V Form
The V Form College Weekend serves as the “kickoff” of our formal work together. Individual and class meetings parallel each other throughout the spring with the goal being that every V Former leaves for the summer with a “manageable working list of colleges” in hand.
- Take PSAT in October (administered at SM).
- Complete questionnaire; attend all College Class Meetings; read your email regularly.
- Continue to put forth your best effort in your classes.
- Develop a “testing plan” with a college counselor; plan to take the SAT or ACT, and possibly SAT Subject and AP tests.
- Develop a “more formal” plan for college visits, building off of your earlier visits and developing list of preferences; consider interviewing at those schools where possible in late spring and summer. Plan to meet with professors, coaches, and other school personnel critical to your plans.
- Work toward a list of “Vital Qualities” or those most critical factors in a college or university.
- Plan to attend V Form College Weekend.
- Take the time to get to know all the members of the College Counseling team—the counselors, Mrs. Ciampa (Testing Coordinator), Mrs. Galvin (Office Manager), & Mrs. Messier (Registrar).
- Plan to meet at least four times with a college counselor prior to the close of the school year—ideally, two visits on either side of Spring break.
- Working in collaboration with college counselors, develop “manageable working list” of colleges by close of year.
- Ask yourself, “How will St. Mark’s be a different school because I attended?” and think about positive ways in which you (or your teachers) could answer that question.
- Begin a habit of checking your email regularly! Colleges will communicate with you this way about visits and other programs as well as your applications (they will not text you!)… start this pattern now.
- If you are thinking about applying to one of the Service Academies, now is the time to begin this conversation with the counseling office. The official nominating process for the congressional letter begins in the spring of V Form year but the networking starts much earlier.
VI Form
By the start of VI Form, the college process is highly individualized. Students and college counselors regularly meet in both individual and class settings. The goal for all VI Formers is to complete the process with the ability to make choices among schools that make sense for them. College counselors support this work in myriad ways throughout the year.