A Moment of College Counseling

Over the last few weeks, you may have heard a sound rumbling from the “Under GAC”... a great collective sigh of relief as many of our seniors submitted their early applications and applications to the University of California and California State University systems, along with other esteemed universities like Boston University, the University of San Diego, Gonzaga University, and the University of Texas. Hitting the “submit” button is a significant milestone for our seniors, and we are proud of the hard work they have put into getting to this point. Through our many years of experience working in the college counseling field, we have acquired a great deal of knowledge and expertise, as well as a firm belief that the process of applying to college is about much more than filling out forms, checking boxes, entering grades, and writing personal essays. Ideally, the college application process should be about self-discovery and reflection on personal values.

In fact, values are at the heart of our mission-driven approach to college counseling. Our school’s deeply held values such as risk-taking, exploration, the development of self knowledge, nurturing self-awareness and accountability, and fostering connections with others, and engagement with the greater world guide us in our work.

We know that the teenage brain is wired to crave novel experiences, to take risks, and to explore the world. We have taken that need for the “new” into account in our curriculum, with special programs like Exploratory and Intersession. We also consider this in our approach to college counseling, because when teenagers have the chance to experiment and learn new skills, they can discover exciting new passions that can become rewarding careers.

The primary task in the first two years of high school in terms of college preparation is to engage in and explore academics and meaningful co-curricular involvement. We have a light touch with our 9th and 10th grade students, providing course planning support and a few parent information sessions workshops, because we want our students to focus on establishing a strong academic foundation and investigating their interests and strengths, as well as fully embracing the high school experience (encouraging them to be present in the moment), showing gratitude, empathy, and a sense of responsibility, rather than obsessing about college outcomes in these early years. 

Instead of approaching activities with a “this-will-look good-on-my-resume” mindset, we encourage 9th and 10th graders to follow their existing interests, to have the courage to be a beginner, and to step outside of their comfort zones with a spirit of open-mindedness. These are all valuable qualities that distinguish students in the college application process. In fact, colleges do look for students who have developed a genuine love for learning for learning’s sake and are adept at sussing out those who have spent their high school careers ticking boxes for the “looks good on my college application” effect rather than developing genuine interests, passions, and skills that will contribute meaningfully to their academic journey in college.

By the time our students are ready to begin the college search, in the spring of 11th grade, the exploration afforded to them in their early high school years, as well as the course advising support they have received up to that point, will have helped them develop a strong academic foundation and a honed sense of self.

This self-knowledge is critically important as they embark upon their college search, so that they truly know what they want in their college years. We strive to put our students in the drivers’ seat through the college application process, confident about which direction they are heading.

 

Our curriculum goes beyond the college-prep basics offered at other high schools. We have a slate of unique Advanced Studies electives exploring topics like Postcolonial Literary Theory, Statistics, Medical Biochemistry, and Constitutional Law, in addition to AP offerings. College admissions officers recognize the unique opportunities and rigor available to our students, and they appreciate that our course offerings are not cookie-cutter, off-the-rack high school classes. Additionally, college admissions officers look at a student’s transcript in the context of the course offerings available to them--NOT in comparison to other school’s course offerings--and they assess breadth, depth, and rigor accordingly. Our AS classes do much more than simply prepare students for standardized tests; they are deep dives into complex subjects, with opportunities for sophisticated projects and intense research.

In the second semester of 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, we work with students to help them select a course load that will challenge them and provide a breadth of academic and artistic experience. We also promote a balanced approach as students make their curricular choices, leaving some space in their schedules for meaningful co-curricular involvement and leadership opportunities, and of course, time to relax and have fun!

Our approach to academic advising at Sonoma Academy involves both individual meetings with students and group sessions to discuss course selection. We collaborate closely with the Academic Services and Support Team to guide students in navigating Sonoma Academy's graduation requirements and understanding how their course choices impact college admissions.  

We (Rommel, CC Team, Department Chairs) will present at Community Meeting in February to discuss academic offerings and communicate our philosophy on prerequisites and Advanced Studies curriculum. 

During individual meetings and small group sessions, we will review what rigor looks like at SA. Since our baseline curriculum is designed to be college preparatory, we will counsel students on what it means to challenge themselves academically, especially in Honors and Advanced Study courses. Our focus extends beyond mere eligibility for college admissions; we emphasize counseling students to make intentional choices that align with their interests and passions. We discourage strategic planning solely for the sake of impressing college admissions. We advocate for students to pursue courses that they find meaningful and exciting, fostering a culture of genuine academic engagement. Of course, we will also address the concept of healthy academic risk-taking, ensuring that students are adequately prepared for the challenges posed by their chosen courses. Our goal is to instill a sense of purpose and ownership in students regarding their educational journey.  

 

Our school culture is one where we strive to ensure that every student is known and seen as an individual, and this is one of the foundational ideas in our College Counseling program. The small size of our school allows each of us to carry a caseload of about 40 students per class year, and we get to know those students very well during the time we are working with them. All in all, each student receives approximately 50 hours of in-class counseling and up to over 20 hours of individual college counseling during the 11th and 12th grade years.

Our College Counseling program begins in earnest in the spring of 11th grade, when every student takes a semester-long College Counseling class. This is when we work together to explore different types of colleges and post-secondary options, build comprehensive lists, brainstorm about essays, gain insights into the financial aid process, request letters of recommendations, develop time management and organization skills, and learn about how the process will look in senior year. We also begin meeting with students one-on-one. The fall semester of 12th grade includes another class, and individual meetings continue throughout the year so that we can check in on progress, answer questions, and process decisions together.

This personalized attention provides us with a deep understanding of each student’s unique profile of strengths, interests, preferences, goals, and financial and geographical considerations. This knowledge then allows us to help each student narrow in on a well-matched, deeply intentional college list with many strong options.

We do not have a template list of colleges we provide to students, but instead tailor-make a college list that takes into consideration all of the unique factors of each individual student and their family. Sometimes, this results in colleges on the lists that parents may not have heard of… mostly that is because there are literally thousands of exceptional colleges of all sizes and locations; while only a small number get the kind of brand name attention that makes them household names. Each fall, we host admissions representatives (both in-person and virtual) from many colleges of every kind–large universities and small liberal arts colleges, research institutions, arts colleges, service academies, etc–to help expose students to a wide variety of different kinds of educational programs. We want to assure parents that there are so many good options beyond these limited “brand-name” choices and we always strive to collaboratively create a tailored list that really meets the needs of the individual student. 

We work hard to help students find colleges that suit their needs and interests, and we enthusiastically support every possible pathway. We celebrate every graduate’s plan, whether that plan includes a gap year, a junior community college, a small liberal arts college, a private research institution, a large public university, a fine arts conservatory, an international university, or a trade program, with the same genuine joy and pride. We are confident that any road a student chooses will lead them toward a satisfying, interesting, and successful life– however they uniquely define those terms–because at SA, our students are given the tools they need to thrive in the real world.

As part of our comprehensive College Counseling education series, we will organize a Deans and Directors event scheduled for May. This event marks the culmination of a series that began with College 101 overview in the first quarter, followed by a College Affordability Night in the second quarter, and then the upcoming Academic Advising Overview in Spring semester.  

The Deans and Directors event aims to provide our families with a firsthand understanding of the current landscape of competitive college admissions. Over the course of a few days, Deans and Directors from liberal arts colleges, private research universities, and the University of California will visit our campus. The program will include meetings with the CC team, administrators, and department chairs, as well as engaging with students and staffulty. 

By facilitating direct interactions with select Deans and Directors and the SA community, we aim to offer valuable insights into the selective college admissions process and foster a deeper understanding among our students and their families.

In the months ahead, as our seniors begin to receive their decisions and start to solidify their future plans, this will be the most important message we hope to impart to them: college is not the end of the road, nor is it the only road. We believe that with the self knowledge, preparation, and caring community they have benefited from during their time here, they have the power to navigate through these next few years with grace and fortitude, on their way to an exciting future.

To help parents orient themselves to the college process and the various milestones and touch points over the course of the four years, we’ve created this College Counseling Timeline. And we look forward to getting to know each and every student here as they explore high school and, when the time is right, embark upon the college application journey. It’s an amazing experience and we are honored to be able to guide our students through it.