SHEILA OLSON

By midway through Sophomore year, many students have had a chance to adapt to high school and are ready to implement plans for creating a strong college narrative. Vacations/weekends during Sophomore year and the summer thereafter are great times for relaxed campus visits. For these reasons, many families opt to begin college advising during Sophomore year. I begin subscribing new families after a student has completed Freshman year.  A full year Freshman transcript is required to initiate the intake process.  Most if not all of my comprehensive package advising slots for a class cohort are filled by January of a class cohort's Sophomore year.

 

For many students, Junior year is when they begin to focus on college. Juniors and their families traditionally use spring vacations to visit multiple campuses. Before starting to visit, it makes sense to speak with a college advisor to discuss a plan for selecting and evaluating schools. I do not generally have much Junior year availability, but I offer College Kickstart meetings, to orient families to the admissions  and college list-building process, and I will take on a few hourly clients.

 

Senior year is a bit late to plug into the process but may be the best or only option available, depending on circumstances. I generally am unable to work on a sustained basis with Seniors, but a Family Consult may be a good way to get questions answered, and I am often able to plug in hourly with students during early fall, and more frequently after November 1.

 

A Word about Freshman Advising: I generally do not work with freshman students.  While there are some advisors who do, it is my considered opinion that the first year of high school should be about high school. There is plenty of time for college planning later. That said, I do offer Family Consults for students and/or parents who wish to better understand what lies ahead.