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College Counseling Update for Senior Parents | December 2017
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Early Decisions will be coming soon - for many students, right around December 15th. They are usually released online through the college's individual student portals. Below are some excellent articles that provide context behind the admissions decisions and how to support your children through this exciting yet nerve-wracking time!
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- "For every person whose contentment comes from faithfully executing a predetermined script, there are at least 10 if not 100 who had to rearrange the pages and play a part they hadn’t expected to, in a theater they hadn’t envisioned. Besides, life is defined by setbacks, and success is determined by the ability to rebound from them. And there’s no single juncture, no one crossroads, on which everything hinges." Frank Bruni, The New York Times.
- "Making sense of admissions decisions is nearly impossible. Remember, we don’t need to make sense of a decision that was made in seconds (yes, seconds). Even if we did, it still wouldn’t give justice to a student’s intellect, humanity, and potential. Instead, we need to encourage our kids to understand that they have done enough." Sara Harberson, HuffPost.
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What Our Seniors Are Telling Us:
- Ms. Hatch Blauvelt asked the seniors what message they want the adults in their lives to know about how to treat their college admission results and their feelings around them. It was a conversation with faculty and staff in mind, but we thought it was important to share with parents too. Below is a summary:
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Early or Regular, All Students Should...
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Complete all regular decision applications and make sure Naviance lists are accurate by December 15th. College Counseling will send all supporting documentation to colleges listed in Naviance prior to the winter break.
Check with top choice schools whether they offer interviews and try to schedule some. You may be able to interview via Skype or with a local alum.
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Ensure financial aid applications are completed thoroughly and on time. Ms. H sent a financial aid overview email to all parents and students back in October.
Here is a link to the email.
Take initiative to send test scores to schools. MHS will not send them on your behalf unless it's done during a counseling appointment (SAT or ACT scores) or you complete Ms. Coll's form for TOEFL.
Thoroughly read all emails from colleges to which you're applying and follow their instructions! Most will direct you to an online student portal to sign in to check your status and any additional required information.
Search and apply for college scholarships. Resources include MHS emails, what would be your local public high school's
guidance office or website, libraries, churches, local or national community organizations, businesses, and non-profits, including Horizons sites. Some public colleges and universities (particularly flagship state universities) keep large scholarship lists that you can use even if you’re not attending. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics
is also a great resource. There are also the widely known national websites, which have legitimate scholarships but tend to generate a lot of unwanted emails:
Fastweb
,
College Board
,
Peterson's
,
Cappex
, and
Unigo
.
Be prepared to share all admission and financial aid results with Ms. H and Ms. Virden.
Colleges won't communicate with us about you, so in order to maintain accurate records and benefit future seniors in the college search, please let us know your admission decisions and financial aid awards!
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I'm thrilled to join Miss Hall's School in my dream job after 11 years in college financial aid (most recently at Williams College). I grew up in Great Barrington, have my B.A. in Anthropology/ Sociology from Gettysburg College, and my M.Ed. in School Counseling from UMass Boston. I live in Williamstown with my husband Gerrit, almost 4 year old son Luka, and puppy Pepper. I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know all your talented children at this wonderful school, and grateful to have the former Director Ms. Sarah Virden as my fellow college counselor while she evolves in her new role as Director of Academic Counseling. -
Courtney Hatch Blauvelt
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