Four Year Roadmap

List of 4 items.

• Freshman Year

  Loyola School students take the PSAT 8/9 in October of their first semester, followed by subsequent administrations of the PSAT in sophomore and junior year. Early practice with the PSAT engenders student comfort and familiarity with this SAT-type format, helps students to form an early understanding of their individual academic strengths and challenges, and it allows school counselors to identify students who are not meeting academic potential (i.e. testing results may be strong but might not be matched by high school grades). Once available, the results of the PSAT 8/9 are interpreted for the freshmen in a class-wide assembly conducted by the Director of College Counseling. The meeting content is focused primarily on the meaning and use of standardized tests in college admission; relatedly, the freshmen are informed of the growing cohort of ‘test-optional colleges’ that place far more weight on high school grades, not test scores.
  
  

  Each spring, all freshmen participate in the Freshman College Seminar, a presentation featuring an admissions representative from a New York City area college or university; past presenters have hailed from Columbia, Fordham, and NYU. The goal of the program is to convey to freshmen the admissions criteria competitive colleges seek from applicants; the hope is that the information will inspire the freshmen to work to academic potential in the years ahead and to make positive choices throughout the high school experience.

  
  The parents of freshmen are invited to the annual Long-Term College Planning Meeting, an opportunity for parents to understand the current state of college admissions so that they may encourage their children to make wise academic and extracurricular choices and to provide more informed support. Additionally, Loyola School has partnered with Paul Martin, founder of College Money Method, who brings expertise in the broader system of college financial support through need-based aid and merit-based scholarships so all families can meet their goals to pay for college. The College Money Method workshop series starts in 9th grade and builds toward success in the application and selection process for seniors.

• Sophomore Year

  The sophomore class sits for the PSAT in October and the PreACT in the Spring semester. This allows students to experience the formats of both college admissions exams. Students receive their test results in guidance class after each administration, and are able to compare their performances on both exams.
  
  

  All sophomores also experience Sophomore College Immersion Day, an opportunity for them to explore campus life at two distinct institutions in the New York/Tri-State Area. Past visits have included participation in campus tours and information sessions at Princeton, Fordham, Columbia, Vassar, Fairfield, Marist, Yale, Lehigh, Lafayette, and other well-known colleges and universities.
  
  

  As in freshman year, parents of sophomores are invited to participate in a Long-Term College Planning Meeting that details academic and extracurricular choices expected by competitive colleges and of which sophomores and their parents should be mindful. College expense and financial aid planning for sophomore families is supported by virtual College Money Method presentations.

• Junior Year

  Spring semester marks the beginning of formal, weekly, College Counseling classes for all juniors taught by the Director of College Counseling. The curriculum includes: review of online college search and selection tools SCOIR and College Kickstart, definition of application and college terms, practice of interview skills, essay writing, standardized testing considerations, sports and talent recruitment, and other pertinent topics. Juniors receive additional personalized information regarding these topics and others when they begin individual and family college planning meetings with the Director of College Counseling.
  
  

  Juniors take the PSAT for a final time in the first semester and test results are disseminated and interpreted by the Director of College Counseling in class. The significance of the National Merit Scholarship Program is discussed and the typical annual National Merit qualification parameters are reviewed. Students then develop their individual college admissions testing plan with the assistance of the Director of College Counseling in individual meetings.
  
  

  Each spring, all juniors participate in an on-site college program featuring representatives from the majority of the twenty-seven Jesuit colleges and universities located throughout the country. This small college fair is followed by our juniors’ participation in the College Fair at the United Nations International

   

  School, hosting admissions deans and representatives from 200 domestic and international institutions. Once the new Common Application essay prompts are released in the spring, the English faculty begin to assist juniors with the development of essay ideas and editorial suggestions for improving them. Additionally, students participate in a day-long essay writing seminar facilitated by the College Essay Guy.
  
  

  The end of the academic year also signals the hosting of Loyola School’s annual college tour. The trip alternates annually between colleges and universities of the New England states and those of the Middle Atlantic region and it usually comprises campus visits to twelve distinct institutions. Although participation is optional, the majority of the rising senior class typically participates, with additional space often available for members of the rising junior class.

• Senior Year

  September marks the start of weekly college counseling classes for the senior class led by the Director of College Counseling. The class serves a number of purposes: it is an opportunity for seniors to continue live completion of their college applications and essays; allows them to continue to conduct online college research as they confirm their final college application list; and provides the opportunity to practice interview skills, plan college visits, and review standardized testing and application submission procedures.
  
  

  Beginning early in the fall semester, Loyola School typically hosts over 100 colleges and universities from around the world for on-site information sessions with our students. These meetings provide seniors with in-depth knowledge of the institution’s academic and campus offerings and admissions criteria, allow our students to ask pertinent questions, and build institutional relationships with a diverse set of colleges and universities. Admissions interviews are occasionally offered on-site as well.
  
  

  Seniors and their parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to schedule one or more concluding college planning meetings to review the student’s final college list, discuss the overall application submission process in detail, and to answer any lingering questions or concerns. These themes are further highlighted and underscored in the public Senior Parents College Meeting hosted in early September by the Director of College Counseling. As the academic year unfolds and seniors gather new information and receive early application admissions news, the conversation between parents, students, and college counseling staff continues fluidly and consistently until a final college choice is selected.