January has arrived, and as we look ahead to the President’s State of the Union address later this month, it seemed appropriate to provide our own State of the College Office.

 

January is a busy month in our corner of the Upper School. While decisions continue to arrive for the seniors who filed applications under early decision, early action and rolling decision admission plans, we gear up for our more intensive work with juniors and some additional programming for other classes.

 

Individual meetings with juniors have begun already, but Junior College Night on Thursday, January 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Theatre will officially kick off our new cycle with the class of 2017. This year we will be hosting a panel of four deans — Chris Gruber from Davidson College in North Carolina, Mary Lou Bates from Skidmore College in NY, Kevin MacLennan from the University of Colorado at Boulder and Mark Hatch from Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

 

On Friday, January 15 from 8:30-10 a.m. in Knowles Lecture Hall, Deans Gruber and Bates from Davidson and Skidmore have graciously agreed to extend their stay at CA in order to host an informal Q&A for underclassman parents. All are welcome!

 

On Wednesday or Thursday, January 20 or 21, from 4:00-8:00 p.m., we will provide one-on-one guidance sessions on filing financial aid applications for seniors attending CA on substantial scholarship. Financial Aid experts from the University of Denver are expected to attend.

 

So far this year, seniors have submitted 216 applications. Twenty-one students (24% of the senior class) submitted Early Decision applications, meaning they applied to one first-choice college — if accepted they are obligated to attend, withdrawing all other applications. The remaining 195 applications submitted were primarily Early Action applications which are non-binding (students have until May 1, the National Reply Date, to decide where they’d like to enroll) along with some rolling decision applications, submitted primarily to public institutions which process files on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

As of the writing of this article in mid-December, 73 results have arrived — 55 acceptances (75%), 10 deferrals (meaning applications are rolled over into the regular decision pool) and 8 denials. Of the Early Decision results returned so far, 9 were accepted, 4 were deferred and 1 was denied.

 

As the second half of the school year begins, we will continue our work with the seniors, helping them polish off any applications to be submitted in January and February, sending second trimester grades along to their colleges by early March, and waiting to help support them as the news rolls in by April 1. April is an exciting month for seniors as they evaluate their options, compare financial aid packages, sometimes re-visit campuses, and eventually make their decisions by May 1.

 

In the meantime, we’ll be continuing our meetings with juniors and their parents, helping them build their college lists, finalize standardized testing plans, and plan college trips over spring break or summertime. We also make ourselves available to freshman and sophomore parents for informal class college chats in April.

 

Once August arrives, we’ll be off and running with the new class of seniors, launching them through the nuts and bolts of applying via the Application Boot camps run by our office the week before school starts, along with an essay- writing workshop. Essay brainstorming and review will ensue in earnest as the school year begins, and a new group of seniors will begin their application submission by November 1. A new cycle begins!

 

As we remind students and parents regularly, college is a journey, not an end, in and of itself. Similarly, CA itself is a worthwhile journey; students who engage in the present rather than obsessing about future outcomes see pay-offs in terms of their college search readiness. From the start of this process until the end, students grow and mature, often changing their mind on the type of college experience they seek, as they become more self-aware. Once in college, students change their majors and thoughts on careers as they discover fields they often never knew existed. They may quit one sport and pick up another they’ve never tried before. A study abroad program opens up eyes as to possibilities in the world. Some students take gap years or semesters during their college years to explore interests and return with a more purposeful focus on their education, or some take time off before they enroll in college with the intent of making their college years more meaningful.

 

Endless possibilities exit for their paths ahead, but the College Office team is here to guide CA students along the way.