College Counseling Programs

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Grades 10-12 Parent Meetings Hide

Beginning in the fall, the college counselors conduct informational meetings with parents designed to give an overview of the college application process and to answer pertinent questions. We discuss the college counseling timeline, curricular selections, extra-curricular opportunities both here at Brentwood School and in our surrounding community, standardized testing, athletics recruitment, and resources for researching college options. In January of the Junior year, we invite representatives from a variety of institutions to speak candidly about admissions trends and the importance of the college match. We also lay the groundwork for the months ahead and, in particular, help parents to understand what is expected of their students and the most appropriate ways for parents to support their students. In October of the Senior year, we offer parents one final group meeting to disseminate detailed information and to address questions about the application process. Although a great deal of information is conveyed during our one-on-one meetings with students in both their Junior and Senior year, the college counselors have also set aside time to meet individually with parents starting in the Junior year. These meetings typically lay the groundwork for college visits, testing schedules, financial aid discussions, and other detailed information.

Grades 10-12 Student Meetings Hide

The Brentwood School college counselors conduct small group meetings with students starting in the sophomore year. These meetings are designed to build a close working relationship and a solid understanding of each student’s activities and interests. These meetings also provide students with the information we discuss with parents, while encouraging students to make the most out of the wide variety of opportunities available to them at Brentwood School. We hope that our students will be active in our school community, seeking out leadership roles and opportunities to share their passions with the entire school. Finally, our student meetings are designed to help students learn about different undergraduate institutions through a fun variety of college trivia games, activities, and informal chats. During the spring of 10th and 11th grade, each student will meet one-on-one with a college counselor to discuss course selection and to design an individualized plan for the future. Toward the end of 11th grade, we find that students also enjoy the opportunity to pop in with questions and to chat with their college counselors about potential college destinations. At the beginning of 12th grade, college counselors set aside formal and informal time to meet with students and to provide them with needed resources and advice.
We believe that one of the real strengths of our college counseling is that we get to know students early in their academic careers and that we are able to build upon those relationships in the coming years. By the time students enter their Senior year, they are encouraged to stop in frequently for informal conversations. Oftentimes, we meet with seniors several times a week, enabling us not only to focus upon the mundane details of college admissions but, more importantly, to help our students understand the importance of finding the institution that is the best match.

Case Studies Hide

Every April, Brentwood School invites 35 college and university admissions representatives from around the country onto our campus to meet with parents and students. Participants are given four mock applications, complete with essays, recommendations, interview evaluations, and activities. The admissions officers lead small groups through the application review process and conduct mock admissions committee meetings using parents and students as their committee. This provides a detailed and unique window into college admissions. Following the session, a college fair is held on campus offering students the opportunity to meet and talk with the admissions officers.

Evenings with Colleges Hide

Beginning in September, Brentwood School hosts a number of sessions for colleges and universities from around the country. The regional admissions officer from each school conducts these informational meetings, often using current students and recent alumni to provide a well-rounded view of the institution. Recent visits have included Boston College, Brandeis University, Brown University, Bucknell University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Michigan University, and Tulane University.

College Athletics Recruiting Hide

Brentwood School routinely has a number of athletes who pursue the opportunity to be student-athletes at the collegiate level. Our students have gone on to play at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels as well as in the NAIA. Beginning in the sophomore or junior year, we begin to meet individually with parents and students to help educate them about college athletics and the role that recruitment may have in the college process for the student. In addition, we have developed a small booklet of pertinent data and helpful resources to assist student-athletes and their parents with the recruitment process. The big recruiting times are typically focused in the spring, summer, and fall. Often, we encourage students to get a head start on the recruiting process by speaking to their college advisor, and by writing letters to college coaches, perhaps including an athletics resume. For additional information, please feel free to contact Dr. Kevin Newman (knewman@bwscampus.com). Students seriously considering playing a Division I, II, or III sport in college should also check out the student-athlete recruiting information at www.ncaa.org before proceeding with recruiting efforts.

Essay Writing Workshop Hide

Each year, Brentwood School offers a college essay writing workshop over the summer. The course is a three-day intensive writing experience, at the end of which students can expect to have drafts of up to four different essay topics. This highly successful program begins with lectures from local essay writing experts such as Danny Ruderman and faculty from the Scholar Group. Each student meets individually with college admissions officers as well as writing experts to draft, and then hone, their college essays. Some highlights of the workshop include:

• Lectures and materials from a published author of a college essay writing book, and a sample packet of several successful and less than successful college essays.
• Tips and hints on how to build a memorable personal essay that accurately reflects a student's individuality.
  

Newsletters and To-Do Lists Hide

College Counseling Newsletters are distributed to juniors and seniors at intervals throughout the year. In addition, seniors are given To-Do Lists throughout the year to help with the information overload that is inevitable in the college application process. The overall goal of these publications is to clarify some confusing concepts or parts of the process and to help address what students should be doing throughout the year.

PSAT Workshop Hide

All 10th and 11th grade students are invited to attend a free PSAT preparation workshop held on our campus. This one-day workshop is conducted by Compass, a local test-prep company.

SAT Prep Hide

Brentwood School has contracted Revolution Test Prep to conduct on-campus SAT prep courses at a reduced rate. These courses are held over the summer and can be taken in conjunction with independent tutoring. For more information, please feel free to contact Revolution directly.

Financial Aid and Scholarship Workshops Hide

Brentwood School is extremely fortunate to host the Director of Financial Aid at Cal Tech, Mr. David Levy, for two evening sessions, in which he reviews the process of applying for federal need-based aid and resources for merit-based scholarship opportunities.