College Counseling Resources

Building a relationship with their College Counselor
Beginning in sophomore year, each student is assigned a College Counselor to begin a three-year relationship that initiates the college process.  Seminar meetings provide a foundational overview of the process, the challenges ahead, and how College Counselors support students on their journey to college. Individual meetings help establish and deepen the relationship between sophomores and their College Counselor.

Introduction to the tools in Naviance
Students are introduced to their Naviance account, which guides and structures their college process. Surveys in Naviance encourage sophomores to provide information that helps college counselors track personal growth toward college readiness from year to year. Naviance is a valuable tool for searching and investigating colleges, and for tracking data generated by prior Prep students who apply to the colleges that current students are investigating. Naviance supports all steps, from forming an initial college list to establishing a final list at the outset of senior year.

Sophomores schedule individual meetings with their College Counselor using the Bookings app
Group meetings raise awareness of the essential steps in college progress and prepare the pathway for individual meetings, which help build strong relationships.  Students schedule meetings using their counselor’s Bookings app, available in both Schoology and in Naviance. Individual meetings become fruitful in the second semester of sophomore year, when a student’s academic growth becomes more visible with three semesters of grades and an initial PSAT score on record.

Preview to standardized testing through the PSAT and Pre-ACT
To familiarize sophomores with the standardized testing landscape, all sophomores will take a PSAT in October – at Prep and in digital form – and each sophomore will also take a Pre-ACT in the spring of their sophomore year.  These practice instruments introduce sophomores to both standardized test instruments and to the practice and procedures of testing. 

College-related conversations deepen as the sophomore year progresses
Much of the sophomore-year college counseling program focuses on readiness for the action steps of the college process. Sophomores are supported by both their School and College Counselors as they request junior-year courses to demonstrate their academic strengths and interests. Sophomores request course levels that demonstrate their academic strengths and interests and match the requirements of the colleges they are investigating. 

Southern Connecticut University College Fair – Fall and Spring of each year
Each fall and spring, all Prep students can meet college admissions representatives and build relationships at the Southern CT College Fair in Bridgeport.  Seminar conversations prepare sophomores for positive interactions with college representatives and help them benefit from college fair interactions. Demonstrating interest in colleges is a meaningful factor in college admission.

Surveys in Naviance promote self-awareness and career information
Throughout the year, sophomores complete Personality surveys, Career Interest Profiler surveys, and Strengths Explorer surveys, which offer them avenues for self-discovery and self-revelation.  Survey results provide College Counselors with vital information in tracking student progress and help prepare for individual meetings. 

While sophomore year offers a broad look at the college process, junior year makes the process much more specific as action steps are introduced. Juniors meet more often with their College Counselor, both in group settings and individually, as they define and position themselves for senior-year application steps. Juniors become increasingly aware of how their college applications reveal who they are and what they have achieved. From among their junior-year teachers, they will request recommendations; forming a deeper relationship with their College Counselor will provide a meaningful counselor recommendation. Throughout the year, juniors complete several surveys, construct a resume, and complete a “brag sheet,” which will make their college counselor aware of their talents, interests, and ambitions. College counseling sessions and meetings will help juniors understand what colleges look for in an applicant, providing direction and motivation as they progress through the year.

Much of the first semester of junior year focuses on helping juniors deepen their self-awareness and talents, and collaborating with them to identify colleges that match who they are and what they want to do. Junior year opens many doors for leadership in athletics, clubs, and ministry, as well as opportunities for growth and development off campus. As this is the last full year before applying to college, juniors should take full advantage of these growth opportunities. 

Junior year PSAT accurately predicts potential SAT success
Juniors will take a second PSAT in October, which will be a more accurate indicator of SAT success. When results are returned, juniors will confer with their College Counselor to make a testing decision and plan their standardized testing path.  Juniors are guided through SAT and ACT registration procedures and encouraged to build a testing plan, selecting dates based on their readiness and in coordination with their schedules.  All needed information is available at collegeboard.com for the SAT and act.org for the ACT.  The Junior year PSAT is also an entry point for National Merit consideration.

College Searching using Naviance
The fall semester focuses on building awareness and understanding of the process and searching for colleges of interest using Naviance, an essential tool that archives survey and college search results.  Use of the tools in Naviance will assist juniors in gauging their admissibility based on data gathered, which details admission results of Prep applicants over the last three years. Juniors meet with their College Counselors, who will assist them in interpreting the data in the most helpful way.

Semester Two – moving from awareness to action steps
In the second semester of junior year, the focus shifts to action steps as five semesters of academic data are now in view and testing results are entered in Naviance. Discussions now center on how to get the most out of a college fair visit or campus visit.  Each new experience—campus visit, interview, test score achieved—is meant to prompt an individual conversation with their College Counselor. Junior-year academic experiences provide insight into areas of interest and talent that will inform the ongoing college search. Juniors now request senior-year courses with their interests and college requirements in mind.

Setting up the Common Application
In March of the spring semester, juniors initiate their Common Application. College Counselors address all parts of the application in group sessions, focusing particularly on the personal essay and providing resources to guide students. The essay need not be written in the spring of junior year; however, students should become familiar with its purpose, importance, and topics. The personal essay is addressed in junior and senior English courses, and Prep offers a one-week summer college essay course to support the essay-writing process.

Teacher Recommendations
Teacher recommendations are made in April of junior year and are meant to highlight an applicant’s ability to demonstrate academic skills that contribute to college success.  Juniors will make two requests and provide each potential recommender with a Teacher Recommender Reflection which details how they grew from their experiences in the course. The reflection form provides the student with the opportunity to express why the request is being made. College Counselors assist teacher recommenders in understanding what makes a recommendation helpful to an admissions counselor.

Junior and Parent “Brag Sheets”
In anticipation of the application activities ahead in the fall of senior year, juniors complete a  “Brag Sheet” to detail their strengths, qualities, characteristics and activities in order to assist their counselors in representing them well in a recommendation letter. Juniors are required to register for a College Application Kickoff in August.  Parent insights are also valued, and “Brag Sheets” are offered to parents as well.

Senior year focuses on the application process and its many steps. It is a time when seniors have the unique opportunity to represent themselves in significant ways – through interviews, personal essays and by meeting with visiting admissions representatives. A summer Application Kickoff program initiates the application filing process, where seniors complete the connection that allows their recommenders (teachers and College Counselors) to send the supporting documents that colleges require for a complete application. The summer Kickoff allows College Counselors to “check in” with all seniors about where, how, and when they plan to apply, and whether they will submit standardized test scores when not required.

Senior College Counseling Seminars - Fall
Seniors will meet in their Counseling Seminars for the first two academic cycles, covering general topics regarding application filing procedures and from there, they will meet occasionally in seminars during the year for counselors to offer updates on portal setup, additional document submission and financial aid procedures. Interaction is largely on an individual basis to support application construction and filing, essay review and to outline financial aid procedures. 

Deciding on an application strategy
A number of seniors choose to apply on an Early Decision (ED) basis – committing to one college.  Early Decision results generally return by Christmas break, and if admitted, no further applications can be submitted. In this situation, if other applications have already been submitted, they must be withdrawn. Many seniors will apply ED to one college and Early Action (EA) to a number of additional colleges in the interest of assuring one or more admits before Christmas break. Seniors may also choose to stagger their application submissions based on early results.

Meeting College Representatives at Fairfield Prep
As many as 170 colleges schedule to send their admissions representatives to meet with Prep seniors each year, providing seniors with the opportunity to meet in small groups to pose questions, continue demonstrating interest, and engage in conversations with admissions representatives. 

Filing College Applications
Because many Prep seniors choose to apply as Early Action or Early Decision candidates, using October 15^th or November 1^st deadlines, teacher recommendations will be entered into Naviance by October 1^st to support all application deadlines. Individual conversations regarding submission of standardized test scores will assist seniors in making the decision as to whether to submit in situations where colleges are test-optional.

Once applications are filed, seniors must set up their portals for each college and monitor them throughout the admissions process. In their portals, they will receive admissions and financial aid updates and gain guidance should additional materials be required.

Following up with seniors throughout the year as admissions decisions arrive 
College Counselors are fully available throughout the application season and throughout the year.  Seniors are encouraged to report their admissions decisions, and College Counselors will meet with seniors occasionally in a group setting to gather admissions results as well.  Ongoing conversations as admissions results arrive provide opportunities for College Counselors to support seniors as they make college enrollment decisions.