College Advisor
Equipping Workshop
WHAT ARE PARTICIPANTS SAYING?
About the workshop
Purpose
This program is for anyone serving as a College Advisor from new to seasoned veterans, to support, equip, and encourage College Advisors/Counselors at classical, Christian schools.
Structure
As a six-session intensive, this workshop will meet weekly beginning the first week of February, 2022.
Meet Your Leader
Deanna Ducher
College Counselor,
Hillsdale Academy
Deanna Ducher serves Hillsdale Academy in rural south-central Michigan as the College Counselor and teaches American history and civics. She joined the staff of Hillsdale Academy in August 1999 and initiated the College Counseling office that year when the original K-8 school began phasing in grades 9-12. The Academy graduated five students in 2001, and this June will graduate a class of 23, bringing the total number of graduates to 326. These students have attended a wide variety of selective colleges, state universities, trade schools, U.S. military academies, private Christian and non-denominational colleges, community colleges, and have served in all US military branches, including the Space Force. Deanna is a first-generation college graduate, so personally and through the Academy, she learned and built all aspects of the college application process from the ground up. Before joining the Academy, Deanna served Hillsdale College for two and a half years as an admissions counselor, recruiting from her native suburban Detroit. That experience gave her excellent perspective when she moved to the other side of the desk, managing the college search process for high school students. Off campus, she spends time in amateur photography, orchestral viola playing, travel, cycling, reading, and podcast listening.
Meet Your Leader
Becky Priest
College Counselor,
The Cambridge School (CA)
Becky Priest is the College Counselor at The Cambridge School in suburban, hi-tech San Diego, where the last eight years she has seen the design and build-out of the college counseling program and the school’s first four graduating classes, with college acceptances that include some of the most highly selective in the country. She brings over two decades of college financial aid experience, having worked in the Financial Aid Office at Washington University in St. Louis, and in the San Diego area at college admissions firms and in private consulting. Becky was delighted to have received the blessing of collaboration and help from experienced counselors when transitioning to the high school side of the desk and loves opportunities to continue that collegiality, sharing the learned experiences of fellow counselors. She and her husband have one son in college (a member of Cambridge’s third class) and have provided leadership in their church in the areas of teaching, music, mentoring high school and college students, international student ministry, and missions. She is currently serving on the Classic Learning Test’s Board of Academic Advisors.
Syllabus overview
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5
Session 6
Session 1
Introductions and Overview
- The importance of college counseling, defining job duties
- Developing an office philosophy or mission statement
- The lens of classical, Christian education
- College and university landscape and curriculum
- Aptitude testing options (YouScience? Myers-Briggs, etc.)
- Other post-high school options besides college: trades, military
Session 2
Calendar and Documents
- 4-year advising sequences/plans
- College list-building wisdom; the 3 legs of college fit
- School documents that support students
- School Profile: must-have elements, communicating classical education
- Transcript topics: grading scales, honors, dual enrollment
- Other registrar issues
Session 3
Testing 101
- PSAT/NMSQT, PLAN, SAT, ACT, CLT, AP – distinctives and differences
- Calendar
- School-based test prep sessions?
- Thoughts on private prep
- State testing requirements; school-day options
- Rapidly changing national landscape/test-optional and surrounding issues
- School testing philosophy – not teaching to the test
Session 4
Developing Relationships with Colleges
- Campus visits
- High school visits
- College fairs
- How to “prove” your curriculum to colleges
- Sub-topic, the emphasis on GPA and weighted/unweighted/AP grades, etc. in test-optional world
Session 5
Applications
- The 8 factors in holistic admission and the importance of each
- Micro fall of senior year plan
- LOR
- Student/parent etiquette
- Elements of and expectations for the counselor LOR
- Teacher LORs – training, elements, expectations
- Student resumes
- College essays: tips, best practices
- Interviews: tips, best practices
Session 6
Financial Aid
- Need-based aid – role of FAFSA and CSS Profile
- Gift aid – academic merit, talent, tuition discounts
- Cost factors over four years
- GoingMerry, others
- Local scholarships
- Tuition-exchange
TOTAL COST
ASPIRING HEADS WORKSHOP
$
612
SCL Member Price
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$679 Regular Price
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Meeting Length: 60-90 min
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Homework: 20-30 min per week
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Duration: 6 Weeks
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Max Enrollment: 12
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Dates: February - March 2022
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Events
Events grant us the opportunity to gather. As incarnational beings, nothing is better than being together. So having the chance to gather with like-minded classical Christian educators is a rich opportunity. That’s why so many of us return to SCL events year after year. Make SCL events part of the rhythm of your year. Click to learn more about our Summer Conference in June, Arete & Alcuin Fall Retreat in October, and Winter Symposium for Heads & Boards in February.
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