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St. Stephen's college counseling office is
staffed by the Director of College Counseling. The college counseling
office is available to students of all grades. In addition to
college admissions counseling, on a broader level the focus is
on developing students' interests and skills in whatever color,
shape, or form they may be.Counseling students on summer enrichment
programs and activities is also a priority. While primary assistance
is offered to our senior and junior classes, grade level information
is listed below:
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Grade 9 - Students are strongly encouraged
to contribute to the life of the school through participation
in extracurricular programs. College preparation for a freshman
includes coming through with a strong academic performance that
will provide a solid grade point average, which begins with developing
good study habits and skills. US colleges will consider a student's
freshman year performance, and the grades earned in this first
year will be factored into the St. Stephen's cumulative GPA.
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Grade 10 - Depending on their academic
performance, some students may be ready to take the PSAT in October.
Again, the primary responsibility of a sophomore is to build upon
his or her freshman year's academic performance. The sophomore
year constitutes the first "trend year" in which a college
will begin to see academic patterns.
Many students and parents elect to participate in a unique career
profile exercise developed and administered by Step One, a company
based in the UK. This test examines students' skills and interests
and provides a detailed analysis of how students' personal and
academic potential match career choices.
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Grade 11 - Juniors meet with visiting
college admission representatives during the fall and spring.
All Grade 11 students take the PSAT in October. Scores on this
test determine National Merit Scholarship status for juniors and
identify strengths and weaknesses in scholastic preparation and
aptitude.
All juniors and their parents complete a lengthy questionnaire
about their interests and priorities, due by the Thanksgiving
break. In addition, all juniors write a Curriculum Vitae. Through
this experience, students begin to track in detail their accomplishments
and activities as an individual and student. The CV can be used
in their application portfolio for US colleges and in applying
for jobs, summer enrichment programs, and internships.
In January, Grade 11 students and their parents attend College
Orientation Evenings to receive explanation of the college admissions
and application process, and determine criteria for selection
of U.S. and U.K. colleges. After the college evening for juniors,
each student arranges a family meeting with the college counselor
to begin discussing the student's personal and academic development,
summer enrichment options, and college choices.
In the spring, as practice for the following year, juniors complete
a draft of the Common Application (US) and UCAS application (UK)
and edit it with the help of the College Counselor. They will
also be preparing and taking practice SAT I tests.
Juniors planning to apply to US colleges take the SAT I in May
and three SAT IIs in June. During the summer months, students
visit the universities that they have been researching in order
to determine a final list of colleges that they will apply to
in the fall semester.
Grade 12 - The Director of College Counseling continues
to offer individual student and family meetings on an as-needed
basis.
The college counselor collects information regarding academic
progress and performance from each student's teachers and previous
academic year records to prepare for advising students on college
choices and in writing letters of recommendation.
Workshops are offered to students on a variety of topics including
completion of the UCAS on-line application for UK universities,
writing the personal statement, and interviewing for U.S. and
U.K. institutions.
In the fall, seniors meet with visiting college admission representatives
and ask teachers to write their college recommendations (required
for US colleges only).
US-bound seniors typically take their final SAT in October and
their final SAT II in November or December. Throughout the admissions
process, seniors and parents keep the college counseling office
informed as to progress, problems, acceptances, and final choices.
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Meeting
College Representatives
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Juniors and seniors may meet with selected
university admissions representatives who visit St. Stephen's
during the spring and fall. Visits will be announced in the Monday
and Friday morning meetings, on the bulletin board at the entrance
of the school, and in the Parents Association Newsletter.
Students must check in with their teachers before going to a college
presentation and are responsible for all material covered during
the missed class. Faculty who feel that a student should not miss
a class for academic reasons have the authority to require a student
to be in class.
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If we include the St. Stephen's college fair
and depending on the year, approximately 65 colleges visit the
school each year.
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Reference
books:
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St. Stephen's School College Handbook
The Fiske Guide to Colleges (Fiske)
Greenes' Guide to the Hidden Ivies (Greene)
The Times Good University Guide (The Sunday Times)
Maclean's Guide to Canadian Universities (Maclean's)
On Writing the College Application Essay (Bauld)
The Internship Bible (The Princeton Review)
The Gap Year Guidebook (Peridot Press)
Letting Go (Coburn &Treeger)
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What can
I do now?
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Consider buying a Fiske Guide to Colleges for
the US and The Times Good University Guide for UK universities;
become familiar with all different kinds of schools, not just
the "brand-name" schools.
Students and parents should recognize that they cannot control
the college admissions process, but they can control their knowledge
base.
Best Courses for College
Colleges want to see students who can talk about their coursework
meaningfully.
Colleges want to see students who are versatile, excited learners
at any level. They want to see students who are not afraid to
make a mistake or to think out of the box.
A Word of Advice
Students who have the most successful and the most stress-free
time applying to colleges are students who come from families
in which researching a variety of schools with an open mind is
a clear priority AND choosing appropriate coursework in junior
and senior years is a clear priority.
Course Loads
Five solid courses are required
No more than six solid courses is recommended
When considering additional courses, make sure to leave time for
sports, extra-curricular activities, and out of school commitments.
Click on any of the links on this page to start your search for
college information. In addition, feel free to contact me at college.counselor@ststephens-rome.com,
or come to the college counseling office.
I look forward to working with you in this important decision-making
process.
Alison Lewis
Director of College Counseling
St. Stephen's CEEB Code: 748600
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Links
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University
Choices
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Stephen's school from the past
three years have matriculated to the following colleges and
universities: |
USA/Canada: Bard College; University
of Chicago; City College of Santa Barbara; Colorado State University-
Colorado Springs; Columbia University; Cornell University; Dartmouth
College; Haverford College; Indiana University- Bloomington; James
Madison University; Johns Hopkins University; Manhattanville College;
Marymount College; Mary Washington College; Massachusetts College
of Art; Menlo College; New York University; University of Pennsylvania;
Princeton University; Purdue University; Scripps College; Swarthmore
College; University of Toronto; Tufts University; Tulane University;
Union College; Vassar College; Villanova University; University of
Virginia; Webster University; Wesleyan University; Yale University;
York University.
Worldwide: American
University in Rome (IT); University of Bath (UK); Università
Bocconi (IT); University of Brighton (UK); University of Bristol (UK);
University of Cambridge; Central St. Martins College of Art and Design
(UK); City University (UK); University College Dublin (IRE); University
of Durham (UK); University of Exeter (UK); Université de Genève
(Switzerland); University of Glasgow (UK); Imperial College of Science
and Technology (UK); John Cabot University (IT); King's College (UK);
University of Leicester (UK); London School of Economics (UK); LUISS
(IT); Open University (UK); School of Oriental and African Studies
(UK); University of Oslo (Norway); University of Oxford (UK); Università
di Parma (IT); Politecnico di Milano (IT); University of Portsmouth
(UK); Les Roches (Switzerland); Università di Roma III (IT);
Università di Roma "La Sapienza" (IT); Università
di Roma "Tor Vergata" (IT); Royal Academy of Music (UK);
University of Sheffield (UK); University of Southampton (UK); Stellenbosch
University (South Africa); University of Sussex (UK); University College
London (UK); Victoria University (AUS); University of Warwick (UK);
University of Westminster (UK); University of York (UK); National
Universities in Australia, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, and Sweden.
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- News from the College Counselor
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- Monthly updated news from the College
Counselor can be found in the Parents' Association Newsletter in
the NEWS section of this website. Click here to go directly there.
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