Comprehensive Package for High School Students:
I believe that the best approach to college and career planning is both thoughtful and flexible. My goal is to help you navigate these crucial decisions with confidence. I work comprehensively with students and I prefer to begin with them as soon as possible so I can provide support for high school planning and interest exploration.
Meetings occur every 6 weeks to 2 months from freshman through junior year. Weekly meetings begin the summer before senior year.
Personal and Career Assessments
Every student’s plans are unique to their interests, values, passions, skills, and circumstances. We begin with an exploration of all of these factors and the careers that may be of interest.
Putting Interest into Action
High School Planning
The best approach to high school is one that ensures a student is comfortable, engaged, and challenged both in an outside of the classroom. A focus on the best-fit approach to high school will help students find success and remain enthusiastic about the future. The high school counseling office is always the best source of information about academic planning. I will help students and families understand the college perspective on:
College List
After students have identified areas of interest and experienced some college tours, both locally and during family travel, we will complete assessments and identify factors in the college choice. From those factors, I build a list of 15-20 good fit colleges. I present the college list to the student and family as a set of blind profiles, each 3-4 pages in length with detailed information about the student’s particular areas of interest. This list is particularly helpful in getting students to hone in on the question of fit. This typically happens late in the sophomore year or by the middle of the junior year.
Meetings occur every 6 weeks to 2 months from freshman through junior year. Weekly meetings begin the summer before senior year.
Personal and Career Assessments
Every student’s plans are unique to their interests, values, passions, skills, and circumstances. We begin with an exploration of all of these factors and the careers that may be of interest.
- Interest exploration using Strengths Finder, Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator and values and skills assessments
- Creation of a list of good fit career options with data about salaries, growth potential, required education, and suggested college majors.
- Follow up meeting(s) to discuss career and interest exploration strategies.
- Academic and major recommendations specific to the student’s college
Putting Interest into Action
- Creation of a Career Exploration Plan for exploring student career interests including high school course selection, informational interviewing and out of school activities.
- Discussion and review of school related activities and experiences that support studentinterests and enhance student profile.
- Identification of unique learning opportunities and out of school activities that fit with student interests.
- Summer planning, including work, summer academic and career programs, and individual learning experiences.
- Resume preparation and achievement documentation
High School Planning
The best approach to high school is one that ensures a student is comfortable, engaged, and challenged both in an outside of the classroom. A focus on the best-fit approach to high school will help students find success and remain enthusiastic about the future. The high school counseling office is always the best source of information about academic planning. I will help students and families understand the college perspective on:
- Curriculum choices in high school
- Identifying extra curricular activities and potential areas of focus
- Admissions testing timeline
- Developing relationships with teachers and others for letters of recommendation
College List
After students have identified areas of interest and experienced some college tours, both locally and during family travel, we will complete assessments and identify factors in the college choice. From those factors, I build a list of 15-20 good fit colleges. I present the college list to the student and family as a set of blind profiles, each 3-4 pages in length with detailed information about the student’s particular areas of interest. This list is particularly helpful in getting students to hone in on the question of fit. This typically happens late in the sophomore year or by the middle of the junior year.
- Review of career and potential major interests
- Detailed student/family interview regarding college priorities including financial concerns
- Discussion of family plans for college affordability
- College assessment tools
- Initial college list (15 good fit schools) with blind college profiles detailing the factors most important to the student
- College visit and research strategies
- Introduction of the CustomCollegePlan.com account and resources
- Refining the College List and Application Planning
- Discussion of student research
- Review of college visits and takeaways
- Generation of additional colleges for consideration to ensure a balanced list
- Determining application deadline (Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Decision) for each school based on student/family priorities and admissions data
- Support for letters of recommendation - considerations about who to ask, development of a brag sheet and other materials to help recommenders address important student qualities
- Goal is to complete as much application work as possible before school begins
- Intensive focus on essay topic development to ensure that the student’s unique story is told
- Editing essays with an eye toward addressing each college’s admissions priorities
- Final review of essays by a professional copy editor
- Student will work on applications and write essays between meetings with the meetings reserved for review, strategy, topic discussion and problem solving.
- Trello project management tool provided for students to track application tasks
- College interview preparation
- Support for identifying scholarships and assistance with essay and applications for scholarships
- Review of admissions offers/assistance with financial aid appeals
- College preparation meeting in the summer after senior year that addresses common issues and appropriate resources and outlines plans for success
- Available for questions and assistance through the first year
Hourly services may be available
I recommend the comprehensive package and I like to begin working with students earlier in their high school career.
If that package isn't a fit for your family, I do offer some hourly support for students and families as I have time available.
If that package isn't a fit for your family, I do offer some hourly support for students and families as I have time available.
Free Initial Consultation for Package Clients
Please contact me to arrange a free initial consultation. I'll answer your most pressing questions about the college application process and explain the educational consulting work that I do for students and families. Email beth@collegeguidemn.com or complete the form on the contact me page.
Important notes:
- There is no guarantee of admission to any institution.
- The goal is to help the student and family find schools that fit academically and personally.
- The student will write all of the essays and applications. I’ll be there to support and advise, but it’s important that the college hear the student’s voice and perspective when they read the application.
- We’ll review the necessary tasks for each application, but the student will push submit and be responsible for ensuring that all components of the application are completed.
- The comprehensive package includes an email with a meeting summary after each meeting sent to both the student and parents.
- The list of comprehensive services is a typical outline. We will adjust as necessary to meet the particular needs of the student and the family as the student progresses toward the goal of completing the college application process.
