FEATURE
All About Preparation
Sean Sheehan ’87, director of college counseling
by Dave Casanave
Whether he is designing lesson plans for his history classes or helping to craft plays for the football or lacrosse teams, Sean Sheehan is all about preparation. That trait, one that he honed while he was a student athlete at Lawrence Academy, is especially visible in his stewardship of the College Counseling Office at LA. “We work with parents and students,” said Sheehan, “in order to identify and articulate who each student is, what his or her interests and strengths are, and what the student ultimately wants out of his or her college experience.”
Sheehan also pointed out that there are several key components to helping students make what, for many of them, may be the most daunting decision of their young lives.
Staying Current
This process is not only in line with LA’s overarching educational philosophy, but it’s also a process that now starts much earlier for parents and students and further underscores the need for preparation.
“It is crucial that our office has a sense of what is trending in the college admission world,” says Sheehan. “We need to know not only about best practices but about what colleges are looking for and how they are evaluating students and applications.”
“We have always met with the freshmen and sophomores to discuss the impact of their academic performance and extracurricular involvement on the college process,” said Sheehan, “but starting this year those meetings will take place in the fall.
To that end, Sheehan and his staff attend a variety of conferences each year that keep them on the cutting edge of the college admission process. They also meet face-to-face with college admission representatives.
“We will reiterate how much grades matter, but we will also encourage them to get involved and to read as much as possible. For the freshmen, we must remind them that the NGP curriculum has direct application to the college search process.
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“Even outside their LA classrooms, they will need to write essays and use listening and speaking skills to interact with admission counselors; they will need to be organized throughout the process, and they will need to be able to think critically so they can make the best decision for themselves,” he said.
“We have initiated a strategic plan to visit all of the colleges and universities to which our students apply most frequently,” explains Sheehan. “We speak not only with the regional representatives but also with the admission directors themselves. We share with them transcripts and profiles of our students
