College Counseling Policies for Seniors Visiting Colleges

January 2010

Dear Parents of Seniors:

In the next few months, colleges and universities will begin to render admission decisions. While we expect that our seniors have visited most of the colleges on their lists by now, it may be necessary to visit, or perhaps revisit, two or three schools in order to make a final decision by May 1, the common reply deadline. We realize that some schools may ask your son or daughter to take part in special programs over extended weekends, and it may be tempting to visit every school that offers such a program, but experience tells us that in April five or six days' absence from classes can be disruptive. In some cases over the past couple years, a few students came perilously close to not graduating because they had missed so much time in April.

Keeping this in mind, we in the College Counseling Office, along with Mr. Bacon and Mr. Low, have laid out the following policies on college visits in the spring:

• Seniors are allowed to miss up to two full days of school per trip for the purpose of visiting colleges to which they have been accepted. These trips must be approved by teachers, coaches, and by the College Counseling Office at least three days before the student leaves.

• Students should not miss a scheduled varsity athletic contest in order to visit a college.

• The College Counseling Office may withhold approval of a college visit if it appears unnecessary.

• If your son or daughter has not seen some of his/her schools, we suggest that you devote part of the March vacation to that purpose. You should call the schools soon in order to determine their Spring Break schedules before planning a visit.

• FINANCIAL INFORMATION: If you are applying for need-based financial aid, you must fill out and submit the FAFSA and, if required, the CSS PROFILE as soon as possible, and preferably before FEBRUARY 1! Delays in submitting the necessary financial aid paperwork could result in your son’s or daughter’s not receiving a financial aid award. We cannot stress enough the importance of taking care of your financial aid paperwork in a timely fashion.

As always, the College Counseling Office welcomes your phone calls or emails. Please be in touch if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Lewis M. Stival
Dean of College Counseling

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