GROTON SCHOOL
Groton School Box 991 282 Farmers Row Groton, MA 01450-0991
0911
College Admissions Process Handbook
COLLEGE OFFICE STAFF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Craig Gemmell
Director
(978) 448-7572
cngemmell@groton.org
Peter Quagliaroli*
Assoc. Director
(978) 448-7392
pquagliaroli@groton.org
Erin Lyman
Assist. Director
(978) 448-7571
elyman@groton.org
Jane Hahn Watkins
Assoc. Director
(978) 448-7582
jwatkins@groton.org
Ginny Hendley
Administrative Assist. (978) 448-7641
ghendley@groton.org
Connie Brown
Registrar
cbrown@groton.org
(978) 448-7642
College Office phone
(978) 448-7641
Groton School Fax (Registrar’s Office)
(978) 448-6355
CEEB code
220930
*Sabbatical 2011-2012
Section 1: Introduction The Approach At Groton .............................................................................................. 1 Section 2: A Partial Lexicon Some Useful Terms and Considerations Before Beginning ...................... 2 Section 3: Overview Calendar .................................................................................... 5 Section 4: Credentials What Matters In College Admission ...................................................................... 7 Section 5: Fifth Form Winter Where Do We Begin? ..................................................................................................... 11 Section 6: Fifth Form Spring Research, Research, Research .................................................................................... 13 Section 7: Fifth Form Summer Before Sixth Form ............................................................................................................. 17 Section 8: Sixth Form Fall Self-discipline, Organization, Good Health, and Communication ........ 23 Section 9: Early Decision Managing the First Wave of News ........................................................................... 27 Section 10: The Regular Round Finishing the Process Well ............................................................................................ 29 Appendix Profile for the Form of 2010 ...................................................................................... 33
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
SECTION 2: A PARTIAL LEXICON
The Approach At Groton
Some Useful Terms and Considerations Before Beginning
The college admissions process is endlessly fascinating, complex, and ever-changing. Through this, our students gain a clearer understanding of themselves and how they can envision and give shape to their future. As college counselors, we deeply enjoy the opportunity to work in partnership with students and families as we navigate this path together.
Below are some of the many terms used in the college admissions process; most or all will surely be known to you if you are familiar with the procedure. Understanding the concepts below prior to launching into the college admissions process will allow you to understand the differences between institutions more effectively and will help to direct the building of the evolving college list.
Given the complexity of college admissions, we endeavor help students and families one step at a time; doing so helps to make a potentially overwhelming project far simpler. As we all work together, we will always aim to be available, honest, and straightforward in our dealings while expressing and demonstrating deep belief in our students and in the value of the admissions process. Though demographic trends and cultural forces have conspired to make college admissions extremely competitive, know that this is entirely manageable and enjoyable—if plans are laid carefully and deadlines met. We will focus our energies on determining optimal fit while managing risk, and we will work diligently to provide each student with the best choices possible given the landscape. This handbook is intended to be a useful resource and aims to cover the entirety of each step. Though the writing is directed to students, we also provide this handbook to parents because parents act as essential partners. This handbook deals in a stepwise manner with all of the inter-related elements of the college admissions process. Section 2 offers an overview of useful terms; Section 3 gives a broad overview of the procedure; Sections 4 through 10 move chronologically through the process. This guide emerged from our desire to provide students and families with clear guidance and ample information during this critical time, but this guide is by no means a replacement for the regular communication necessary to support sound decision-making and effective collaboration. In addition to this handbook, we will send monthly updates starting in October of this year and welcome questions and comments through the course of the process. We look forward to working with students and families as we walk through this milestone together. Please call, email, write, or visit as needed. Sincerely,
College vs. University In general, a college is an institution that educates undergraduates in a four-year curriculum— leading to a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Sciences degree. A university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. In a college setting, all of the teaching is done by professors. In a university setting, where classes may tend to be larger, lecture classes may break down into smaller sections taught by teaching assistants (“TAs”) who are graduate students in the field. Liberal Arts vs. Pre-professional Training A liberal arts program includes instruction in the full range of arts and sciences. For example, a student could study English, history, math, biology, art, religion, and physics in a liberal arts program and, after the first two years, declare a major field of study after ample exploration. In a pre-professional program, a student’s options are much more limited to courses directly related to a particular pre-professional discipline, such as engineering or business. In some cases, liberal arts schools also offer some pre-professional training. For example, Princeton University and Trinity College offer engineering programs within a liberal arts school. Major or Concentration A major or concentration is the specialized field of study that a student pursues during the course of completing all of the undergraduate requirements set by the college. Most colleges require students to declare a major by the end of the sophomore year, if not sooner. Often students will simultaneously pursue a minor, a secondary field of concentrated study. Some schools offer students the opportunity to pursue a minor in an official capacity, while others do not. Curriculum Curriculum is a broad term that encompasses academic offerings, requirements, and schedule. Curriculum varies greatly from school to school; much of the variability hinges on the two features outlined below.
Craig N. Gemmell Director
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Jane Hahn Watkins Associate Director
Erin E. Lyman Associate Director
How courses and terms are sequenced: There is broad variation in how colleges schedule students. At most colleges, the standard academic load is four or five courses, taken in two principal terms in an academic year. However, there is deviation around that standard. For example, one college may require its students to take three courses during three terms per year, but it will run four terms a year and require at least one summer of study. Another school may allow students to take one course at a time for a period of weeks; that course could meet every day for three hours of lecture. Yet another school may offer students a 4-1-4 program, with four courses fall and spring terms and one course for six weeks in the winter called “The Jan. Plan.” Many Jan. Plan courses are off-campus and deliberately outside the usual academic offerings of the college.
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Which courses are students required to take in order to graduate: When you are looking at a college, you need to examine the structure of its curriculum and make sure that you understand its requirements. Some schools merely require that students take a certain number of credits in order to graduate. For example, at some colleges, students design their own majors and take no required courses whatsoever. At one particular school, there are no conditions other than those of the major chosen. Conversely, some schools are extremely prescriptive about what students must take. Some schools specify a curriculum of core courses in addition to major requirements. Grading Options/Pass Fail Most colleges grade using numbers (the 4.0 scale) or letters (the A—F scale). Some colleges, however, use different systems of evaluation; some have a High Honors-Honors-Pass-Fail scale. Some allow students to take a certain number of courses Pass/Fail, and still others do not give grades at all and rely instead on narrative evaluation. Size Many students enter into the college admissions process assuming that they’d like to go to a large school after attending Groton (ca. 365 students). It is important to remember that even a small college is five times the size of Groton. Typically, the advantages of smaller schools are a more intimate sense of the community, smaller classes from the outset, and classes taught exclusively by tenured professors. Conversely, the advantages of larger schools are typically more extensive academic offerings and research opportunities within a discipline, a wider array of extracurricular and social opportunities, and a broader sense of school spirit that may even encompass the identity of the town, city, or state. Location Campuses are often heavily influenced by their surroundings. When visiting or considering colleges in an urban, suburban, or rural area, students should consider a number of academic and extracurricular scenarios: What do you like to do when you are not studying? Might the surrounding area be useful, if not essential, to your chosen field of study? What do you see yourself doing on Saturday afternoons, and where do you need to be to do that? How many distractions would you like at your fingertips? How much can you handle? Campus Features These aspects of a campus are heavily featured on college tours and readily available on school web sites. These features are often critical to how a student feels about an institution, and students are advised to consider carefully the various facets of each campus, such as the dining facilities, the availability of athletic facilities to non-varsity athletes, the dormitories, and whether or not the college provides enough social space and funding for general activities for all students (or are the students dependent upon fraternities or sororities for social space and life). Program Options (work study, seminars, tutorials) Within each individual curriculum, there are a variety of teaching styles available. Under the work-study programs available at Northeastern University, for example, students can attend classes for a term, then work in the field at an arranged job for a term, and then return to classes. Staying at school, students can develop seminars, prolonged class meetings that take place usually once per week, or develop tutorials for 1-on-1 instruction.
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Admissions Plans There are many different admissions plans, and colleges are constantly changing their individual policies. Listed here are some very general definitions in approximate chronological order. Rolling Admission: Students can submit applications from a given date in the fall through a given date in the late winter. Applications are read and decisions are made in the order that the college receives applications; students typically receive a non-binding answer from the college six to eight weeks from the date the application was submitted. This plan is used by many state universities. Early Decision (binding): Early Decision (“ED”) requires that the applicant complete an application before the Regular Admission deadline and requires a commitment from the student to attend if the application is accepted. If the student has applied for financial aid, the acceptance will include a financial aid offer. Some colleges offer a second round of Early Decision (“EDII”); while the deadline for ED is usually November 1st for Round I, the deadline for EDII is typically January 1st. Students should choose to apply to “binding” Early Decision programs only if they are prepared to attend that college if accepted; an acceptance “binds” the candidate to attend. If not accepted, students are either “deferred” (see below) or denied. Students denied in the early round cannot apply again for Regular Admission. Early Action (non-binding): Early Action (“EA”) requires the applicant to complete the application early, usually by November 1st, but does not require a commitment from the student to attend if the application is accepted; in other words, if admitted, the student can continue to apply to other colleges. Some colleges do reject students at this time, but most defer students. Some Early Action programs allow students to apply to more than one such program; others seek to limit students to applying to only one Early Action program. Read the fine print carefully. Again, students who are not accepted are either “deferred” (see below*) or denied; students denied in the early round cannot apply again for Regular Admission. Regular Admission: In the absence of an early application, most colleges require that applications be submitted by December 15, December 31, January 1, January 15, February 1, or February 15. Responses are then mailed from late March to early April—none of the offers of admission are binding. Wait list: After reading a student’s application in the regular round, the college decides neither to admit nor deny, but to offer the possibility of admission at an unspecified point in the future. This offer can come as soon as April or as late as September, or (as is most likely) might never come at all. Students taken off wait lists fill particular needs—gender balance, area of study, geographic diversity, etc—wait list activity varies widely year-to-year as the college’s yield (the number of admitted students who choose to matriculate) varies from year-to-year. Deferral: After reading a student’s early application, a college may decide to accept the student, reject the student, or defer making a decision on the student until after the rest of the applications have been received and reviewed. In general, when a student is deferred from a highly selective college, the application is considered again but the chances of admission decline significantly.
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SECTION 3: OVERVIEW CALENDAR Fourth Form January
Discuss the appropriateness of SAT II Subject Tests with teachers.
May
Advanced Placement Tests, as appropriate
June
SAT II: Subject Tests, as appropriate
Summer Begin standardized test preparation & visit a handful of dissimilar colleges (by size and geography, see “Spring Break” below). Fifth Form October
PSATs (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Competitions)
Parents’ Weekend college presentation
December PSAT scores arrive. Each student receives the PSAT score report that includes an answer key and the test booklet back. Parents receive a copy of the score report with the January college materials. SAT I: Reasoning Test January We hold a group meeting with the Fifth Form. Students write a short autobiography and provide other information relating to their experiences and goals. We begin to generate a preliminary list and discuss the testing schedule.
SAT I: Reasoning Test
Sixth Form September
We meet with the Sixth Form as a group to discuss the fall plans.
Sept.–October Students meet with their college counselor to finalize application plans and organize the application process. Students write applications. College counselors circulate a weekly memo to students with reminders of details and a schedule of college visitors. College representatives visit the school and host information sessions for interested students. October
SAT I or II (particularly for early applications)
Long Fall Weekend: College visits, tours, and interviews
November 1
Deadline for most early applications
November
SAT I or SAT II (scores to be rush-reported for early applications)
Thanksgiving Recess: College visits and interviews, if necessary. Work on balance of applications—students are to leave no major writing for the post-early application Christmas Recess. December
SAT I or SAT II
Most early application programs notify applicants
Christmas Recess: Last-minute visits and interviews
January Deadline for most college applications (check individual colleges for dates File regular financial aid forms SAT I or SAT II (if necessary) March–April Colleges notify applicants
Jan.–February Each student meets at least once, hopefully twice, with his/her college counselor.
May 1 Students must respond to all colleges concerning enrollment. They must choose to matriculate and place a deposit at one.
February A group meeting is held with the Fifth Form to discuss list building and spring break visits to schools.
Advanced Placement Examinations
June
Prize Day
March Spring Break: We strongly encourage students to visit at least four different colleges—large, small, public, private, and single-sex if appropriate—during the vacation. This is one of the few times that our students will see college campuses with college life in process, and it is important that our students gain some understanding of the characteristics of a college—urban, rural, large, small—so that they can make educated decisions about the kind of colleges to which they will apply. April-May
Each student meets at least twice with his/her college counselor
May
SAT II: Subject Tests
Advanced Placement Examinations
June SAT II: Subject Tests We send each student a letter that summarizes their individual needs and interests, suggests a list of colleges, and outlines a general application strategy.
Summary of Testing Schedule FIFTH FORM October
PSAT/NMSQT
December January
SIXTH FORM October
SAT I or SAT II
SAT I: Reasoning Test
November
SAT I or SAT II
SAT I: Reasoning Test
December
SAT I or SAT II
May
SAT II: Subject Tests
January
SAT I or SAT II
Advanced Placement Exams
May
AP Exams
June
SAT II: Subject Tests
Summer College visits, tours, and interviews: Please do all interviewing and visits over the summer; students may miss only one day of class through the end of Winter Term in the Sixth Form to make college visits. Students should make their travel and interview plans early since calendars will fill rapidly.
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SECTION 4: CREDENTIALS What Matters In College Admission In order to be successful in the college admissions process, it is critical to understand the factors upon which admissions decisions are made. Grades in College Prep Courses The single most important aspect of any college application is the transcript, indicating the courses taken, the level of difficulty of those courses (honors, AP, etc.), and the accompanying grades. Our advice about course selection is simple: students should take a course load that makes sense for them. Students should balance and stretch by taking courses where they have special interest and strength. They should also resist the temptation to follow a curriculum that is either overly taxing or too lax. We encourage students to pay special attention to course selection this spring and for next year, and we will work with students in planning courses. Along with faculty advisors and the Studies Committee, we make frequent recommendations about course planning and are happy to help at any point in this critical endeavor. Admissions Testing and Scores The SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests (SAT II), and Advanced Placement (AP) Exams Although Groton students have traditionally taken the SAT Reasoning Test in preparation for applying to colleges, we also encourage students to take diagnostic SAT and ACT tests to decide which test suits them and for which test they should prepare. Students also take SAT Subject Tests and Advanced Placement tests starting in the spring of their Third Form year. Students should discuss with their current teachers the appropriateness of such SAT IIs (Subject Tests) in January of each year. Most colleges require students to take College Board examinations as part of the admissions process. Students will take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT I) in December and January of the Fifth Form year, and again (if necessary) in October, November, or December of the Sixth Form year. Students who feel more comfortable or able may opt to take the ACT instead of the SAT. Ideally, students have taken at least two SAT Subject Tests before their Sixth Form year. Again, students should discuss with their teachers the appropriateness of Subject Tests in January. Students considering engineering should take the Subject Test in math (Math 2c) and in chemistry or physics if completing a course in either subject. If necessary, opportunities exist to take other Subject Tests in the Sixth Form year (again, in October, November, or December). College counselors will help students plan a specific testing strategy early in the process.
Essays and the Rest of the Actual Application We will spend a considerable amount of time this spring and next fall talking about the actual applications, and we will encourage you to begin working on your writing this summer. For now, know that application essays are often the linchpin to an applicant’s success in the college process. All things being equal, admissions officers are drawn to good essays and tend to advocate from students who write them. Good essays are carefully considered and constructed, and they tell the admissions officer something about you that is not only important, but also interesting, revealing, and candid. The ideas and the work must be entirely student-driven, as the best essays possess an unmistakable air of authenticity. Many applications require that students also complete supplemental essays, known simply as “Supplements.” These essays often (but not always) have a cap of 250 or 500 words. Students are strongly advised to complete any and all “optional” supplemental essays. Teacher Recommendations Recommendations are important to colleges when they are written honestly and by people who know you well. Colleges usually require two faculty recommendations, by teachers of your choice, who have taught you during your Fourth or (preferably) Fifth Form years. Your college counselor will help you decide whom to ask for recommendations. As part of the Secondary School Report that all colleges request from us, we send a summary of your career at Groton. Written in letter form over the summer, this document passes through a faculty committee before it is sent to ensure its accuracy and completeness.
Correspondence with colleges should be initiated by you, not by your parents. You should assume that all correspondence with colleges will be viewed by the college as a reflection of you (e.g., your clarity, neatness, courtesy, and judgment). You should keep a folder of all correspondence sent to, and received from, each college as well as copies of test scores, drafts of essays, and notes about interviews.
Letters from college alumni/ae and officials on your behalf can help you if the comments reflect specific personal knowledge of your character and ability. A letter that recommends “the family” or “the parents” is of little value. If you are having people write a letter for you, make sure that they do it early in the process; colleges want to read about candidates accurately and fully, and do not like to be surprised late in the process by additional information. Correspondence with colleges should be initiated by you, not by your parents. You should assume that all correspondence with colleges will be viewed by the college as a reflection of you (e.g., your clarity, neatness, courtesy, and judgment). You should keep a folder of all correspondence sent to, and received from, each college as well as copies of test scores, drafts of essays, and notes about interviews.
Advanced Placement (AP) exams occur each May across a variety of disciplines. These are three-hour, subject-specific exams that measure advanced work. They are graded on a scale of 1 to 5; scores of 4 and 5 in many cases will exempt students from entry-level coursework in college. Although AP scores are not a required credential in the college admissions process, they are increasingly important as colleges use the scores to distinguish among top students. Most colleges ask candidates for AP scores, if available.
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Extracurricular/Work Experience
Interviews
After a college has considered your academic candidacy, it will look for ways in which you will have an impact on the school community. Colleges want able students; they want a well-rounded class more than they want a class of well-rounded individuals. Highly competitive colleges state that 75–80% of their applicants can handle the academic workload. Therefore, admissions officers look for special ways that each student can contribute to the college community. Students with special interests and abilities should pursue those activities and emphasize them during the admissions process. Your college counselor will work with you on how to communicate your special interests effectively to admissions offices and others.
Participating in campus visits and interviews over the summer can be valuable. College interviewers play a dual role. They try to judge your maturity, perception, values, and goals; they also try to “sell” their schools. Admissions representatives from over 60 colleges visit Groton each fall, but these representatives generally do not conduct individual interviews and cannot give you the sense of the college that a personal visit imparts. While some colleges appear to attach less importance to interviews than they did in the past, some interviews are evaluative and can play an important part in the ultimate admissions process. At the end of each college profile, The Fiske Guide lists a statement of how that college judges the interview: informative, evaluative, recommended, etc. We strongly encourage college visits and interviews in the summer preceding your Sixth Form year, and we encourage you to interview at any college to which you plan to apply. You can make these appointments in May and June, when colleges are ready to work with the next set of students. It is crucial that you have energy and show real interest in each college if you hope for them to show an interest in you.
Make good use of your summers! Pursue your interests, work at a job that will give you experience with people, take college-level courses in fields that intrigue you, or volunteer in your community in a way that makes a difference. You will feel great; you will also have something interesting and important to write about. It is very important that you be involved in as much of community life as possible, in athletics, publications, music, drama, or community service—any way that you can contribute to your community beyond the classroom. You should pursue the interests and activities that you enjoy and into which you can put a considerable amount of energy.
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SECTION 5: FIFTH FORM WINTER Where Do We Begin? The Fifth Form formally begins the college admissions process in January of 2010. Self Analysis The first object of your study is NOT the colleges; it is yourself. Before compiling even a tentative list of colleges, you must do some soul searching, some hard questioning, and a good deal of honest, objective thinking. You must attempt to define your objectives beyond Groton School and, with our assistance, to assess your abilities and credentials realistically and objectively. Ask yourself some questions to help clarify exactly what it is you want and need beyond Groton School. At our first meeting as a Form (in January) we will ask you to write an autobiography. During this time you will write about your life as best you can—your triumphs, tragedies, etc. The objective here is two-fold. One, you will start to answer the question that is hidden in every application: Who are you? And, two, you will aid us in better understanding you and your history, desires, and needs. Defining Personal Criteria At our second meeting as a Form in January, you will fill out a questionnaire that asks many questions about your personal criteria for your next school. This will help to generate your first tentative list of colleges. In exploring the many options available at colleges and universities nationwide, you should consider many variables, such as academic offerings, size of school, urban vs. rural, geographic location, coeducation, social environment, and more. Again, we suggest that you begin with yourself. Some questions you might consider: •
What are the most important experiences you’ve had at Groton?
•
What have you enjoyed? What have you found difficult?
•
Do you enjoy academic challenge?
•
How well do you respond to pressure?
•
How much time in one day do you like to study?
•
What kind of social atmosphere makes you comfortable?
•
Would you enjoy a culturally diverse student body?
•
How well might you manage at a very large university? Would a smaller community be more comfortable?
•
ould you enjoy living in a different part of the country? How close to home do you want W to be?
•
Do you have a special interest or talent that is important to pursue during college?
•
Would you like to take a year off?
•
Would you consider a year of college abroad?
Do you enjoy being in a rural setting or would you prefer a more urban setting at your next school? •
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•
Are there recreational or extracurricular activities that are important to you?
•
Would you consider a single-sex school?
Developing a Tentative List After you have thought about yourself and your personal criteria, you will fill out a questionnaire answering many questions. This “answer key” generates an initial, or tentative, list of schools for you to learn about. In addition, you and/or your parents, as well as your college counselor, will add schools to the list that are of interest. Progressing from your initial list to your final list entails considerable research and discussion. It is a process of continuing evaluation and re-assessment that takes you through the summer following your Fifth Form year and into the fall of your Sixth Form year. Considering Year-Off Options Taking a year off from college is rewarding and an encouraged thing to consider. Many people take time off to pursue an interest, a job, travel, etc. and find it to be very worthwhile. However, do not adopt the “if nothing works out, then I’ll take the year off” approach. This is a dangerous play and in most cases leads to disappointment. We encourage students to devote considerable thought to the possibility of taking a year off. As you think about the idea, ask yourself: Why do you want to do it, and what do you hope to accomplish? If you are considering taking a year off, let us know at any point. Regardless of when and if you decide to pursue this option, we will still have you go through the college admissions process. This ensures that you have a place to go if you change your mind and demands that your credentials are in place should you decide to file additional applications after your time away. We maintain files of year-off options in the office. Discussing March Visits We strongly recommend that each of you take a few days over Spring Break to visit a few colleges or universities. If your list is extremely tentative, you should still do some visits, but it does not matter which schools you see—these are not schools to which you will necessarily apply. The objective of your visits is to experience 3 to 5 different types of schools. Visit a small, rural school, a large urban school, a state school, a suburban university, a single-sex school, etc. If, on the other hand, you are quite clear about what type of school you are looking for, and if we have a good list pulled together, do by all means visit the selection of schools to which you could ultimately apply. This is not a time to interview. At this time, many colleges are trying to make decisions regarding the incoming class. This is a time to tour the campuses and get a “feel” for different places. This will offer you an opportunity to refine your personal criteria so that you can better understand the kind of school you want to attend. In the summer, after you have a solid set of credentials and have researched a college list, you will want to go to specific colleges for interviews. Recognizing Special Talents Catalogue your talents. If there is a special talent that may be helpful to you in the process, make plans to document it. You might consider including tapes of performances (artistic or athletic), portfolios, written work that has been published, etc. Organize your efforts and make sure that you plan ahead so you don’t miss the opportunity to document your talent. Save your graded English papers, particularly the ones that you like best. If a college requests a graded writing sample, you will have a good one on hand.
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SECTION 6: FIFTH FORM SPRING Research, Research, Research Understanding How To Find Out About Colleges During the spring of your Fifth Form year, the most important thing for you to do is to manage the demands on your time as you navigate what will surely prove to be a busy and challenging time at Groton School. When, however, you have the time and energy to do so, we encourage you to use Naviance (the web-based college admissions process management system we use) to research the schools on your list. Keep in mind that your initial research will deal with raw statistics. You will get a “feel” for a college or university when you have a chance to visit, talk to other students that you know who attend or have attended, or talk to the admissions representative who visits Groton in the fall of your Sixth Form year. In this initial stage of research, you are not trying to decide which school you will attend; you are simply looking to select a group of schools which warrants further investigation. Parental Access to Naviance: Each student now has access to his or her college information on Naviance from anywhere in the world. Part of the Naviance system is called “Family Connection” and it allows parents to have access to some of the same information that the students have. Parents may visit the site at the following address: http://connection.naviance. com/groton Once there, parents may enter as guests with the following password: gs991fr Since we firmly believe that it is essential that each student controls his/her own college admissions process, we do not give parents access to their own child’s information. If your child does wish to grant access to his/her process, he/she can share his/her password with you. We hope that you will respect your child’s decision should he/she choose not to allow you access. Building a List That Reflects Your Desires and Makes Sense Given Your Profile You meet with your college counselor to discuss colleges and develop a series of working lists. You should share these lists with your parents as you continue your research. After exams, you will receive a copy of your “solid” college list in the mail. It will include your academic advisor’s comments and suggestions. Figuring Out Who Will Write Your Teacher Recommendations By the end of your junior year you will have been asked to do several things to get your college file up-and-running and complete. In addition to providing us with a resumé, you will be asked to select two teachers to write letters of recommendation for you. These letters are academic recommendations; you must ask teachers whom you have had for a year-long course, preferably during your Fifth Form year. There are exceptions to this and you should discuss other options with your college counselor. You will ask each teacher in person to write a letter, and then you will have them sign a sheet that we will provide you with. Should you need different or additional recommendations in the fall, you can ask a different teacher at that time. Continuing To Deal With Standardized Testing In December and January of your Fifth Form year, you will probably take the SAT I. In the spring, you will probably take SAT II: Subject Tests in May and in June. Most selective colleges require three Subject Tests. We encourage every Fifth Former to take two or three Subject Tests in May, if possible, and two or three in June. Subject Tests are best taken immediately after completing the material that will be covered (e.g., Chemistry, US History, French 4). In order to make certain 13
that SAT Reasoning and Subject tests can be taken at Groton, it is critical that students or parents sign students up for ALL Fifth Form SAT testing prior to the start of the Fifth Form year. Detailed instructions were sent home to this effect in June. In May, students take Advanced Placement exams for courses in which they have been studying the Advanced Placement syllabus, and in English and history, if appropriate. These are three-hour, very specific, college-level examinations that require a great deal of preparation. Sign-ups take place each February. Your college counselor will help you plan an individualized testing strategy that meets your needs. Making Sure You Are Fully Plugged-In If you have not extended yourself within the community by this time, you should start. Remember to pursue your strengths, step outside of yourself and take risks, and contribute to your community. Do not try to create a long list of fairly insignificant activities, doing so will not yield the desired results. Rather, take advantage of what the school offers and what your strengths are. Devote some time and energy to some activity other than your schoolwork. Pursuing Athletics Or The Arts Athletics: Athletics is an area of special talent that can make a difference in the college admissions process. At Division I and II schools, athletic recruitment is regulated by the rules established by the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). Any student who is interested in playing Division I or II sports in college should do the following: •
Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse; the forms are available in our office.
•
e sure you sign up for three terms of English as a Sixth Former—this is a strict B requirement set by the NCAA. A list of approved courses is available in our office. In general, you should NOT rely on a tutorial to fulfill this requirement.
Any student who is interested in Division I, II, or III sports in college should do the following: •
rite to, or e-mail, the coaches at the schools in which you are interested. This is very W important. You will not only show initiative and motivation, but if you play a spring sport, a college coach will have the opportunity to see you play. This note is just a short means of introduction and will allow for contact to begin early. When you visit colleges in the summer, you should schedule a time to meet with the coach at that time, if possible.
Arts: Students interested in studio art, music, architecture, dance, ceramics, photography, or drama have a number of options available to them. Some of you may wish to pursue the arts within the framework of a liberal arts education, or you may wish to enter into a specific school in your area of interest. Those of you who decide that you want to major in art will need to submit a portfolio of your work to an arts school. If you choose not to major in art and wish to pursue it within a liberal arts institution, we recommend that you discuss the option of putting together a portfolio with your instructor. Portfolios and tapes can be very helpful if you have worked over the years on your talent and they can offer considerable credentials to the college or university in which you are interested. NOW is the time to begin this discussion with your instructor, your college counselor, and your parents. Again, we recommend that you write a letter to the department requesting information about their programs as well as schedule a time to visit in the summer. 14
FIFTH FORM SPRING
FIFTH FORM SPRING
Checklist For Parents
Checklist For Students
❑ C omplete and return the Parent Questionnaire. In March, we will send you a questionnaire which allows you to express your thoughts and concerns, and provides us with valuable information. This should be completed and returned by the end of March.
eet with your student’s college counselor. We encourage you to call or to set up an ❑M
appointment to meet with your child’s advisor. As previously stated, the best time to meet is during April and May, when your child’s grades and test scores are reaching the critical mass for planning purposes.
elp set up summer visits. With SATs, Advanced Placement exams, and impending final ❑H
exams, the month of May is very stressful for Fifth Formers. It is, however, the best time to set up college visits and interviews—even for late August or early September. Work with your student to set up a travel schedule that makes sense and, if possible, help with the planning and phone calls (no one remembers who calls to schedule an admissions office appointment!).
❑ T ry not to talk about college all the time. As noted above, the Fifth Form spring is intense and demanding. Your child will be inundated by peers’ anxieties and college issues—a constant topic at meals. Most students greatly appreciate their parents’ sensitivity and support at this time, which can be difficult, given parents’ own anxieties and concerns. Try to strike an acceptable balance that ensures clear communication and planning, but focuses on the present issues, rather than the future. If tensions mount, please advise us immediately. We can usually help.
Before you go home in June:
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Your list: researched, solid, and BALANCED Interview appointments/summer plans should be set or in-the-making Teacher recommendations: process and form DUE in mid-May Complete your schedule: the strength of your course load is critical Return/complete all necessary forms/questionnaires for your college file NCAA eligibility forms Contact coaches/special interest contacts (throughout the summer) Send to colleges for materials (throughout the summer)
Over the summer:
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Campus visits and interviews
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Respectfully request an admissions staff member for your interview, if possible
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Performance and portfolio preparation, if appropriate
o what is reasonable, but show that you care—pay special attention to the colleges D that you want to be able to rely on Essay writing Think and write over the summer; use Common App topics; tell your story The Common Application: complete prior to September HOW YOUR INTEREST: Visit the web site, write thank you notes, and contact S department heads if you have a special interest Always write the optional essay Start planning for financial aid
The end of the summer: Deciding where to apply, and when
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Make sure that your list remains balanced Start thinking about a strategy for filing applications
September: The beginning of the Sixth Form year
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isiting/interviewing should be completed (use long weekend to revisit if necessary; use V Thanksgiving, if necessary; utilize one “college day” during Fall and Winter
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ommon Application should be completed, including essays in draft form; other C applications should be in draft form, if possible
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Firm (not necessarily final) college list should be in-hand Registration for the October SAT—ASAP Registration for ACT and TOEFL
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SECTION 7: FIFTH FORM SUMMER Before Sixth Form During the vacation between your Fifth and Sixth Form years, you should plan to commit a significant amount of time to research, visiting, interviewing, and writing. This is a time when you are rested and can think well; it is the time when your credentials are clearly emerging and solidifying. It is the time when, at home with your family, you can think about college and plan an application strategy without the distractions and commitments of school. Research and Visits •
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Continue to prepare any special materials that you may need. If you have a portfolio or wish to send a CD/DVD, now is the time to organize that material. Remember that admissions officers’ time is expensive, and that you run a risk when you send extra materials. Make sure that your material is worth reviewing.
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lan, visit, and interview. This will probably be the most important part of the college P process. When you visit a campus and talk to an admissions officer, you get a clear view of how the school would like to present itself.
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If you can schedule an interview, do so with an admissions staff member. Even colleges that list interviews as “informational and optional” still devote staff resources to meeting and greeting prospective students and families. Common sense dictates that when a staffer has met and liked you, your folder will read differently than if you remained flat on its pages, not having met the reader. An interviewer is a potential ally for you in the process. Ideally, you will meet with a staff member who will later champion your case before the selection committee. If you cannot get a staff member, you will probably be speaking with a student. Whatever the case, ALWAYS show great respect and enthusiasm—these student interviewers write reports, too. Always remember that YOU requested the interview, so the burden is on YOU to make it worth everyone’s time.
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Send for materials and GET ORGANIZED. If you have not already done so, this is the time to be writing to individual colleges to request information and application materials. You should do this as early as possible so that you will have a chance to review the materials prior to your campus visit and interview. You should also begin to develop a file for each college in which you have serious interest. It will be important to maintain these files through the fall so that you can move through the “paper chase” of the process with confidence.
Writing Complete the Common Application and all essay supplements. You can begin filling out the electronic version of the Common Application during the summer prior to your Sixth Form year. Write an inclusive, expansive resumé, and then use the Common Application’s personal data form to get this information down in application form. This kind of information is requested on every college application, so gather it and organize it now. Of particular importance is the extracurricular section. Many colleges will ask for a list of your activities and interests, and ask you to prioritize them and describe how much time you commit to them. Resist the temptation to create a two-page list of activities. List those few that are most important, and those that you have committed yourself to substantially and with passion. Make sure that you explain the significance of each and your role therein. Highlight any leadership experiences or positions. Essay Writing Essays are your chance to tell your story and to give the college a snapshot of you (as well as a writing sample). Look at essay writing as an important opportunity to get more of what you want into the application, to shift the focus away from sheer numbers and towards your strengths and convictions. Appreciate the time that the college readers will spend listening to you, and engage that reader. Essays are the opportunities for you to speak directly to the people at the other end, and because this is a human process, the opportunity is critical for you. If you are savvy, you can use two or three essay models to address most of the questions that arise on applications. We strongly encourage you to draft essays over the summer that respond to the four very open-ended essay topics on the Common Application. As you receive actual applications, or look them up on college web sites, read over the specific essay questions early and often, and THINK about your responses long before trying to sit down and write. Then, when you are ready to start, outline first—often the hardest part of this process is getting started. You will do yourself an incredible service if you “break the essay ice” this summer, before fall gets busy. Further Notes On College Admission Essay Writing •
e your very best self. Be original, personal, thoughtful, and passionate. These essays are B about you—what you care about, what you have learned, and how you think. Don’t write about things you bought (“My Trip to …,” “My Pony,” “My NOLS Rebirth”). Write about the experiences or people that taught you something. The best kinds of college essays tell a story, and in so doing they let the reader know that what you think is important. For example, a student several years ago wrote an essay in which she cast Mr. Brown as Gepetto in the shop and herself as a disciple. In particular, her essay focused on dove-tail joints and Mr. Brown’s disdain for nails in furniture. The reader came away from the essay with admiration for her imagination and writing skills, a good sense of her experience and talent as a wood-worker, and with her message—I take the time and do it right—clearly and positively understood.
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e thoughtful and careful in your choice of essay topic. While it is important to write B about something that you care a lot about, this is not necessarily a “chapel talk” forum in which to bare your soul about the crises/difficult moments of your life. The reader does not know you and will indeed judge you by what you write; you want to choose topics that will allow you to convey your important strengths and ones that will leave the reader with a positive impression of your writing and of you.
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e specific. Don’t offer general opinions or your “feelings” in a fuzzy way. As your English B teachers will advise: show, don’t tell.
Make contact with special people. If you think that you have something to contribute on an extracurricular front, you should e-mail, call, or write to coaches, conductors, and department heads early in the summer and meet with them when you visit the campus, if possible. Make sure that you respond to any correspondence sent your way, particularly with regard to being recruited. Let your college counselor know that you are pursuing such people, in case a call arrives at Groton School.
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If there is a specific question asked, answer it. Make sure that your responses are appropriately tailored to each question, even if it means you have to write an additional essay. A fuzzy or general answer will not serve you well. As college admissions representatives will put it, write “for the college.”
much more competitive pool for the regular round of decisions. The selectivity and yield go up, the overall admit rate goes down, and the first year class is dominated by students for whom the college was a first choice and usually by those who can pay, as well—early decision obviously works very well for most colleges.
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Be positive. Write about ideas or experiences that are upbeat and positive. You don’t have to be perfect, but you do want the reader to associate you with positive energy. Please use caution in writing about very personal issues such as eating disorders, substance abuse, etc. These may have been very important events in your development as a person, but they probably would not be the first impression you want to make on a hurried, cynical college essay reader.
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Be honest. Don’t try to be what you are not, and don’t worry if your response to a question seems unexciting.
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Write simply. Sound like yourself. Read your essays aloud for both phrasing and diction.
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Remember your audience. You are writing to a human admissions officer, and it is likely that your reader will be tired, harried, and slightly cynical. It is also likely that your reader likes kids and is looking to like and be engaged by you. Don’t be afraid to be lively and humorous, but don’t overdo that style either—no gimmicks, no clichés, etc.
But for students? Early decision can be both a blessing and a curse. Because the number of students willing to commit in November to attend a given school is usually only 25-40 percent of the total applicant pool, and because the college wants to admit anywhere up to 50 percent of its freshman class or more from that pool, there is a clear advantage for a well-qualified candidate who tells the college, “you are my first choice and if you take me, I will come.” However, it is usually very difficult for a young person beginning the senior year of high school—with a full 25% of high school time remaining—with some testing still outstanding and senior grades not yet earned, to make that commitment. The upside advantage is real and considerable; the downside—making the wrong choice and wasting an opportunity elsewhere, only to find oneself in a super-competitive set of admissions pools in the spring—is also obvious. If a student chooses poorly, they could easily receive a rejection; if they are deferred at a reach, they may also now be in a much less advantageous position at a “possible” and “likely” school which also took a substantial part of their freshman class early.
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OLLOW DIRECTIONS EXACTLY. If the directions require a handwritten essay, write. F Respect word limits absolutely—500 words or less means exactly that. Use a font or typeface that is easy to read, not tiny. Unless you have very neat handwriting, type anything longer than four sentences and certainly type any essays unless instructed otherwise.
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ALWAYS WRITE OPTIONAL ESSAYS. This is an easy litmus test for real interest.
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DO YOUR OWN WORK. Above all else, do not use a service or let anyone else write for you. The authenticity, sincerity, and freshness of your essay are crucial, and while the essay needs to be correct, it also needs to come from you. We encourage you strongly to have others read your work, either as a proofreader or as a sounding board. However, it is absolutely critical that the work and ideas be your own.
For a number of years preceding the changes in colleges’ policies and the media hype surrounding college admissions, Groton School students have routinely taken advantage of early application programs. Most years, the vast majority of students do file an early application. Here is our advice: •
ook hard at your credentials. If you are not satisfied that you have achieved your best L grades or test scores, it might be advisable to wait until you have completed your testing and earned your fall term grades.
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uestion your motivation. Are you really delighted with your early choice, or might you Q wake up in February desperate to go elsewhere? Don’t let the panic to “get it over with” drive your early application decision. The advantage does not work for you unless your choice is clear and true.
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hink twice if financial aid is a big concern. If you are relying on a hefty financial aid T package to make your college choice possible, you need to research and understand the financial aid policies of the school to which you apply. If you are admitted under a binding early decision plan, you can expect to receive an estimated financial aid package, but you will not be applying elsewhere and so you will not be able to compare offers from other colleges. If the aid package simply cannot work, a school will release you from your commitment and rescind its acceptance, but this is a situation to be avoided. Financial aid policies are very much specific to individual schools and they do vary greatly. Be sure to talk with a financial aid officer at the college before you apply early.
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pply to a college within reasonable reach. Don’t waste the early application on a college A at which you ultimately have very little chance of admission. Choose, instead, one that you also like that is less of a reach and use the process to your advantage.
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alk with your college counselor. We can offer you advice on specific programs and trends, T guide you around idiosyncratic pitfalls, and give you our honest sense of the reasonableness of risk involved. Again, the decision to apply remains yours, but we can offer insight that can help.
Early Application? One of the most significant changes in the college application process has been the increased importance of early application. Most colleges offer some type of early application program, but there is great variation regarding the commitment required from any student who wishes to participate. Under early decision plans, students apply to one college and commit themselves to matriculate if accepted; under early action, early notification, rolling, or open admissions plans, students receive the benefit of an early read on their candidacy without having to assume the commitment to attend if accepted. Several years ago, beginning with the US News and World Report and Money magazine ratings, colleges became particularly aware of their admissions statistics and, in particular, of the selectivity of admissions—colleges strive for low admit rates, high testing profiles, and high yield (the high percentage of admitted students who choose to attend). These numbers play a significant role in the way the media “ranks” colleges. This, in turn, has a significant effect on the number and quality of applicants the college receives; it is the best or the worst public relations problem colleges face. One obvious answer to the numbers problem is early decision. If a college accepts a candidate, it yields the candidate. Moreover, because a relatively small percentage of students are willing to commit early, a college has great control over ultimate selectivity by selecting those strong students who are committed early decision applicants to fill up to half of the class, with the vast majority of applicants forming a bigger,
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Double check your strategy. In general, students may apply to one early decision college, or to one Early Action Single Choice college. There are a number of other non-binding early programs that can be used simultaneously (for example, The University of North Carolina and Boston College). Although they don’t want to discuss the matter, we know that colleges do share information on early applicants. The colleges expect that their dictates regarding applying to only one program will be respected, and we in turn respect their prerogative. Watch the deadlines carefully. Some colleges have a “priority” or “preferred” filing deadline of October 15. Most dates vary from November 1-15. Remember, these are deadlines for all information to be received by the college, including test scores, so pay attention to turning in forms and such. Do not procrastinate! on’t count on it. Even after you make the decision about early application, you MUST D plan a complete list and, after completing that first application, continue to work to complete the rest. If you are deferred or rejected, it is imperative that the rest of your strategy be ready to employ and that the other applications reflect your best work, not grudging, angry, Christmas vacation efforts. I f you are deferred, don’t give up. It remains a reality that even if an early decision candidate is deferred, the college will make note of that student’s positive interest and willingness to commit in evaluating that student later. Those students who are admitted later, however, are ones who very nearly made the cut the first time.
Financial Aid?
The financial aid forms that you will need are: •
he FAFSA (Free Application For Student Aid), covering all federal loan and T grant programs;
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he PROFILE, a service of the College Scholarship service that many private institutions T require. The PROFILE requires students to submit tax and other information to a central clearinghouse, which then produces reports created specifically for the colleges to which the student plans to apply. This is a costly and time-sensitive procedure and one that should be undertaken during the early fall of the Sixth Form year;
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A college’s individual financial aid forms, if necessary;
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opies of most recent tax forms. Since no financial aid award is final until the current C year’s tax forms are filed, both students and parents should file all tax forms as early as possible, preferably in January.
Register For Any Remaining Standardized Testing If students plan to take either the SAT Subject or Reasoning Test using the online registration available, it is important to sign up early in the summer because Groton School’s testing center fills up quickly and it operates on a first-come, first-served basis. Students may begin signing up after July 1. To do so, go to www.collegeboard.com or, while in the Naviance site, go to “Resources” and then select “College Board” in the Colleges and Careers section. Please note: the Groton School Code # is 220-930; the Test Center Code # is: 22-400.
Applying for financial aid is both separate from, and integrally related to, the application process. It has its own sets of forms and deadlines as well as its own vocabulary. If you are a financial aid candidate, we suggest that you buy one of the financial aid guides available at most bookstores. In particular, the College Board’s College Costs and Financial Aid Handbook offers clear explanations and good worksheets to help you and your parents through this complicated and confusing process. Financial aid consists of loans, grants, and work-study jobs calculated in light of an “expected family contribution,” a figure reached after an analysis of tax and financial information that a student and family submit for need analysis. Every school has its own financial aid policy; those policies differ and aid packages differ, and sometimes financial aid offers differ substantially. Many of the most expensive colleges have the best financial aid endowments and offer the most generous (less loan, more grant) aid packages. The bottom line in financial aid is cost of attendance to you—what you and your family must pay after the financial aid grants and scholarships, and how much loan and work responsibility you will have to assume. Does applying for financial aid affect how an application is read? It certainly can. There are a few colleges that remain truly “need-blind” in the admissions process—if they admit a student, they are committed to meeting demonstrated need. However, most colleges are “need-sensitive,” taking financial aid need into account in a number of different ways, none of which work in favor of the candidate. Also, a number of colleges do not guarantee to meet need, as the process defines it. While one should not apply for financial aid simply to test the waters, if aid is an issue it should certainly be part of the college application. If financial aid is a major consideration, it certainly pays to entertain a number of different offers and choose the best. This sometimes conflicts with the idea of an early application, and if you are a student for whom financial aid is critical, you should have a frank discussion with your college counselor as well as with a financial aid officer at the college to which you want to apply. These are great questions for interviews.
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SECTION 8: SIXTH FORM FALL Self-discipline, Organization, Good Health, and Communication Your Sixth Form fall will be the busiest time you have yet experienced at Groton School. You will have a significant academic load and your performance is very important; you will have a number of new duties; you will have new privileges and need to reorganize your life at school; you will take on the college application process on a daily basis, which at times seems the equivalent of another course. Take heart—everyone does it and survives to tell the stories. But the keys to doing it well are self-discipline, organization, good health (stay rested!), and communication.
Please note that the school business office does not provide checks for application fees; plan your finances and time so that you can pay the fees with personal checks, checks from home, or money orders. Students on full scholarship may be eligible for fee waivers; please see Ms. Brown. •
omplete the application: Your applications must be honest and complete. We have no C copies of specific college application forms; it can be helpful to photocopy an application and use the copy as a first draft. Make sure that you identify each activity and organization that a reader would not clearly know (for example, The Circle Voice, the student newspaper).
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ssays: These are, quite possibly, the most crucial part of your application and should be E written with great care. One of the most serious criticisms of our students of late has been that they write superficial or hastily composed essays. PLEASE PROOFREAD CAREFULLY!
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S core reporting: With the exception of colleges that do not require score reports, every college will require an official score report from ETS.
Deal with the Details! •
Schedule a meeting with your college counselor. At this meeting, we will discuss your visits and summer experiences, plan strategies for future testing and early applications, and try to finalize your college list.
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Register for the October and November SATs if you haven’t done so already. You must check the requirements for the colleges to which you plan to apply (do you need a math Subject Test? A language Subject Test?), as well as the dates that specific Subject Tests are offered (for example, the Latin test is not offered in November), and you must make your testing plans accordingly.
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ign up and meet with visiting college representatives. Beginning from the first week of S school, and continuing through the first week in November, college representatives will be visiting Groton School to meet with any Sixth Formers interested in their colleges. These meetings are important opportunities for you to meet in very small groups with admissions representatives (often the Deans or Directors of Admission), learn more about the colleges, and leave an impression that the visiting representatives can take back to their admissions committees. We often talk after these sessions about you as a candidate. Even if you have already visited and interviewed at the college, you should come meet the representative at our office. You can find out which colleges are coming to campus on Naviance. Please make sure you attend any visit for which you signed up.
To attend a college meeting with a visiting representative, you must sign up in advance. If you have a class that period, you can ask your teacher at least one day in advance for permission to attend the information session. If you are unable to attend the session, you should try to meet the representative either before or after that period, and explain your interest and absence. Get Your Applications Sent Deal Effectively with Applications: Each application can be divided into two parts: your part and our part. Your part consists of any preliminary form, the actual application, and any financial aid forms; your responsibilities include asking teachers for recommendations, completing and signing the school forms before turning them in to us, having ETS report your SAT scores, and completing and filing the necessary financial aid forms. Our part includes the school report, mid-year report, and teacher recommendations. Please read and follow these directions exactly for each application you complete.
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C heck the applicable deadlines. It is your responsibility to know the colleges’ individual deadlines and to get your materials in on time.
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C omplete any preliminary form (often referred to as Part I) and send it with the appropriate fee. Often this form must be completed and received by the college before the college will send you an application, so complete and send these preliminary forms as soon as possible.
You are responsible for making sure that you order a score report to be sent to each college to which you apply. Please note the following: Every time that you register for the SAT, you are allowed to send four free score reports to the colleges of your choice; there is an additional fee for additional reports. Score reporting is cumulative; all of your SAT I and II scores will appear on each report, with additional scores added as you take additional tests. When you register for the tests this fall, you will at the same time order score reports to be sent to the colleges of your choice. However, if you add more scores, you will need to have the scores reported to the colleges again. The directions and codes for sending score reports are found in the SAT Registration Bulletin. If you plan to apply early, October and November scores will arrive at colleges in good time. There is no need to rush report scores. There is an additional fee to rush report scores. You should use the four free score reports and not pay for additional reports at this time. When you register for the last time you plan to test (October or November for most Sixth Formers), you must request on the registration form that scores be sent to all colleges to which you plan to apply, and pay the fees for sending out those scores to your entire list of colleges. If you decide to wait until after you receive your early news, you run the risk of missing important deadlines or, worse yet, forgetting to order the score reports. Please keep track of the score reports; keep a record of where you have requested them to be sent. This information will appear on your copies if you request scores to be sent at the time you register. Complete the financial aid forms if you want to be considered for financial aid. PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE DEADLINES! You will need to fill out these forms with your parents, so plan your time carefully to allow for sending the forms home if necessary. Please check with your college counselor for additional sources of funding. If you plan to apply early, you must complete the PROFILE registration process right away and certainly before October 1st. File the FAFSA in early January.
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In all cases where you are seeking an aid determination, even if you have been admitted early, you must complete and file the FAFSA (Free Application For Student Aid by the federal government) and, in most cases, the PROFILE form by the College Scholarship Service, as well as any other financial aid forms required by the individual colleges. These forms should be submitted as early as possible. REMEMBER: KEEP COPIES OF EVERYTHING YOU SEND! Know the Rules Deadlines: It is your responsibility to check each application for pertinent deadlines, and to make sure that those deadlines are met. Further, it is your responsibility to read and respond to the weekly newsletter, and to make sure that the office deadlines set therein are met. Please see the attached calendar for an overview of the fall schedule and important deadlines. College Visits: We strongly encourage all Sixth Formers to complete the bulk of your visits and interviews during the summer, using Fall Long Weekend to complete any final visits. If necessary, Sixth Formers are allowed 1 class day to visit colleges through the end of Winter Term. In the spring, Sixth Formers are allowed up to two days, if necessary. All leaves must be cleared through the Dean’s Office, with the approval of your college counselor. Schedule Changes: We print out the transcripts that accompany all applications during the summer preceding the Sixth Form year. If you make any changes to your Sixth Form schedule, you must notify the colleges in writing of those changes. If you have any concerns about how a schedule change might affect your candidacy (i.e., dropping difficult courses), see your college counselor at once.
Reporting Disciplinary Matters and Supporting Integrity in the College Application Process It is Groton School’s policy to report to colleges suspension and disciplinary probation occurring during the Fifth and Sixth Form years for violations of the school rules. It is also the school’s policy to respond to specific requests from colleges (and other educational institutions or programs) for information about disciplinary probation or more severe penalties taken by the school against a student. The school’s policies regarding reporting disciplinary matters to colleges are applicable until a student graduates. Should a student be involved in any disciplinary matter after submitting college applications, the school and the college counselors expect the student to inform within ten days, in writing, any college that specifically asked about disciplinary matters, and all colleges if the student has violated major integrity rules or if the student has compromised the safety or well-being of others. Students are also expected to complete college applications without inappropriate degrees of help from others. We thus hold students to the same high standards of integrity in the production of college applications as they are held to in their academic work. It is important to respond honestly and directly to questions regarding disciplinary matters in your part of the application. Should you be involved in any disciplinary matter after you have submitted your application, we expect you to immediately inform the colleges, in writing, that specifically asked about disciplinary matters—this includes, but is not limited to, all common application schools.
Disciplinary Matters: We report all major school rule infractions according to the following policy:
Keep In Mind Colleges have admitted you based on the program of study, academic standing, and community standing you submitted. If you change your courses, your academic performance drops sharply, or your standing in the community changes (particularly for disciplinary reasons), those changes must be reported to the college that admitted you. You will note that your acceptance letter contains language to this effect; please read it carefully. Colleges reserve the right to change an early acceptance decision if your performance or standing changes.
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SECTION 9: EARLY DECISION
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inter Term is very important. Work hard and stay involved. We will be reporting your W Winter Term grades and comments as soon as they are final, in early March. Colleges take this information very seriously.
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onsider whether you should pursue additional testing. There is one more test date C (January) still available, but you will need to pursue registration as soon as possible.
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ouble check the sending of your SAT score reports. Make sure that you have had your D SAT scores sent by ETS to all of the colleges to which you will now apply—not just to those to which you applied early. This should be done as soon as possible. We have some additional report forms in the office if you need them. If you have any questions about sending scores, please see your college counselor immediately.
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I f you applied for financial aid, update your CSS PROFILE college registration to include the rest of your colleges.
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If you want to pursue alumni interviewing, call the colleges’ admissions office.
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ake sure that your college list is adequate and that you are covered. Above all, remain M optimistic; you will get another good look in January and February, and you now have the opportunity to pursue many options.
Managing the First Wave of News In early December, the college counselors update the June “solid lists” with further grade, testing, and college choice information. This information becomes the basis for the final “agreement” on where each student plans to apply. While students may add more colleges, they are asked to agree not to drop colleges from the list without first discussing the change with their college counselor. Students are asked to sign and return these agreements, and if the student has active applications after the early application round concludes, a copy will be sent to the student’s parents. Managing Early News News will arrive from most early admission programs just prior to, or at the beginning of, our Christmas break. If you are accepted: •
By an early decision college: You must immediately withdraw your other applications (easily done via postcard). If you are waiting for a financial aid package or estimate, you may wait until you receive that news. If your financial aid is a problem, please let your college counselor know immediately.
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By an early action college: You should consider withdrawing all other applications, or as many other applications as possible. It is important to remember that this is not an awards process and that there are a finite number of admission offers that colleges can send. If you have the one you want, don’t try to garner more that others— including your classmates— will need. Again, if there is some problem with financial aid that would prevent withdrawing applications, please see your college counselor.
If you have been deferred:
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espond to the letter. Write a short note, addressed to the person who signed the letter R deferring you, expressing your continued interest in that college. You can express your disappointment at being deferred, your enthusiasm about the college, and your determination to have a strong Winter Term. The point of this letter is to express your continued interest and determination in a POSITIVE way, and to make human contact with the admissions officer at the college. You should write such a letter as soon as possible.
•
If the letter invites you to supplement your application, do it. Often letters that defer include an invitation to you to submit more current work, an additional essay, or new recommendations. If the opportunity presents itself to provide the college with more information, do it. If you have had a teacher, an advisor, or someone who did not write for you in the first round but could provide new or supplemental information, explain your situation to that person and ask for a letter. If you have any questions about what would be appropriate, see your college counselor. Again, you should do this soon, so that when the second round of reading begins, the new information is part of your file.
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SECTION 10: THE REGULAR ROUND Finishing the Process Well Most colleges mail decisions by the first week of April. This is obviously an emotionallycharged time for your entire Form during which there is much happiness and much disappointment. Please come see us with your concerns, as well as with the news you receive. You have top priority and we want to be as helpful to you as possible. We are more than happy to work through your options and help you in any way possible with your decision-making. Please be sensitive to the needs of those around you. While you are celebrating your acceptance at College X, someone next to you might be feeling low about having been denied admission. It is also important to remember that the entire school watches the Sixth Form during this time and draws many conclusions from your behavior and reactions. You have worked very hard throughout your time here, and it is sometimes hard—but always important—to remember that your achievements are not measured by the kind of mail you receive right now. If you haven’t done so already, please remember to thank the faculty members who wrote on your behalf, no matter the outcome. Those letters are a crucial and demanding component of the process, and many faculty devoted much time and effort to them on your behalf. Faculty members are also eager to hear about your plans but want to respect your privacy. Manage Wait Lists Well One of the keys to moving off a wait list and being accepted is your show of interest in the college. Most colleges have “unranked” wait lists, meaning that students are given priority after the college hears back about their interest. If you were wait listed and remain seriously interested in attending that college (or those colleges), you must act immediately. You should: •
Read the letter very carefully and follow the directions for indicating your interest exactly. Some colleges give very specific instructions about what to do or not to do; others allow more leeway.
•
Return the postcard that most colleges enclose immediately.
•
F ollow up that postcard with a personal letter addressed to the Dean or Director of Admissions, or to the admissions officer who interviewed you or visited Groton School, stating why you wish to attend. If appropriate, indicate that the college is your first choice and that you will attend if accepted. If the college allows or does not prohibit, you might want to follow the letter up with a more recent recommendation or more recent work later in April.
•
If at any time you decide not to remain on the wait list, you should notify the college accordingly in writing.
Once you have shown the interest, do not badger the college—or your college counselor. Continual phone calls, e-mail, and other kinds of contact can easily backfire when a tired admissions officer feels pressured. Be judicious and gracious in your contacts with your colleges, and respect their decision-making process. Likewise, please be assured that we will continue to work on your behalf and will remain in steady contact with the colleges. We will inform you as soon as there is any information to be had.
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Make your college plans independent of the wait list. Once you have indicated your interest, you must go forward based on the acceptance(s) you have in hand. Do not delay your decision-making in the hopes that a wait list will move early; in all likelihood, it will not. You must assume that the wait list will not move and make your plans accordingly Plan to deposit at a college to which you have been accepted by May 1. Because colleges ask for an answer from you by May 1, you should be prepared to accept admission at a college to which you were admitted, and to put down a non-refundable deposit at that college by May 1. You can delay sending the money if you remain uncertain; however, make sure the deposit arrives at the college in good time. This protects you by ensuring your place at a college of your choice if you are still on a wait list.
Communication with your college advisor is very important at this time, so that we understand your priorities and can support your efforts. When you have received all of your mail, we will ask you to tell us in writing which wait lists you want to pursue and to prioritize them, if more than one. Be patient and hopeful, but please understand that wait list activity can be concluded very quickly or can draw out over the entire summer, and it is very idiosyncratic. You need to make plans to attend a college other than the one(s) at which you remain on the wait list.
Prioritize your wait list possibilities. If a wait list moves and an offer of admission follows, the decision-making window for accepting or rejecting the offer is often very small. Colleges would like you to be able to respond right away to such an offer, so it is important to think through all the possibilities. It is certainly ethical to remain on multiple wait lists, and it is also ethical to accept an offer of admission from a college that is not your top choice as long as you inform that school that you are remaining on the wait list elsewhere. You should also feel free to ask for time to discuss any offer with your parents before committing to a college. We will ask you for a prioritized list in mid-April. Make sure that your voice mail at school is properly set up (with an appropriate greeting) and that you check it regularly. Most colleges will try to call you at school via voice mail. Communication with your college advisor is very important at this time, so that we understand your priorities and can support your efforts. When you have received all of your mail, we will ask you to tell us in writing which wait lists you want to pursue and to prioritize them, if more than one. Be patient and hopeful, but please understand that wait list activity can be concluded very quickly or can draw out over the entire summer, and it is very idiosyncratic. You need to make plans to attend a college other than the one(s) at which you remain on the wait list. Do not expect to hear anything before May 1. Movement on the wait list is hard to predict, and different colleges have very different policies regarding the use of the wait list. It is important to understand that admitting students off the wait list is at each individual college’s discretion, and that no movement is as possible as movement. No one will have much of a sense of what wait list activity there might be until the beginning of May at the earliest. Once you have indicated your interest by letter, and followed up if appropriate, all you can do is continue to work hard.
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Keep your academic program and your grades strong. If you choose to remain on a wait list, your academic performance this spring becomes very important. You might want to reevaluate your course load to make sure that it represents you at your academic best. If you have any questions, see your college counselor. Re-visits: Many colleges will invite you back to campus during the month of April for a re-visit. School policy allows you to miss 2 days of class for decision-making purposes; you should go through the Dean’s Office for a college-visit slip, and have your teachers and college counselor sign it, in advance of leaving school. Please keep an eye on upcoming AP exams and other academic commitments as you make decisions around attending re-visits. You should do what you need to do to make a good decision, but you should miss as little class as possible during this important month. Matriculation: You must matriculate at one college by May 1. Failure to get your deposit in on time can result in forfeiture of your place in the class. After you have made your decision, please do not delay in submitting the appropriate paperwork and deposit to the college you plan to attend. Please Note: Wait list status probably will not be resolved until after May 1. You must matriculate at one of the colleges to which you have been admitted by May 1. Grades and Courses: This note applies to everyone, even those of you who were admitted early, and particularly to those of you who will be remaining on a wait list. Colleges have admitted you based on the program of study you submitted on your transcript and the grades which you have, and will continue to receive, in those courses. It is very important that your academic program remain true to what you have submitted, and it is crucially important that your grades remain steady. If your program changes, you will have to notify the colleges you wish to consider, and if your grades change significantly, colleges may reserve the right to reconsider an acceptance. Please continue to work hard. If you have any concerns about your program or your grades, please see your college counselor immediately. Disciplinary Policy: Please remember that all college admissions are contingent upon your finishing your time at Groton School satisfactorily, both in terms of academics and citizenship. If there is a change in your status, you must report it to your college and if the college has asked us to respond, we must report it as well. If you have any questions, see your college counselor.
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APPENDIX Profile For the Form of 2012
GROTON SCHOOL School Profile of 2011 – 2012
Richard B. Commons, Headmaster
Katharine Leggat, Academic Dean
Craig N. Gemmell, Director, College Counseling (978) 448-7572 Peter J. Quagliaroli*, Assoc. Director, College Counseling (*Sabbatical) Erin E. Lyman, Assoc. Director, College Counseling (978) 448-7571 Jane Hahn Watkins, Assoc. Director, College Counseling (978) 448-7582
P. O. Box 991 • Groton, Massachusetts 01450 • (978) 448-7641 • Facsimile: (978) 448-6355 • CEEB Code: 220930
The School in Brief Founded in 1884 by the Rev. Endicott Peabody, Groton is a coeducational, residential school of 181 girls and 190 boys in grades eight through twelve. Admission to Groton School is extremely competitive, and our 14% admission rate is among the lowest in the United States among independent schools. We endeavor to educate students broadly by maintaining high standards for academic achievement, intellectual growth, ethical awareness and behavior, sportsmanship, athletic engagement and service to others. Trust and honesty are of the highest value; students have adopted an Honor Code that serves to remind students of the importance of integrity. The School expects all students to act as leaders, and our focus on character development is a point of distinction. Groton School’s small student body, rigorous academic program and commitment to character development prepare our students extremely well to effectively enter and significantly contribute to college and university communities.
An Open and Affordable School With a Diverse Student Body Groton’s small size, rigor, and particular balance of tradition and innovation provide exceptional educational opportunities to qualified students from diverse geographic, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds. We are an inclusive community open to young people who seek challenge, growth, and fulfillment and have a strong instinct to serve and lead. The community is made up of people from many different backgrounds, including 32% people of color and 13% international students from 13 different countries and 30 different states in the US. The School is committed to making a Groton education affordable to all through a generous financial aid program. In 2007 the School announced that students from families with incomes below $75,000 would not be required to pay any tuition, room or board. Currently, 37% of the student body receives financial aid.
The 2011-2012 Student Body Boarding Day Total Form of 2012
Boys 158 32 190
Girls 156 25 181
Total 314 57 371
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46
95
program, they are expected to engage in increasing levels of supervision of younger students. In addition to faculty supervision, all VI Formers serve as dormitory prefects and are responsible for creating and maintaining high ethical standards for younger students.
A Highly Involved Faculty Groton’s faculty is well equipped to guide students’ intellectual and personal growth. Groton’s faculty is well prepared academically: 74% have advanced degrees and 11% have Ph.Ds. Beyond the classroom, faculty members live in and supervise dormitories, and most coach afternoon athletics or supervise performing arts. In addition to teaching, coaching, and supervisory roles, all faculty act as advisors. Students typically form powerful and long-term relationships with their advisors, and these relationships are central to our educational practice.
The 2011-2012 Faculty Total full and part-time Student/Faculty ratio Average class size * Teaching faculty:
91* 6:1 12 64
Groups of fifteen to twenty-three students live with a faculty member or a faculty family, and other faculty members assist in the supervision of the dormitories. The very architecture of dormitories changes during the course of students’ time at Groton: students move from door-less cubicles as II Formers into increasingly private rooms during their time. These architectural changes underlie changing expectations, for as students move through our residential
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Groton Offers an Extensive Array of Advanced Courses
Groton School does not rank its students but provides a grade distribution chart against which colleges can chart each student’s course load and performance. GPA’s are for in-house purposes only, and Honors and AP courses are not weighted.
Groton offers some AP designated courses, but many more students take AP exams at the end of non-AP courses (i.e. English V, Calculus A and B, World and the West, US History and Advanced Physics). The only courses designated Honors (H) are in mathematics.
Grading is Conservative Despite national trends, Groton continues to stand by the belief that high academic standards are supported best by conservative grading standards. Academic averages are determined by adding year and term grades and dividing by the number of credits.
Required Courses in All Academic Disciplines Students take a minimum of 5 credits and a maximum of 6.5 credits each trimester. For the Upper School, Forms IV through VI, students must earn 45 credits and successfully complete the following minimum diploma requirements: English: IV Form, V Form, and one term of VI Form Expository Writing. Math: Through trigonometry or through the end of the V Form, whichever is later. Classics/Modern Language: If students arrive in the II or III Form, through level 2 of both a classical and modern language; and for all students, through level 3 or through the end of V Form, whichever is later, in either a classical or modern language. Science: One year of a lab science (biology, chemistry, or physics). Religion and Ethics: Either Sacred Texts or Sacred Studies, and one term of Ethics in the V or VI Form. History: World and the West and American History. Arts: Three terms in the IV, V or VI Form.
A Broad Extracurricular Program Groton School embraces the notion that vibrant educational opportunities exist in a range of extracurricular pursuits. Students are thus required to participate broadly in the afternoon program of athletics and performing arts, and participation requirements strongly discourage specialization in one particular activity. In any given term, Groton students can participate in a theatrical production, a range of interscholastic athletics, or a selection of intramural offerings. In addition to the required afternoon participation, students can choose to attend frequent concerts, plays, lectures, art exhibits and dances. There are more than 25 student-run organizations available. Service to others is one of the school’s core values, and although community service is voluntary at Groton, over one-third of all eligible Upper School students choose to commit one or two free periods each week to a service activity throughout the year.
Academic Program Focused on Relevance and Rigor A Focus on Residential Life
Groton Does Not Rank Students
Groton School accepts only extremely capable students, and the academic program is designed to challenge students, enrich their worldviews, and prepare them to move seamlessly into college and university academic programs. Groton’s diploma requirements support the School’s belief in broad exposure to academic disciplines while allowing for increasing choice through a student’s time at Groton.
Form of 2012 AP Profile Score of 4 or better – 73%. Score of 3 or better – 96% # 9 8 5 13 79 81 24 2 8 3 1 12 1 1 13 2 32 17 5
AP Exam Biology Calculus AB Calculus BC Chemistry English Lang English Lit Env. Science Euro History French Lang Govt & Pol. Human Geog Latin Vergil Microeconomics Physics C: Mech Spanish Lang Statistics US History World History Music Theory
Score of 5 7 3 4 5 29 17 6 1 2 3 1 9 1 0 4 0 11 9 0
Score of 4 2 3 1 4 30 30 14 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 5 2 17 4 3
Score of 3 0 2 0 4 18 27 4 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 4 2
Students Pursue Individual Interests and College-Level Offerings
Number students in this Form taking AP Exams: 93 Total Number of AP Exams: 316
In addition to required courses, Groton offers a range of elective courses in each academic department; these courses offer students the opportunity to engage in college-level work across the disciplines and allow our talented faculty to share particular expertise with students.
Clear Policies for Reporting Disciplinary Matters and Supporting Integrity in the College Application Process
Sixth Form Program: In addition to year-long courses, and since all departments offer elective courses well beyond the normal secondary school level, VI Form students take college-level electives in English, History, Arts, Classics (Archaeology), Mathematics (Advanced Topics, Discrete), and Science (Astronomy, Anatomy, Intro Engineering, Applied Physics, Natural History, etc). Advanced Topics: This accelerated and honors-level course is available to students who have completed Calculus. Tutorials: Tutorials are intense, individually-designed, independent study programs undertaken by VI Formers with a faculty member, with the approval of the Academic Dean.
It is Groton School’s policy to report to colleges suspension and disciplinary probation occurring during the V and VI Form years for violations of the School rules. It is also the School’s policy to respond to specific requests from colleges (and other educational institutions or programs) for information about disciplinary probation or more severe penalties taken by the School against a student. The School’s policies regarding reporting disciplinary matters to colleges are applicable until a student graduates. Should a student be involved in any disciplinary matter after submitting college applications, the School and the college counselors expect the student to inform within ten days, in writing, any college that specifically asked about disciplinary matters and all colleges if the student has violated major integrity rules or if the student has compromised the safety or well-being of others. Students are also expected to complete college applications without inappropriate degrees of help from others. We thus hold students to the same high standards of integrity in the production of college applications as they are held to in their academic work.
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Profile For the Form of 2012 Continued
ed ian
Groton Students Perform Effectively on Standardized Testing
Through June 2010– 91 students
Form of 2012 SAT Reasoning Test Profile
ENGLISH English V
94
1
English Expo
91
1
English Electives W, S
5
12
21
16
15
14
10
2
9
20
16
23
11
5
3
86
170
6
27
37
43
29
9
11
6
87
1
2
12
14
10
9
12
11
7 5
1
88
Medians: CR–685, M–670, W–700 Total: 2045 (median)
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HISTORY World History
Form of 2012 SAT Subject Test Profile
M
0
0 -6
69
2
-7
71
4 -7
-7 73
75
8
6 -7
77
0
79
-8 81
-7
2
4
-8 83
6
85
-8
8
-8
-8 89
87
2
0 -9
91
4
93
-9
6
-9 95
-9
-9 97
99
#
10
0
8
DISTRIBUTION OF GRADES – Forms 2011 and 2012
5
1
5
6
American History
84
1
4
8
10
14
12
9
10
History Electives F,W,S
114
7
15
23
23
25
10
5
4
6
4
8
8
5
8
6
4
4
10
14
8
16
4
10
3
1
2 2
3
Critical Reading Math Writing
84 85
2
88
MATH 55
Precal H
73
Precal Acc H
30
AP Statistics-
30
1
Calculus A
61
1
2
1
1
Calculus B
18
Discrete F,W,S
72
Advanced Math Topics
30
2
1
1
1
2
1 1
2
4
2
5
2
5
4
3
4
4
7
3
1
1
3
6
11
5
12
4
9
6
3
3
3
16
11
6
4
2
2
2
3
10
4
3
2
8
11
13
9
3
11
2
2
1
3
8
6
3
1
2
1
83 87 87
1 1
90 93
FOREIGN LANGUAGE French 3
49
6
4
3
1
1
2
1
2
1
French 4
44
1
2
6
14
6
6
3
French AP Lang
18
2
1
7
4
1
2
1
Spanish 3
45
4
3
5
6
7
6
2
Spanish 4
45
Spanish AP Lang
35
1
1
4
1 3
2
6
5
7
7
3
6
2
1
2
6
9
3
2
4
3
2
3
1
Latin 3
31
3
5
2
4
7
6
AP Latin 4 (Vergil)
12
1
2
1
2
4
1
Greek 1
10
3
2
2
3
2
3
2
6
11
9
6
12
6
1
1
3
3
2
2
3
8
8
7
8
85
87 89
3
87
1
88
1
1
90
SCIENCE AP Biology
11
Chemistry, Intro
74
AP Chemistry
14
Physics, Intro
48
Advanced Physics
35
Advanced Ecology
25
Natural History
7
Science Elect F,W,S
83
4 1 1 1
1
5
5
1 6
4
3
1
2
2
92
6
1 3
3
2
1
85
1
6
2
6
6
6
2
6
1
3
2
3
1
3
2
3
2
4
11
13
18
9
6
5
5
2
89
9
13
13
24
14
10
6
1
2
89
4
1
4
4
2
87
2
16
34
15
5
2
1
90
17
22
19
21
29
27
8
2
1
90
1
87 2
1
86 90
0
ARTS PROGRAM Shop
13
Instrumental Music
75
Choir
39
Visual Art (F.W,S)*
107
*(F), (W), (S) = Term Courses # = Number of students
Recent analysis of college freshman year transcripts of Groton graduates demonstrates that our students make an effective transition to the academic demands of college life. On average, they post 3.34 GPAs in their first year.
685 755 685 650 730 620 660 690 660 700 780
540 530 490 520 590 490 510 610 530 460 570
89
20 15 10 5 0
96-95 94-93 92-91 90-89 88-87 86-85 84-83 82-81 80-79 78-76 75-73
Please note that standardized test scores are not reported on the Groton transcript. Students are instructed to report test results directly to colleges. The testing profile contains scores only for the current VI Form, through the end of its V Form year.
College Matriculation – 5 year total 2007—2011
88 87
RELIGION Ethics
Graduates Perform Extremely Well Academically As College Freshmen
87.5 4
1 1
National Merit Semifinalists — 9% National Merit Commended Scholars — 31% National Achievement Semifinalist — 2%
86 1
800 800 800 800 800 780 800 700 800 800 800
25
College Board Recognition
88
1
Bio M Chemistry English Lit French Latin Math Level 1 Math Level 2 Physics Spanish US History World History
Total students 14 18 56 12 21 21 58 3 18 41 11
Form of 2012 GPA Profile Median GPA 86.2 (95 Students)
90 7
Low Score
86 87
1
Median
Score Distribution
86.5 1
High Score
Number of Students
Precal
Subject
Harvard ........................... 25 Georgetown ..................... 23 Trinity ............................. 14 Tufts ................................. 13 U. St. Andrews ............... 13 Brown .............................. 11 Princeton ......................... 11 Stanford ........................... 11 Wellesley ......................... 11 Yale .................................. 11 U. Virginia ........................ 9 Columbia ........................... 8 George Washington U. ..... 8 Vanderbilt ......................... 8 Duke .................................. 7 Dartmouth ......................... 6 Hamilton ........................... 6 Middlebury ........................ 6 U. Pennsylvania ................ 6 Boston U. .......................... 5 Carnegie Mellon ............... 5 Colby ................................. 5 Cornell .............................. 5 Lehigh ............................... 5 Northwestern .................... 5 U. Chicago ........................ 5
Boston College .................. 4 Connecticut College ......... 4 Davidson ........................... 4 Fordham ............................ 4 Tulane ............................... 4 Villanova ........................... 4 Wesleyan ........................... 4 Williams ............................ 4 Babson ............................... 3 Catholic University .......... 3 Dickinson .......................... 3 Johns Hopkins ................... 3 Franklin & Marshall ......... 3 Kenyon .............................. 3 McGill ............................... 3 U. Edinburgh ..................... 3 U. Vermont ....................... 3 Vassar ................................ 3 Washington & Lee ............ 3 Alleghany .......................... 2 Amherst ............................ 2 Bowdoin ............................ 2 Bucknell ............................ 2 C. of William & Mary ....... 2 Denison ............................. 2 Georgia Tech ..................... 2
Hobart & Wm. Smith ....... 2 Oberlin .............................. 2 Oxford University ............. 2 Reed .................................. 2 Rhodes ............................... 2 Scripps ............................... 2 St. Anselm’s College ......... 2 U. Cal. (Berkeley) ............. 2 U. Illinois .......................... 2 U. Richmond .................... 2 U. Southern California ..... 2 USNA ............................... 2 American U. of Paris ........ 1 Arizona State .................... 1 Barnard .............................. 1 Bates .................................. 1 Bentley College ................. 1 Binghamton ...................... 1 Brandeis ............................. 1 Case Western Reserve ....... 1 Chapman U. ..................... 1 Claremont McKenna ........ 1 C. of the Holy Cross ......... 1 College of Wooster ........... 1 Deep Springs ..................... 1 Drexel U. ........................... 1
Elon ................................... 1 Franklin Pierce .................. 1 Furman U. ......................... 1 George Mason ................... 1 Keio U. (Japan) ................. 1 King’s College, London ..... 1 Lake Forest ........................ 1 Lewis & Clark ................... 1 M.I.T. ................................ 1 Marymount ....................... 1 New York U. ..................... 1 Ohio Wesleyan .................. 1 Pomona ............................. 1 Purdue ............................... 1 Randolph Macon .............. 1 Rensselaer ......................... 1 Rutgers U. ......................... 1 Salve Regina ..................... 1 Santa Clara ....................... 1 Southern Methodist U. ..... 1 Spelman College ............... 1 St. John’s College .............. 1 St. Lawrence ..................... 1 St. Michael’s College ........ 1 St. Olaf .............................. 1 Stonehill ........................... 1
SUNY at Genesco ............. 1 Swarthmore ....................... 1 Texas Christian U. ............ 1 U. Cal (Davis) .................. 1 U. Cal. (Los Angeles) ....... 1 U. Cal. (San Diego) .......... 1 U. Cal (Santa Barbara) ..... 1 U. Delaware ...................... 1 U. London ......................... 1 U. London, Goldsmiths .... 1 U. Michigan ...................... 1 U. Montana ....................... 1 U. New Hampshire ........... 1 U. of the South ................. 1 U. Rochester ..................... 1 U. San Diego ..................... 1 U. San Francisco ............... 1 U. Toronto ........................ 1 U. Wisconsin .................... 1 U.N.C. @ Chapel Hill ...... 1 U.S.A.F.A. ......................... 1 Univ. College London ...... 1 Virginia Tech .................... 1 W. Washington U. ............ 1 Wake Forest ...................... 1 Washington U.St. Louis ... 1 Wofford College ................ 1 0911
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