2018 College Admission Report

Class of 2018 College Admission Report Fall 2018 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 2017-18 report. Congratulations to our Class of 2018 graduates and their families.

College Admission Highlights Seniors posted a high overall admit rate of 68% in 2018 (tied for third-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 2018 admit rates continued to exceed the institutional rates in every Barron’s selectivity benchmark category, this year by an average of 16%.

SENIORS POSTED AN OVERALL ADMIT RATE OF 68% IN 2018.

This year’s class of 131 seniors received 501 acceptances to 161 colleges and enrolled in 60 colleges in 25 states, Canada, France, Ireland and the U.K. The Class of 2018 received more than $8.5 million in merit scholarship offers, including the U.S. Naval Academy’s full funding, Southern Methodist University’s prestigious Presidential Scholarship and the University of Michigan’s Bell Scholarship, while also earning spots in 25 honors colleges/programs across the nation.

68%

OUR HIGH ACCEPTANCE RATES REMAIN REMARKABLY CONSISTENT OVER TIME.

College Admission Rates 68 11 21

68

12 20

% Accepts % Waitlists % Denies

2018

10-yr Avg.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1%

76% 76% of the class received at least one acceptance from institutions in the “Most Competitive” or “Highly Competitive” categories.

Collegiate’s Class of 2018: 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: 47%

Barron’s Highly Competitive Category Colleges typically accepting less than 50% Collegiate’s accept rate: 76%

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: 87%

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

Four-Year Comparison: Classes of 2015-18

2018

2017

2016

2015

# of Seniors

131 133 126 136

Average GPA

3.7 3.8 3.7 3.7

Average SAT

1301*

1310* 1235 1238

Average ACT

28 30 29 27

Colleges Receiving Applications

191 164 163 172

# of Applications and % of Admits, Waitlists and Denies

733 818 737 758 68% Admits 69% Admits 70% Admits 69% Admits 11% WL 12% WL 10% WL 10% WL 21% Denies 19% Denies 19% Denies 21% Denies

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

98% 100% 97% 93% 33% Early Decision 20% Early Decision 27% Early Decision 34% Early Decision 8.5 + million

9.3 + million

5.1 + million

5.2 + million

18 19 19 21

# of Seniors Competing in NCAA Athletics

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

% Enrollment

45% in VA 40% in VA 52% in VA 49% in VA

* New SAT

55% in 25 states, 60% in 32 states, 48% in 23 states 51% in 22 states Canada, France, Canada, England Ireland and the U.K. and Scotland

Class of 2018 College Acceptances CREATIVITY BEYOND Four members of the Class of 2018 will move on to study and pursue the performing and visual arts in college.

PLAYING ON Fourteen members of the Class of 2018 will be taking their athletic and academic talents to the next level.

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

Allegheny College

Drexel University (3)

New York University (2)

American University (2)

Duke University (4)

North Carolina Central University

American University of Paris

Eckerd College

North Carolina State University (9)

Auburn University (3)

Elon University (10)

Occidental College (2)

Auburn University at Montgomery

Emory University (4)

Oglethorpe University

Augusta University

Fordham University (3)

Oklahoma City University

Bates College (2)

Franklin & Marshall College

Old Dominion University (3)

Baylor University

Furman University (5)

Oregon State University

Belmont University (4)

George Mason University (4)

Pace University

Berry College

George Washington University (3)

Pennsylvania State University (4)

Birmingham-Southern College

Georgia College

Boston College (6)

Georgia Institute of Technology (3)

Pennsylvania State University Fayette

Boston University

Gettysburg College (2)

Bridgewater College

Guilford College

Brown University

Hampden-Sydney College (8)

Campbell University

High Point University (5)

Chapman University

Hollins University

Chatham University

Howard University

Christopher Newport University (6)

James Madison University (35)

Clarkson University

Kenyon College (2)

Clemson University (9)

King’s College London

Colby College

Lafayette College (2)

Colgate University (2)

Liberty University (2)

College of Charleston (8)

Long Island University

College of the Holy Cross

Longwood University (3)

College of William & Mary (14)

Loyola University Maryland

Colorado College (2)

Lynchburg College

Colorado State University (2)

McGill University

Davidson College (3)

Miami University - Ohio (4)

Denison University (2)

Michigan Technological University

DePaul University

Montana State University

Dickinson College (3)

Mount Holyoke College

Drew University

Muhlenberg College (3)

Pitzer College Princeton University Purdue University Quinnipiac University Radford University Randolph-Macon College (7) Rhodes College (3) Roanoke College (2) Rochester Institute of Technology Rollins College (3) Rowan University Rutgers University Samford University Savannah College of Art & Design Seton Hall University Sewanee: The University of the South Shaw University Shenandoah University Southern Illinois University Southern Methodist University (4) Spelman College

St. Mary’s College of Maryland Stetson University SUNY College at Cortland Syracuse University Texas Christian University Trinity College Dublin Trinity College - Connecticut Tulane University (5) United States Naval Academy University of Alabama (13) University of Arizona University of Bristol University of California, Berkeley

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (6) University of North Carolina Wilmington (5) University of North Texas University of Oregon University of Pennsylvania University of Puget Sound University of Richmond (8) University of South Carolina (19) University of Southern California (4) University of Tampa University of Tennessee (2)

University of California, Los Angeles

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

University of California, San Diego

University of Vermont (5)

University of Chicago

University of Virginia (28)

University of Colorado Boulder (3)

University of Washington

University of Dayton

University of York

University of Delaware

Vanderbilt University (3)

University of Denver (3)

Villanova University (4)

University of Edinburgh

Virginia Commonwealth University (9)

University of Florida

Virginia Tech (24)

University of Georgia (17)

Virginia Wesleyan University

University of Idaho

Wagner College (2)

University of Kentucky (5)

Wake Forest University (8)

University of Manchester

Washington & Lee University (9)

University of Mary Washington (3)

Washington University in St. Louis (3)

University of Miami (3)

West Virginia University (2)

University of Michigan (2)

Williams College

University of Mississippi (4)

Winston-Salem State University

University of Montana

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

University of New Mexico

Yale University

University of North Carolina Asheville

ACCEPTANCES AT THE 11 COLLEGES RECEIVING THE MOST APPLICATIONS FROM 2018 COUGARS 100%

University of Alabama 13/13

88%

James Madison University 34/40

79%

University of South Carolina 19/24

75%

Virginia Tech 24/32

75%

North Carolina State University 9/12

71%

University of Georgia 17/24

58%

College of William & Mary 14/24

56%

Clemson University 9/16

50%

Washington & Lee University 9/18

46%

University of Virginia 28/61

33%

University of North Carolina 6/18

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. “We have a rare and exceptional opportunity to walk hand-in-hand with each student and family through a process of discovering an exciting set of college options that best match them as individuals,” says Brian Leipheimer, Director of College Counseling. “Fostering that process brings far greater reward than tallying any tangible results, from learning and sharing their stories as we witness their self-discovery and cultivating close relationships with them as we help to navigate the landscape, to celebrating their satisfaction as they find great fits.”

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

“We are fortunate to begin working with students in small groups and individually during the 9th and 10th Grades,” says Kim Ball, Senior Associate Director of College Counseling. “This allows us to encourage reflection and exploration of interests and passions, so students can take all that they learn about themselves and apply it as they begin the college search and application process. This increased self-awareness provides greater opportunities for students to find colleges that will meet their preferences and support their growth and development.”

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, on the 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 office, with five college counselors who collectively offer 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 importantly, 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, 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