College Counseling
At SEM, we name the process college counseling, as opposed to placement, because our approach empowers girls to make informed decisions about their post-high school education. Just as our academic program stresses critical thinking and healthy risk-taking for the sake of personal growth, our college search process emphasizes individual exploration. Through education and open communication, our goal is to demystify the daunting college process for both students and their families – and to provide a supportive foundation for a successful, positive experience and outcome.
An Individualized Process
SEM’s college counseling program is an individualized process. Supported by the College Counseling Office, faculty, and her family, each girl is encouraged to explore her preferences, interests, strengths and personal goals as she navigates the path of college admissions and acceptances. By owning the process, she widens her view of all the options that may be available to her – based on her academic record and intellectual interests, her unique talents and her potential career goals.
The Right Fit
There are many perfect colleges. How can that be? Because perfect is personal. At SEM we help our girls discover which college will be the right fit - perfect for her. A girl’s happiness and success often have more to do with her character than with the college itself. Our goal is to help each student find a suitable college match so she can further the academic development, student leadership and community spirit she cultivated at SEM.
Personal Attention
Director of College Counseling Molly Greene ’98 works with each SEM student and her parents throughout the college search. Each girl is given the tools and direction to research the colleges and universities that best fulfill her individual aspirations. Parents are of course a part of the process, but the focus is on each girl discovering her own path.
In the end, it’s about enabling an adolescent to take a significant step toward adulthood. That step isn’t only getting to a specific college, but rather, taking ownership of the process of getting there.
