| 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:
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.
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.
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.
Meeting
College Representatives
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.
If
we include the St. Stephen's college fair and depending
on the year, approximately 65 colleges visit the school
each year.
Reference
books:
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)
What
can I do now?
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
Links
University
Choices
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Graduates of St. Stephen's school from the past
three years have matriculated to the following colleges
and universities: |
USA/Canada: Allegheny College; Arizona
State University; Baldwin-Wallace College; Bard College;
Barnard College; Beloit College; Boston University; Brown
University; University of Chicago; Carnegie-Mellon University;
Columbia University; Connecticut College; The Culinary
Institute of America; Dickinson College; Duke University;
The George Washington University; Georgetown University;
Gordon College; Grinnell College; Hampshire College; Harvard
University; Johns Hopkins University; Lewis & Clark
College; McGill University; Michigan Technological University;
Middlebury College; New York University; University of
Notre Dame; Ohio Wesleyan University; Pace University;
University of Pennsylvania; Plattsburgh State University;
Princeton University; Reed College; Sarah Lawrence College;
School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Stanford University;
Swarthmore College; University of Toronto; Tufts University;
Trinity College; Vassar College; University of Vermont;
University of Virginia; West Virginia University; Wesleyan
University; Yale University.
Worldwide:
American University of Paris (France); American University
of Rome (IT); University of the Arts London (UK); University
of Bath (UK); Università Bocconi (IT); University
of Brighton (UK); University of Bristol (UK); University
of Cambridge (UK); City University (UK); University College
London (UK); Courtauld Institute of Art (UK); University
of Durham (UK); University of Edinburgh (UK); European
Institute of Design (SP); University of Glasgow (UK);
Imperial College of Science and Technology (UK); Istituto
Marangoni (IT); John Cabot University (IT); University
of Kent (UK); King’s College (UK); Kingston University
(UK); Les Roches (SZ); University of London (UK); London
Metropolitan University (UK); London School of Economics
(UK); LUISS (IT); Open University (UK); University of
Oxford (UK); University of Reading (UK); Regents Business
School (UK); University of Sheffield (UK); University
of Southampton (UK); School of Oriental and African Studies
(UK); University of St. Andrews (UK); University of Strathclyde
(UK); University of Stirling (UK); University of Surrey
(UK); University of Sussex (UK); University of Warwick
(UK); National Universities in Australia, Denmark, Germany,
Holland, Italy, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sweden.
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