College Admission Report Fall 2017

Class of 2017 College Admission Report Fall 2017 An important measure of the success of an academic program is the college admission and acceptance records of its graduates.

As a result, Collegiate’s Board of Trustees instructs the Administration to undertake annual reviews of the School’s college admission and acceptance results. We are pleased to share a summary of the 2016-17 report. Congratulations to our Class of 2017 graduates and their families.

College Admission Highlights Seniors posted a high overall admit rate of 69% in 2017 (tied for second-highest since 1996). Over the past decade, the admit rate has fluctuated between 64-70% with an average of 2 out of every 3 applications resulting in acceptances.

Our 2017 admit rates continued to exceed the institutional rates in every Barron’s selectivity benchmark category, this year by an average of 19%.

SENIORS POSTED AN OVERALL ADMIT RATE OF 69% IN 2017.

This year’s class of 133 seniors received 566 acceptances to 142 colleges.

They enrolled in 56 colleges in 33 states, Canada, England and Scotland.

The Class of 2017 received more than $9.3 million in merit scholarship offers, including the prestigious National Merit Scholarship and six other elite scholarships, while also earning spots in 24 honors colleges/programs that range from global studies and leadership to honors designation.

69%

OUR HIGH ACCEPTANCE RATES REMAIN REMARKABLY CONSISTENT OVER TIME.

College Admission Rates 69 12 19

68

11 21

% Accepts % Waitlists % Denies

2017

10 yr Avg

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1%

82% 82% of the class received at least one acceptance from institutions in the “Most Competitive” or “Highly Competitive” categories.

Collegiate’s Class of 2017: Beating the Odds 50 40 30 20 10 0 80 60 40 20 0

Barron’s Most Competitive Category Colleges typically accepting less than 33% Collegiate’s accept rate: 48%

Barron’s Highly Competitive Category Colleges typically accepting less than 50% Collegiate’s accept rate: 80%

100 80 60 40 20 0

Barron’s Very Competitive Category

100 80 60 40 20 0

Barron’s Competitive Category

Colleges typically accepting less than 75% Collegiate’s accept rate: 97%

Colleges typically accepting less than 85% Collegiate’s accept rate: 95%

Four-Year Comparison: Classes of 2014-2017

2017

2016

2015

2014

# of Seniors

133 126 136 122

Average GPA

3.8 3.7 3.7 3.6

Average SAT

1310* 1235 1238 1274

Average ACT

30 29 27 28

Colleges Receiving Applications

164 163 172 134

# of Applications and % of Admits, Waitlists and Denies

818 737 758 622 69% Admits 70% Admits 69% Admits 64% Admits 12% WL 11% WL 10% WL 12% WL 19% Denies 19% Denies 21% Denies 24% Denies

% of Class Applying Early Merit Scholarship Offers in $ Students Receiving National Merit Recognition

100% 97% 93% 91% 20% Early Decision 27% Early Decision 34% Early Decision 29% Early Decision 9.3 + million

5.1 + million

5.2 + million

3.7 + million

19 19 21 18

# of Seniors Competing in NCAA Athletics

14 14 15 15 8 Div. I 6 Div. I 8 Div. I 9 Div. I 6 Div. III 8 Div. III 7 Div. III 6 Div. III

% Enrollment

40% in VA 52% in VA 49% in VA 51% in VA

* New SAT

60% in 33 states, 48% in 23 states 51% in 22 states 49% in 19 states Canada, England & Scotland and Scotland

Class of 2016 College Acceptances CREATIVITY BEYOND Ten members of the Class of 2017 will move on to study and pursue the performing and visual arts in college.

PLAYING ON Fourteen members of the Class of 2017 will be taking their athletic and academic talents to NCAA Division I and III levels.

We congratulate all of our students on their commitment and dedication.

American University (2)

East Carolina University

Louisiana State University (2)

American Musical

Elon University (20)

Loyola Marymount University

Emerson College (4)

Loyola University Maryland

Auburn University (3)

Emory University

Marymount Manhattan College

Barnard College

Florida State University (3)

Marymount University

Bates College

Fordham University (5)

McGill University

Baylor University (2)

Franklin & Marshall (2)

Miami University (9)

Belmont University

Furman University (5)

Middlebury College (2)

Boston College (6)

George Mason University (2)

Muhlenberg College

Boston University (4)

George Washington University

New York University (3)

Brown University

Georgetown University

North Carolina Central University

Bucknell University (5)

Georgia Institute of Technology (3)

North Carolina State

California Institute of Technology

Gettysburg College (2)

Case Western Reserve University

Goucher College (2)

Northeastern University

Centre College (3)

Grove City College

Northwestern University

Christopher Newport

Hampden-Sydney College (6)

Oberlin College

Hampton University

Ohio State University

Clemson University (13)

Harvard University

Oklahoma City University

Colby College

Harvey Mudd College

Pace University

Colgate University (2)

High Point University (2)

Pennsylvania State University (3)

College of Charleston (2)

Hofstra University

Point Park University

College of William & Mary (20)

Howard University

Princeton University (4)

Colorado College (2)

Ithaca College (2)

Purdue University (3)

Columbia University

James Madison University (46)

Radford University

Davidson College (8)

Keene State College

Randolph-Macon College (2)

Denison University (3)

Kenyon College (2)

Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute (3)

Dickinson College (3)

Lafayette College (8)

Roanoke College (2)

Drew University

Lehigh University

Rochester Institute of Technology

Drexel University

Liberty University

Rhodes College

Duke University (3)

Longwood University

Rollins College

Durham University

Long Island University

Samford University

and Dramatic Academy (2)

University (11)

University (19)

Sarah Lawrence College

University of Mississippi (7)

Savannah College of

University of North Carolina

Art and Design (2)

at Chapel Hill (7)

Sewanee: The University

University of Pittsburgh (2)

University of Puget Sound

of the South (7)

Southern Methodist University

University of Richmond (11)

Syracuse University

University of Rochester

Temple University (2)

University of South Carolina (29)

Texas Christian University (2)

University of Southern

Trinity College

Tufts University

University of St. Andrews (3)

Tulane University (7)

University of the Arts London

United States Military Academy

University of Tennessee (12)

University College London

University of Vermont (3)

University of Alabama (19)

University of Virginia (34)

University of California,

University of Wisconsin

Ursinus College

Berkeley (3)

California (3)

University of California,

Vanderbilt University

Los Angeles (3)

Villanova University (3)

University of California,

Virginia Commonwealth

Santa Barbara

University (7)

University of Chicago

Virginia Military Institute (2)

University of Colorado Boulder (8)

Virginia Tech (22)

University of Georgia (11)

Wake Forest University (7)

University of Glasgow

Washington & Lee University (5)

University of Hartford

Washington University

University of Kentucky

University of Mary Washington (3)

West Virginia University

University of Maryland (3)

Wofford College (2)

University of Miami (3)

Yale University (2)

University of Michigan (4)

in St. Louis (3)

ACCEPTANCES AT THE 11 COLLEGES RECEIVING THE MOST APPLICATIONS FROM 2017 COUGARS 100%

James Madison University 46/46

100%

University of South Carolina 29/29

100%

Elon University 20/20

100%

University of Alabama 19/19

81%

Virginia Tech 22/27

76%

North Carolina State University 22/29

69%

College of William & Mary 20/29

59%

Clemson University 13/22

58%

University of Georgia 11/19

49%

University of Virginia 34/69

33%

University of North Carolina 7/21

College Counseling at Collegiate – Helping Our Students Achieve Their Goals FINDING GREAT FITS This is no mere tagline for Collegiate’s College Counseling Office. This phrase embodies the spirit of the School’s five counselors and what they do. “Very few students embark on the college process with a clear direction, and that makes our work together all the more meaningful,” asserts Brian Leipheimer, Director of College Counseling. “We’re committed to guiding each student and family through a process of discovering an exciting set of college options that best ‘fit’ or match them as individuals. But we’re also lucky enough to walk hand-in-hand with them through their simultaneous – and ultimately more profound – process of self-discovery.

Learning and sharing their stories, witnessing their growth and development as they find their great fits, and celebrating their satisfaction are our rewards.”

Across the board, satisfaction levels with the college counseling experience at Collegiate, and with the individual college counselors, remain steady at 98%.

“Because we feel so strongly that the selection of a college is based upon the fit for the individual student, we begin our personalized work with students as early as freshman year,” says Kim Ball, Senior Associate Director of College Counseling. “The focus for freshmen and sophomore years involves self-exploration, reflection and identification of interests and passions, both inside and outside of the classroom. Once students understand themselves and begin deeply exploring their interests, they can better identify colleges that will nurture their growth.”

WORKSHOP AND CAMP OPPORTUNITIES

APPLICATION WORKSHOP

JUMPSTART CAMP

This all-day program takes our juniors on a deep dive through the application process with 10-12 veteran Deans of Admis-

For a full week in the summer, our college counseling staff invites rising seniors to get a head start on their applications,

sion from across the country. The day is punctuated by a mock committee session – students spend several hours in small groups acting as admission committees, each led by an actual dean, deciding whom to admit and deny amongst a set of four full applications – a true insider’s look into the process.

with the goal of completing a full application draft with essay by week’s end. Highlights include in-depth focus on each element of the application, organizational materials, individual feedback, a communication seminar and one-on-one practice interviews conducted by local admission reps.

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER Research and conventional wisdom point to younger students not being ready to engage meaningfully with the college process. However, given that the traditional model of starting individual college counseling halfway through the junior year has grown increasingly at odds with the acceleration of the process nationally, our counselors embrace a creative solution.

For Cougars, individual meetings with their college counselors begin in January of sophomore year, but those meetings do not touch on college.

Rather, they reflect a purposeful opportunity to begin a relationship, one upon which the student and counselor will build during junior and senior year. There are tangible outcomes from those first meetings, such as testing and course selection plans. Meeting after meeting, semester after semester, those one-on-one relationships form the cornerstone of Collegiate’s college counseling experience.

Our relationships with college admission officers matter as well. Each year, more than 100 representatives visit Collegiate’s campus to meet with interested students and with the college counselors. Our counselors also travel, and collectively they have visited more than 250 college campuses in the U.S., Asia, Canada, Europe and the Middle East, in addition to regularly attending national and regional conferences. Whether in person, by phone or over email, the college counselors maintain close contact with college admission offices to cultivate and maintain strong relationships.

EXPERTISE Expertise in college counseling is a prerequisite, and our office offers a wealth of it. Collegiate is home to the region’s largest independent school college counseling office, with five counselors who collectively reflect more than 60 years in the profession. This not only affords our students a low student-to-counselor ratio; the experiences several of them bring from having worked in highly selective college admission offices is also a critical benefit. Just as important, they provide a caring commitment in working with both students and parents.

MILESTONES ON THE FOUR-YEAR PATH TO FIT 9th & 10th Grades Focused initiatives themed around selfdiscovery and forward-thinking, including personality and learning style inventory, academic goal-setting, activities and summer planning and building a resume 10th Grade One-on-one meetings with assigned college counselors that forge studentcounselor relationships and begin the process of tailoring course selection and testing plans 11th Grade Individual full-family meetings with college counselors that include the process of building the college list 12th Grade One-on-one meetings with college counselors, assistance with application/essay review and strategies

Meet Your Counselors DID YOU KNOW? The unique foundation of Collegiate’s College Counseling program is a four-year developmental, stage-appropriate model that begins in 9th Grade with small-group initiatives and moves to individual student meetings starting in 10th Grade.

Counselors host informational meetings for parents throughout the Upper School experience, ranging from informal Q&A sessions for 9th and 10th Grade parents and presentations for 11th and 12th Grade parents to a panel of 10-12 veteran admission deans and programs on financial aid and scholarships.

Students enjoy a bevy of programming as well, including small-group college counseling classes in junior and senior years, an essay workshop for juniors, a visit to a local college campus for sophomores and MyersBriggs personality assessments for freshmen.

Collegiate is fortunate to have five full-time counselors who possess an unwavering passion for working with students. They are your family’s committed resources, advisors and advocates.

BRIAN LEIPHEIMER Director of College Counseling

KIM BALL ERIN BREESE Senior Associate Director Associate Director of College Counseling of College Counseling

Education: College of William & Mary (History); University of Virginia (Educational Administration)

Education: University of Delaware (Finance & Management); University of Pennsylvania (Higher Education Administration)

Education: University of Vermont (Communication Sciences); University of Miami (Higher Education & Enrollment Management)

Prior Experience: Senior Assistant Director of Admission – Johns Hopkins University; Director of College Counseling – Indian Springs School (AL)

Prior Experience: Senior Assistant Director of Admission – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Assistant Director of Admission – University of Vermont

ANDREW REICH Associate Director of College Counseling

JENN EARLE College Counseling Office Assistant

Education: Williams College (American Studies); Harvard University (School Counseling)

Education: Beloit College (Psychology); University of Oslo (Comparative and International Education)

Education: University of Richmond (International Studies); Virginia Commonwealth University (Administration of Justice)

Prior Experience: College and Career Counselor – Paul International High School (DC); College Counselor – Cesar Chavez PCS for Public Policy (DC); Guidance Counselor – Friendship Collegiate Academy (DC)

Prior Experience: Assistant Director of College Counseling – The Episcopal School of Baton Rouge; Admissions Counselor – Gettysburg College; International Undergraduate Admissions Application Reader – New York University

Prior Experience: Deputy Clerk – Hanover County Circuit Court (VA); Instructional Assistant – Columbus Elementary School (IL); Legal Assistant – Supreme Court of Virginia; Deputy Clerk – Supreme Court of Virginia

Prior Experience: Associate Director of College Counseling – Collegiate School (VA); College Counselor and Admission Officer – St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School (VA)

LIZ JACKSON Associate Director of College Counseling and Upper School Counselor

103 North Mooreland Road / Richmond, VA 23229 / 804.740.7077 / Fax: 804.741.9128