While the search for the perfect college is still an exciting adventure, all this progress has made the process even more labor intensive…for everyone involved: students, parents, faculty, and most especially, the Counseling Department. Back in the day, if the process were perhaps considered a sprint, beginning in junior year and really picking up speed in senior year, today it is a marathon. And they hit the ground running… as freshman. Ninth-graders at Notre Dame are required to take a course called Freshman Guidance where, among other things, they learn about testing, time management, and transcripts – all aspects of high school life and the college prep process. Juniors and Seniors are required to take a course called the College Guidance Seminar, which includes counseling on the college search and application process, GPA’s, transcripts and other forms, essay writing, interviewing, financial aid, scholarships, and more. During that time, Ellen and/or a member of her team meet with every single NDP junior and senior and her parents. They also host guest speakers, college admissions officers, and other experts in the field. Ellen calls the course “boot camp for college” in the sense that it is an intensive time in which the students are immersed in the college prep and admissions process. If a student is on track, she will begin visiting colleges during her junior year spring break, continue doing so through the following summer and into the early part of her senior year. But by the end of junior year, every student should have a tentative list of schools to which she’d like to apply. I met with 3 seniors – Amanda Abraham, Minnie Jang, and Erin Caubo – who are right on track and feel good about their lists and their chances for admission. Two of the girls are interested in pre-med and one is interested in business. The list of schools they are applying to is quite impressive and ranges from the Ivy League to some of the top private and public institutions in the country. Individually and collectively the girls had nothing but praise for the guidance department, to whom they have unfettered access. The girls were almost teary in their appreciation.
“…But it’s nice to have someone objective to talk to.” Minnie said, finishing Erin’s sentence.
“Yeah! Like scholarships. There are literally thousands of scholarships offered every year. The counselors bring all that info to our attention, help us go after the aid we need…” said Erin.
“Plus,” added Minnie, “They just guide you through the whole process. Every girl here has a list of schools she wants to apply to and that list usually includes schools that are a ‘reach’, schools that are a really good fit, and a couple of ‘safe choices.’ You really can’t lose,” Minnie concluded.
It’s true. In the end, it is the young woman who gets herself into college. It is her test scores, her GPA, what her teachers say about her in their letters of recommendation, and what she says about herself in her personal essay that makes or breaks her chances of getting into the college of her choice. But in the process, Director of Counseling, Ellen Starr, and her team will do absolutely everything in their power to bring the right schools to each girl’s attention and – harder still – to bring each girl to a school’s attention. This requires a tremendous amount of one-on-one attention within NDP and considerable networking outside NDP, between Ellen and the thousands of college admission directors around the country. It is a daunting task, but one that Ellen and her team thrive on and love. To help them manage all these relationships and applications, not to mention, expectations and communications, the department has a state of the art computer program called Naviance, which helps them organize and track each student’s college application process. If a school calls and says, “We didn’t get Susie’s letter of recommendation with the rest of her package,” all Ellen has to do is look at her computer and say, “Sorry, you’re mistaken. That was sent on September 5th and signed by so and so on the 7th.” Just one more value-added benefit NDP provides to students whose applications are but one of thousands sitting on any given college admission director’s desk. Which, at the end of the day, is what Ellen and her team care about the most.
“The best part of my job is sitting down and getting to know each student. Learning who they are and what they aspire to. I tell them, ‘I’m a dream-weaver.’ I want to help make their college dreams come true. As an administrator, a good year to me would be if 100% of the girls get some sort of scholarship. Last year, 92% of the class received scholarships. So, we’re getting close to our goal. But personally, I just want to see every one happy. When an alum comes back for a visit and says, ‘ I love it! I love college’ …well, that makes me happy,” Ellen said with a smile. And then, another student knocked on her door, looking for a little advice, and I left Ellen to her weaving.
Wow – as a member of that long ago class, 1964, fifty – I can’t even believe that number – years ago, I would have loved to have something like this. Congratulations to all the girls in the class of 2014 – NDP has served me well, even without all the IT that we have today.