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February/March 2011 Headlines |
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Dear Friends,
As any parent of school-aged children knows, college admissions is a topic that immediately commands attention. Gaining admission to the college in which a student will thrive is an increasingly complex process that requires thoughtful and exacting preparation by the student, the family, and the school's college counseling professionals.
Here at BFS on February 1st, I witnessed such professionalism firsthand when the Upper School convened its annual Junior College Night. It was the best introductory college session I have attended in a career immersed in secondary education and college advising.
Designed and led by Assistant Director of College Counseling Tiffani Hooper, the evening featured four separate elements in which juniors and their parents interacted with five college admissions officers, a panel of BFS seniors who are veterans of the college process, and each other.
"You Decide"
The evening began with perhaps its most creative component -- a role-playing exercise in which students and parents assumed the role of admissions committee members deciding upon which one applicant file, of three candidate files presented, would be offered admission to a mythical college. Each session was led by one of the guest admissions officers: - Jeff Rickey, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Earlham College;
- Alice Huang Protas, Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia University;
- Eli Bromberg, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia University;
- Celena Siprajim, Director of Admission at the Maryland Institute College of Art;
- Tu-Quyen Nguyen, Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania.
Diversity in College Choices
Special interest group discussions followed the case study exercise. Topics addressed were:
- Applying to art schools;
- Programs and careers in engineering, sciences and mathematics;
- The liberal arts experience; and
- Demystifying highly selective admissions processes.
The admissions officers led lively and personalized examinations of topics referring to their home institutions as well as a range of other colleges and universities.
The Wisdom of BFS Seniors
The third element, one that I had never seen during my several decades of involvement with college counseling, was a panel discussion with seven seniors from the Class of 2011. The students fielded tough questions from juniors and their parents about facts, feelings, legends and outcomes in the college process. Not only were the responses erudite and pertinent, but they were delivered with calm, reasoned, and occasionally humorous insights that did much to defuse the anxiety that often characterizes junior college nights.
Q and A for Admissions Officers
The program concluded with the more traditional question-and-answer session with the admissions officers. Compared to other college nights I have observed in which this is basically the only program element, the BFS discussion proved much more substantive, well-informed, and less emotionally intense. The successful information sharing and active participation of students and parents that characterized the previous program elements certainly contributed to the success of the session. I know that all the student and parent participants join me in recognizing and thanking Tiffani Hooper and Lindsey Berns, Director of College Counseling, for an outstanding evening.
In friendship,
Dr. Larry Weiss |
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