planning calendar College visitors Open houses Scholarship opportunities

Conquering the college interview Summer to-do list for rising seniors SAT dates and deadlines ACT dates and deadlines School profile 08-09 (pdf) Additional resources & gap year info

Summer to-do list for Rising Seniors

Read great books. The benefits of reading include: raising your SAT verbal score, having interesting things to say during your college interviews, becoming an even more scintillating conversationalist than you already are, and enriching your life. Some recommended authors and titles: anything by Jane Austen and/or the Bronte sisters, Vanity Fair by Thackeray, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, anything by Philip Roth, anything by Bill McKibben, The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, anything by Al Gore, Possession by A.S. Byatt.  Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Cather, Hemingway, Henry James.... You get the idea.

Write copiously. Continue writing in your journal; record thoughts, goals, reflections, observations, rants, dreams, etc. If you can’t think of anything to write, try one of Harry Bauld’s prompts.

Visit as many colleges as you can this summer (but not more than two in one day); the more you see, the more clearly you’ll know what’s important to you—and which schools are the best matches for you. Before you embark on your visits, review the list of college interview tips, especially the commonly asked interview questions.

Interview during your college visits whenever possible.

Keep in touch with your college counselor by e-mail; let him or her know which schools you’ve visited and how you’ve liked (or not liked) them. The better your college counselor knows you, the more helpful he or she can be as you go through the process.

Think about which two teachers you’ll ask to write your recommendations next fall. You’ll need one recommendation from a math/science teacher and one from a humanities teacher.

In August register for the October SAT and (possibly) the ACT.

Request applications from all of the colleges to which you think you’ll apply.

Write a draft of your college essay; your senior fall will be significantly less stressful if you complete a draft of the essay before you return to school next year.

Partake in experiences that are meaningful to you and use your journal to reflect on what’s meaningful about your various experiences (I read an excellent college essay about one student’s summer job at Subway; any experience can be profound.)

Have a great summer!