College Counseling

At St. Andrew's, students develop a lasting desire for learning, explore their spirituality and faith, pursue their passions in athletics and the arts, serve the community, and seek to make a profound difference in the world. Each student has worked hard to be part of and to contribute to St. Andrew's, and will bring amazing talents and skills to his or her next community. We help our students find a place where they can best continue these habits in their years following St. Andrew's.

The principal goal of our college counseling program is to empower our students to have successful and fulfilling careers in a college appropriate to their individual strengths and interests. Toward this end, we help our students think deeply and carefully about their talents and aspirations, set reasonable and appropriate goals for themselves, and present themselves in a manner than with maximize their strengths.

Our college counseling process begins in earnest during the V Form (junior) year, when we invite students and their families to gather on campus for an intensive, day-long introduction to the college process. College admissions officers from a wide variety of colleges make presentations and meet with students and parents in small groups to answer questions and workshop sample applications. Around this same time, V Formers will fill out an autobiographical questionnaire. This questionnaire allows the student to self-reflect, and allows us to match him or her with the college counselor who will best be able to meet her needs and speak to her interests. Our low counselor-to-senior ratio allows us to provide personal, compassionate counseling as students reflect on what paths to follow. We advise them how to most efficiently use their valuable time and energy. We help them tell their story. We pride ourselves on communicating clearly and promptly with families, welcoming questions at any time and giving them the information they need to support their children with confidence and wisdom. Our counseling calendars outline in more detail how we guide students through the college process in the junior and senior years.

Our College Counseling office also works, in tandem with the Head of School, to act as strong advocates for both individual students and the School as a whole. We visit colleges and universities throughout the year to keep fresh our understanding of these institutions, and to maintain colleges’ familiarity with the unique strengths and character of St. Andrew’s and its students. Admissions officers from a variety of colleges are invited each year to our “Experience St. Andrew’s” program, which provides these admissions officers with the opportunity to spend a day attending our classes and meeting with small groups of students and faculty to become more familiar with the culture and curriculum of St. Andrew’s. We also host around 70 individual visits from college admission representatives during the fall semester; these representatives meet with students informally and provide an overview of their respective institutions and application processes.

Incredible opportunities to learn, to grow and to serve await our students at the conclusion of their St. Andrew's careers. We are excited to be their allies as they discover these opportunities through the college process.

Top 20 Most Attended Colleges (2018-21)

Davidson College - 13
University of Virginia - 12
Tufts University - 10
Wesleyan University - 9
Bates College - 8
Boston College - 8
New York University - 8
Princeton University - 8
University of Pennsylvania - 8
Georgetown University - 7
Wake Forest University - 7
Columbia University - 6
Sewanee: Univ. of the South - 6
Williams College - 6
Haverford College - 5
Middlebury College - 5
Northeastern University - 5
Northwestern University - 5
University of Delaware - 5
Yale University - 5
Washington and Lee Univ. - 5