Dear Class of 2023 Students and Families,

We hope that you and your family are enjoying the start of your summer! We know that many of you have planned college visits; however, if you are unable to see schools this summer, then we encourage students to demonstrate interest in and learn about colleges by taking virtual tours and attending virtual information sessions. If a college is offering personal Zoom interviews this summer, we encourage students to sign up. Click here to view our college interviewing guide; this document should provide some guidance if you need it along the way.

Here are some additional tasks to work on over the summer:

1. Students should  establish a final list of colleges with a balanced range of selectivity (likely, possible, reach). Each of these colleges should feel like a great match, a place where you would be very happy to attend, and a place where your family will be able to afford the cost of attendance. Students should be in contact with their college counselors when they want to make changes to their list so that we can provide input and make adjustments in Scoir; parents, please do not make any changes in Scoir without communicating with your child’s college counselor. Feel free to contact us with any questions you might have about your student’s list.

2. Over the summer, students should fill out their Common Application (the College Office sent instructions for doing so before students left campus), and should also draft their Common Application essay and at least one supplemental essay, prioritizing applications to those schools where you may apply under early admission or rolling decision application plans. A brief list of tips and advice for essay writing is available here. Students should write their essays in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or any other word processing program they like; students should not draft their essay directly in the Common Application website. We highly encourage students to send drafts of their essays to their college counselors over the summer. Students should not request teacher recommendations through the Common Application. 

3. Have a frank discussion about paying for college. Use the net price calculators on the website of each college to which you are is applying, and get a good sense of the cost of each school. Two websites that may also be helpful as you discuss financial aid are myintuition.org (which offers quick cost estimators for 74 colleges) and finaid.org (which offers overview of tuition and financial aid terminology, as well as several calculators for college costs, family contributions, and loan repayments). 

5. Finalize testing plans. Most colleges have decided to remain test-optional for the upcoming year. Depending on where you live, students may be able to test at home in July (ACT) or August (SAT). We will also offer both tests at St. Andrew’s in the fall; students should plan to register themselves for those on-campus tests over the summer on the ACT or College Board websites. The St. Andrew’s school code is 080095. The ACT test will be administered at St. Andrew’s in September and the SAT in October.

The Class of 2023 will return to campus in August with a transformational year before them. They will step into positions of leadership in all areas of the school and will be immersed in the academic, extracurricular, and community life of St. Andrew’s. Therefore, we encourage our rising seniors do the majority of their college visits and preparative work over the summer.
 
As always, please call or email us any time, and enjoy the summer!

Sincerely,
The College Counseling Team