College Counseling
Every year, our entire school community applauds our graduates as they receive their diplomas and embark on the next chapter of their lives, taking with them the effusive BWL spirit and a comprehensive readiness for their future life endeavors. This is made possible by our thorough and comprehensive College Counseling Program.
The College Counseling Program
The College Counseling Program begins in 9th grade and is a touchstone of the Upper School experience.
Through weekly in-school seminars and regularly held gatherings and special events, the College Counseling aims to acquaint freshmen, sophomores, and juniors and their families with the college application process. These meetings, which include information presentations and question and answer sessions, are highly beneficial to both students and parents, as they consist of both individual and group sessions. They also include visits from various college representatives.
Freshmen are guided through meaningful exercises to identify their ideal college experience. Meanwhile, as sophomores, students begin to sculpt their resumes and learn how to tell their unique stories.
In the autumn of their junior year, students take the PSAT and receive their results during a one-on-one appointment with a College Counselor. In this meeting, they also discuss the current and future status of their academic transcripts. Junior Seminar is taught during the spring semester of junior year. In this class, which meets once a week, students are introduced to tools and strategies that aid their college searches. Important topics such as interviewing, college visiting and essay-writing receive special attention throughout the year. Held in early spring, Junior College Night enables students to hear first hand accounts of the college application process from Directors of Admissions.
During the months of September, October and November, representatives from over 50 colleges and universities visit Birch Wathen Lenox to meet with interested students. Birch Wathen Lenox is also a member of a ten-school consortium that holds the annual Manhattan College Fair, which is attended by representatives from over 130 colleges and universities who meet students and respond to their inquiries.
As seniors, students are focused on completing and submitting their applications early into the school year.
Additionally, to follow each student's unique path as they strive to master the course work, the faculty measures academic progress through quarterly grades, comments, conferences and standardized testing, always maintaining a partnership between parents and the School.
Ready to Join the BWL Family?
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