ACADEMICS
FINDING the right
COLLEGE FIT Students are matched with their college counselor at the beginning of freshman year and stay with the same counselor throughout their high school career. Seven seniors share their experience with the program and how it helped them find the right college fit.
MAX BUNTING
Santa Clara University How many years have you been at Ensworth? I’ve been at Ensworth approximately 5.5 years. I came in seventh grade from Oak Hill, then did one semester of boarding school as a sophomore. What activities have you been involved in at Ensworth (or extracurriculars outside of Ensworth, as well)? I’ve been in chess club, played soccer and lacrosse, and was on the swim team. I’ve also been on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Students of the Year team for Ensworth for two years. Each high school has a team, and they compete over a 7-week period to see who can raise the most money. I was a member last year, and I took a leadership role with William Vreeland this year. Talk about your relationship with your college counselor and what it looked like over the course of the past four years. Mr. Anthony was incredibly helpful with all of the questions I had and made things very clear. I could email him with a question, and he would tell me to swing by his office and he would help me out. I wanted to apply to top schools, which I knew would require a lot of APs. He helped me in planning which courses to take. I am happy we started freshman year instead of just getting into the planning process junior year, so it didn’t feel as overwhelming. Did you go into the process with any specific goals or particular colleges/programs of interest? In the beginning, I was interested in learning archaeology and anthropology, and I was set on that until winter of this year. However, I didn’t apply to colleges thinking that I was looking
for a school with those programs. For a long time, I was set on St. Andrews in Scotland because of the community feel and the way the education system is structured, and I knew a lot of people there. Why did you choose the college you will be attending? I chose Santa Clara off of my gut feeling, which is what makes me feel confident in going there. I was originally against the idea of going to California, but people I knew thought I would love Santa Clara, so I applied last minute. I was going to tour the University of Denver and just went a little further west. Right when I set foot on campus and talked to some students there, I knew it was where I wanted to be. It happened very naturally. In considering colleges, you have to look at the facts along with your gut instinct. Touring the schools was the most important element in helping me make my decision. What has been the most valuable aspect of the Ensworth experience for you? I feel like Ensworth is so broad and open to different things. I appreciate the diversity of the community and the variety of interests. I feel like I have met so many different people than I would have at other schools. I also love the teachers here; you can tell they love their job. The teachers aren’t just teaching to give you facts, but to give you a better understanding of life and the world. They are more like friends and mentors. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen? Definitely keep your grades up. I didn’t try as much as I should have my freshman year, and that affected my GPA. I wish I had put in the same effort during freshman year as I did later. I would also participate in as many different extracurriculars and clubs as you possibly can. All of these things sound so cliche, and yet, they are true. And get to know as many people in your grade and in other grades as you can; I wish I had gotten to know more people sooner.
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