A freshman has four years to figure out what to do but a senior only has a couple months to explain all that they have done. Somewhere between all that time, students are expected to turn their classes, extracurricular activities, accomplishments and grades into a college application that represents who they are and that can be difficult.
I believe that Germantown Academy’s college counseling team should start preparing students for the college application process earlier. Rather than waiting to pair students with a college counselor at the end of sophomore year, GA should help freshmen understand how to explore their interests and intentionally develop their schedules, classes and extracurriculars. Earlier guidance would give students more information before their choices become limited.
For underclassmen, college can seem far enough away that it is easy to put off thinking about it. Yet the choices students make during those years can shape the opportunities available to them later. Students hear about the importance of strong grades, extracurricular activities, leadership and summer programs but only knowing about these is different than proactively structuring them in a meaningful way.
GA’s college counseling team should treat college preparation as a gradual process of exploration, starting with meetings between underclassmen and college counselors. Freshmen could meet with college counselors to talk about their interests and learn about clubs, competitions and classes at GA that could help them explore them.
Sophomores could start looking into ways to build on those interests through summer programs, internships, research or community service. Those meetings could focus on students’ goals and ways they could use their summers to gain experience in areas that interest them.
When students have a better understanding of their interests, they can be more intentional about the courses and opportunities they choose. Then college preparation does not have to be another source of stress but a way for students to make more thoughtful decisions about their time at GA.
For some upperclassmen by the time they seriously begin thinking about applications, they wish that they had done something different or had taken an opportunity years before. Earlier guidance could help underclassmen avoid that realization and allow them to make more informed choices while they still have the time.
Ultimately, the GA counseling team should introduce freshmen and sophomores to the college process earlier through meetings focused on their interests, yearly goals and available opportunities. By starting earlier, the GA counseling team can help students make the most of their high school journey before being asked to explain it all on a college application.