For most seniors, November 1st was a big day. Not only loaded with various academic tasks and extracurricular commitments, the seniors also had to find time to write college essays and complete the applications for their early decision/early action schools. Although this was an extremely stressful process, fortunately the 5 experienced college counselors were able to alleviate the stress by providing careful guidance on every little detail of the students’ applications.

“These years the college application process is becoming more competitive and nuanced,” says Mr. Rousseau, the director of the Kent School college counseling program. So in order to better prepare students with the whole process, the counselors start training students as early as in their sophomore years. This is a time for students and their assigned counsellors to get to know each other. At this stage, students ask questions, gain some basic knowledge about the application process, and set goals.

In the fall of their junior years, students take college seminar, a course designed to familiarize students with the different elements in the application and help them decide their future school/major. In the winter and the spring, students meet with their counsellors individually to develop a school list and plan for the summer. Junior summer can be a crazy time for students and their family–visiting colleges, taking SAT/ACT, drafting essays, and attending summer programs.

Coming back from junior summer is the “go time,” the time for students to fill out applications and finalize essays while maintaining grades. After months of preparation, students finally get to celebrate the day to hit that little red “submit” button, selling their best selves to the college admissions officers.

“The best way to reduce stress during the process,” according to Mr. Rousseau, “is through action–to do what we can do and control what we can control.” Through mutual effort, the students and the counselors are able to make the application approach perfection. “The more time we spend working on the application, the more we can package everything together into a strong application and present the students as the best candidates.”