Around the Table
On the Path to Young Adulthood TABLE TALK WITH BETSY DOLAN, DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING By Karen Ingraham
I
t’s the last Thursday in April, two days after the annual
Changing Landscapes
The college application process, on a national level, has undergone its own transformation since the term “college placement” was en vogue at PEA. One of the biggest game changers is the Common Application, a standardized first-year application form
FRED CARLSON
Spring College Fair, where more than 160 colleges and universities exhibited for students. For PEA seniors, it’s two days before May 1, the deadline by which they must formally select and notify the colleges they will be attending. Betsy Dolan, Exeter’s director of college counseling, sits in her office in the old Alumni Hall building. She leans slightly forward as she speaks, her energy unmistakable. For Dolan and the nine people in her office, it’s about more than slick brochures on a table or what schools Exonians will ultimately attend in the fall. It’s about, Dolan says, growing up.
The Journey
In 1987, the Academy renamed the College Placement Office to College Counseling to better reflect the office’s role in the lives of Exeter students. “We’re transitioning adolescents into becoming young adults and helping them learn the responsibilities associated with being a young adult,” says Dolan. Shepherding students through the college admissions process involves more than “placement”— a term that rankles Dolan. “The smallest part of it is the outcome,” she explains. “It’s the process of getting there and [the students] recognizing who they are and the gifts they have to share that’s important.” “Getting there” for a student means having a growing sense of empowerment and self-reliance in order to not only make “the big decision” but also be equipped for what comes after the decision is made. “One of the pieces of our job that people don’t see is how often we teach [students] how to deal with their emotions, their parents’ emotions, or expectations from parents, grandparents or faculty,” Dolan says. “We also try to give them the tools that will allow them to manage the additional pressures that go with very sophisticated college settings.” Dolan and her staff also help students cope with the stress and tension that come from impending change. “That’s part of transitioning into becoming a young adult,” she explains. “We talk about how to celebrate change and celebrate transition rather than fear it.” 12
The Exeter Bulletin
S UMMER 2011
used by member institutions. “The Common Application has been adopted by so many more schools that it has increased the competition for spaces because the volume of applicants is so high,” Dolan says. Formed by 15 private colleges in 1975, the Common Application membership association began with a print application form. Now, more than 400 colleges and universities have adopted the “Common App,” which is available to students online. According to the organization, records were set during this admissions season, with more than 100,000 applications processed online on a single day in December. By January 1, 2011, nearly 2 million applications had been submitted, almost surpassing the total number processed for the entirety of the 2009–10 admissions season. Simply put, high school seniors can now submit to several colleges at once with little more than a click or two, and colleges have reported record application numbers for the 2010–11 sea-