We are so proud of the members of the class of 2017; proud of all that they have accomplished in high school and for the manner in which they have navigated the college process. We are thrilled with the college options they have earned and with the choices they have made. As you will see, the college list is as diverse as our student body. There are liberal arts colleges and large universities. The seniors have earned admission to schools that specialize in technology and the sciences as well as music schools and art schools. There are schools near and far, large and small, both familiar and new to our list. (Find a link to the 2017 college list at the end of this note.)
While there are any number of reasons why the seniors and their families find the college application process to be successful, I have been thinking about one particular factor. LREI students, from their earliest days, spend significant time examining their learning — how they learn best, where they find success, when they find challenge, how to offer and find assistance. The children think about their learning environment. They think about how to be a supportive colleague and how to work with schoolmates. They look for resources in the wider community. Five-year-olds might not understand the long-term impact, however when a Kindergartner describes her thinking about how a block building was built or when a 3rd grader speaks about how they conceive of history, they are thinking about their thinking and their learning. This is an important skill to develop and to do so successfully, you really must begin when one is quite young.
In middle school and high school this reflective practice continues and expands. A significant extension is experienced as all students in these divisions attend, and lead, their family conferences. This takes considerable courage, thought, and self-understanding; exactly the habits of mind necessary for a successful college process. The many hours, over many years, that our students spend gaining a sense of self sets them up for great success in choosing a college or university and for the same once they arrive on campus.
In addition to the growth experienced throughout the students’ time at LREI, here are five essential attributes of LREI’s amazing college guidance process:
- Each student and, in turn, each family meets with both Carey Socol, Director of College Guidance, and Kellen O’Gara, Associate Director of College Guidance, both of whom are available to all students throughout the entire process. The college office is a busy place, a center of activity, where all students become well known.
- Thanks to the generosity of the classes of ’11, ’12, ’13, and ’16, we are able to provide funds to defray various costs associated with the college search process—application fees, travel, tutoring, etc.—for any LREI student, creating a college guidance process that supports LREI’s mission.
- Each year more than 70 college representatives visit LREI. Juniors and seniors are invited to meet with these reps in order to learn more about the programs available at a range of institutions, to develop a personal relationship with the person who will most likely read their applications, and to sharpen the lists of schools to which they will eventually apply.
- Beginning in January of their junior year and continuing through Winter Break of senior year, students participate in a college guidance seminar taught by our college guidance team. In this seminar, the students learn how to research colleges, prepare for interviews, participate in mock admissions committees, brainstorm and begin their college essay, and much, much more. The class also serves as an important touch point between the students and the counselors, allowing for both group and individual contact, and for Carey and Kellen to make sure the process is moving along at the right pace.