Monthly College Counseling Update: December/January 2024

Seniors

It is a good time for seniors to consider a point-of-contact with any schools they were deferred from, or are awaiting a decision. They can ask for assistance from their college counselor. This communication can make mention to semester grades, include any application updates, and a message of continued interest. Next round of early action decisions should be reaching students in the next two weeks. ED2 decisions will probably be released in mid-February at most schools. Regular decision applicants and students who were deferred in EA and ED can expect final decisions throughout the month of March. We’ve shared our deferral guide as a reference to students and will also share waitlist information in the future. As a reminder, all possible decisions, and the recommended healthy responses to these decisions, were discussed in College Seminar class. 

 

The FAFSA is now accessible. If a family is applying for financial aid the form should be completed ASAP. Schools will probably not be able to award based upon FAFSA information until at least early-February, perhaps later. 

 

Juniors

We’ve been to all junior Work Periods to complete a Mini-College Seminar class. We discussed the role of college counselors, how we are all unique, and prioritized starting a college search with students and not colleges. The Values Exercise was completed as an internal reflection and students were asked to define each value and explain why it is important to them as a homework assignment before the start of second semester.  

 

The majority of Junior Introduction Meetings are completed or scheduled. Class of 2026, thank you for your attention to this requirement and kudos for getting it done. Family meeting registration will be mailed out in early February with meetings starting on February 24th. We have two Virtual Junior Parent Coffee webinars prior to meetings to answer questions for families about the meeting, the college search process, and any uncertainty about anything college. On February 10th there will be a 7 PM Coffee, and February 11th our program will start at 8:08 AM. Registration will go out in the coming weeks. 

 

January 25 – make-up free practice SAT 

January 27 (7 PM) and January 28 (8:08 AM) – First-Year & Sophomore Virtual Parent Coffees

February 5 - Special Schedule #2 and during Liturgy time slot each class will have different programming:

February 10 (7 PM) and February 11 (8:08 AM) - Virtual Junior Parent College Coffees

March 12  - Why Health Sciences 6:30 PM (in-person)

March 26 - Junior Career Day

March 31 - Archmere In-School SAT for Class of 2026