Page 5 - Priorities #11 1999-October Annual Report

College Counseling Center
Every student in the Class of 1999 was accepted to his or her first or second choice school. I am impressed with these students because choosing a school which is a good “match” involves a long process of self- reflection, talking with their teachers and families, researching into the various schools, and then taking into account financial and personal considerations. It’s not a quick or an easy process, but these students obviously did their work well and made choices that were most appropriate for themselves.
Graduates of the Class of 1999 were accepted at more than 125 schools, including some of the country’smosthighlyselectiveinstitutions: UCLA, University of Chicago, Stanford, Berkeley, United States Naval Academy, Oberlin, University of Southern California, Sarah Lawrence, and Boston University, among others.
Students continue to have access to tremendous resourcesforresearchingcolleges. TheCollege Counseling office now provides two computer-based college-search programs, ExPan and College View. This year we added College Search, an on-line service that provides access to 10,000 complete college catalogs. Other reference materials include up-to-date college catalogs, books on a variety of college-based topics, videos and CD-ROMS which enable students to “tour” campuses from their homes. While the formal college counseling process begins in the junior year, freshmen and sophomores often drop by just to chat casually about schools or about their own schedules. Students and parents are always welcome to make appointments and come in at any time, as a family or individually.
Betty Van Wagenen, Director of College Counseling
I had the opportunity to visit more than 30 college campuses over the summer, thanks to the summer grants program, and I visited six more in late September. This is very beneficial. When I step on the campus, see the physical setting and learn about their specific programs, one of the Priory students sometimes literally jumps into my mind and I know this is just what he or she has been looking for. The personal contacts are especially beneficial - now I can pick up the phone and ask for the right person by name when I want to intercede on a student’s behalf.
Betty Van Wagenen
Director of College Counseling.