MEET ALISON ALMASIAN

’87

Director Of College Counseling

As a graduate of Georgetown University, a certified teacher, a former director of admissions at St. Lawrence University, and parent, Alison Almasian has been on all sides of the college admissions process.

“Our mission in the College Counseling Office is to do everything we can to help students and their families successfully navigate the college search, application, and selection process,” Alison says. “We work to find the best match for each student, which is both an art and a science. We do a great deal of questioning—we’re communicating constantly and getting to know all of our students really well. We also use data to inform our conversations. There’s a questionnaire for students, and for parents. We read every teacher comment, dean letter, and advisor letter. All of this comes together to not only help us find the right match for our students, but to develop written recommendations that tell each student’s story in a compelling way.”

Meet Jack

HOMETOWN: WATERTOWN, CT

PASSIONS: VIDEO PRODUCTION, SCIENCE & MEDICINE

COLLEGE: YALE UNIVERSITY

Jack got an early jump on the college search process, building a list of schools on his own before the start of his junior year. He was well-prepared when he was paired with his Taft college counselor, Alison Almasian, later that fall.

“Taft does a great job of matching students with counselors,” says Jack. “Ms. Almasian helped me add to and refine my list of schools, and gave me excellent tips for getting the most out of campus visits and drafting supplemental essays. Throughout the process, I felt like she was truly an advocate and supporter. She took time to get to know me not just as a student, but as a person, and to help me find schools where I would thrive.”

JACK’S pro tips:

Start early, be organized, take lots of notes during campus visits, and write a personal essay that truly reflects who you are.

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS (2019–2023), Taft students enrolled at 198 different colleges and universities in 38 states, the District of Columbia, and six foreign countries. During the same period, five or more students enrolled at each of the following schools:

B Amherst College, 6

B Babson College, 7

B Barnard College, 5

B Bates College, 6

B Boston College, 13

B Boston University, 7

B Bowdoin College, 6

B Brown University, 18

B Bucknell University, 21

B Carnegie Mellon University, 7

B Colby College, 6

B Colgate University, 13

B College of the Holy Cross, 7

B Colorado College, 7

B Columbia University, 11

B Cornell University, 18

B Dartmouth College, 6

B Dickinson College, 5

B Duke University, 12

B Emory University, 5

B Fordham University, 5

B George Washington University, 9