Preparing for College

During students’ junior and senior years, the college counselors work with students, individually and in groups, to move from the general to the specific in the college admissions process. Students are guided in selecting an appropriate range of college choices, completing the admissions process at those schools, and, ultimately, selecting which institution to attend. 

Students have access to a college admissions library with material from more than 1,500 institutions, computer software programs for test preparation, and financial aid information. The college counselors are available for conferences during Fall and Winter Family Weekends, and for individual appointments.

Junior Year

During Winter Term, students meet with the college counselors to discuss:

• College options
• Admissions criteria
• SAT/ACT scores
• Sources of information
• Initial career thoughts

During Spring Term, students will be assigned a counselor and will discuss:

• Preliminary college lists
• Learning more about targeted schools
• Summer visit plans

Senior Year

The initial emphasis is on narrowing a student’s list of college choices in preparation for the application process itself. Each student’s college counselor oversees the application process. Assistance is also provided in scheduling college visits during Fall Break as well as admission interviews with area representatives. Students also meet with college admission representatives who visit SSM.