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Who Does What?ParentsThe National Association of Independent Schools' Surviving the College Search describes the parents’role as fourfold:1. The parent is a mentor, helping the student to assess strengths and weaknesses,maintaining the "balance between optimism and realism."2. The parent is a counselor, keeping expectations realistic and helping the student to lookbeyond the advertising and "bling" associated with the college search towards more maturecriteria in shaping the list.3. The parent is an honest source of information, letting the student know of any limitations(e.g., financial) that must be taken into account during the process.4. Lastly, the parent is a partner, keeping in mind the student's best interests throughout theprocess.Specifically, a parent can:• help the student make a timetable and stay organized• watch for signs of burnout, etc.• stay in touch with WT's college counselor throughout the processStudentThe student's is the central role in the process of selecting and applying to colleges. It is thestudent's responsibility to:• register for and take the necessary standardized tests• obtain and assess information about colleges• take the most challenging courses in which (s)he can be successful• find out and meet all application deadlines• request teacher recommendations by September• inform teachers about application deadlines• keep the college counselor informed throughout the processCollege CounselorThe College Counselor's tasks include the following:• Post information about testing dates and deadlines• Post information about colleges visiting WT• Help students assess information about colleges• Assist students in making a list of match schools• Be an advocate for the student vis à vis the college• Write a recommendation for the student5
Selecting and Comparing CollegesIt makes good sense to begin your search with a list of schools. In our second meeting during thelate winter, we will compile a preliminary list including schools that you would like to considerand possibly a few suggestions from your counselor. A very important part of the college processconsists of then adding and subtracting names from this list until you arrive at a final group ofseven or eight schools to which you would like to apply. You can expand or trim down your liston the basis of certain criteria such as the following.LocationSetting• Which areas of the country are particularly desirable?• Remembering that part of the purpose of a college education is to expand yourhorizons, how flexible are you about looking at other areas of the country, Canada,overseas?• Urban: the excitement of city life off-campus is sometimes offset by concerns aboutsecurity, virtual lack of a real campus (i.e. community).• Suburban: security and comfort of a well-defined campus are sometimes balancedby a lack of off-campus life (yes, maybe the city is in easy reach by publictransportation, but how often do students actually take advantage of this?).• Rural: peace and quiet, tight-knit campus communities, and ample study time areheaven to some, less desirable to others.Programs of interest• Do you have a definite plan for a college major? If not, make sure you are lookingat schools with lots of variety.• What are your academic interests? Does the college have rich enough offerings inthese areas?• Are admissions criteria different for different areas within the university?Size• Remember that nearly all “small” liberal arts colleges are at least ten times the sizeof WT’s Upper School, and that the population is spread out over a campus.• We can classify schools generally in the following terms:Small: 1,000-3,000 studentsMedium: 3,000-8,000 studentsLarge: 8,000-20,000 studentsExtra-large: 20,000+ studentsExtracurriculars• Does the school offer the sport, drama, art, club activities that are important to you?6
Page 1 and 2: College Selection Handbookfor theCl
Page 4 and 5: A Master Schedule of the College Se
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Page 12 and 13: The College Visit and InterviewThe
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Page 16 and 17: Sample Teacher FormWINCHESTER THURS
Page 18 and 19: College Application ChecklistI. "Pe
Page 20 and 21: The Internet is a very useful means
Page 22 and 23: 2012 Advanced Placement Exam Schedu
Page 24 and 25: Thank You Note After an InterviewNa
Page 26 and 27: 555 Parhelic CirclePittsburgh, PA 1

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