College Advising is working at full speed right now, and students are reaping the benefits.
The College Advising program at Williston has served as an amazing resource for students to use when looking for and deciding which college suits them best. Each senior at Williston is assigned an advisor who will help them along the often stressful process of college applications. Students are assigned an advisor at the end of their junior year and will meet with them a few times that year, and then much more frequently as seniors, to help assist with choosing a college and getting their application materials lined up and ready to go.
The process gears up during the summer following junior year, when students take more control of their process, selecting which schools to apply to, writing their personal essay, and touring viable options. The next step comes when students arrive on campus as Seniors; they meet with their college advisor and review, answer questions, and add some final touches to their applications before sending them to the schools.
The College Advising office is located in Plimpton Hall. It was built in 1951 but recently renovated as a part of “Williston’s 2014 Strategic plan” which was funded from generous support from alumni and other donors. The office is comprised of four advisors: Emily McDowell, the Director of College Advising, Charlie Lonergan, the Associate Director of College Advising, Derek Cunha, the Assistant Director of College Advising, and Alex Tancrell-Fontaine, the Assistant Director of College Advising.
Each college advisor has an average of 35 students they help. In the recent years, many students from Williston have gone to prestigious universities. According to Williston.com, 27 students in the last five year were accepted to Ivy league colleges; 65 students in the last five years were accepted by NESCAC schools; and a total of 217 students received early decision or early action offers from colleges.
In comparison, Cypress Creek, a public high school in Pasco county, Florida has a total of 1,910 students through grades 9-12. The school only has one college and career specialist, meaning that each senior will have to wait in line with 475 other students. Students will often only have one meeting through their high school year.
The program also helps student athletes who plan on playing their sport in college. The process will look similar for all students, but advisors help balance the desires for athletics and academics for these students. Committed athletes will be in contact with their college coaches in tandem with their Williston advisor to ensure they submit everything required for the school they plan to attend.
Barret Clarke, a senior committed to Springfield College for lacrosse, claims that being a committed athlete has lessened his college workload. It “makes it easier because I can communicate with my coach about applications and I don’t need to apply to as many colleges,” he said.
Alexander Landon, a senior day student from Longmeadow, Mass., believes the Advising office has assisted him in find his desired schools. “Mr. Lonergan is very knowledgeable and has been good at suggesting similar schools to the ones I showed interest in,” he said.
Declan Grenache, a hockey captain, thinks every school should have a College Advising office as strong as Williston’s. “Without ours, I wouldn’t have been able to brainstorm essay topics or know how to start the common app process,” he said.
