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Counseling Courier
Spring, 2015
College Spotlight
We are delighted to showcase our second college spotlight newsletter. This week, during the
professional development day, the counselors took the full day for tours, information sessions, and
meetings with admissions counselors at Tufts University and Suffolk University. This year, the SHS
School Counseling Department has chosen a few colleges and universities to highlight in our first
annual edition of the College Spotlight.
Additionally, each year we have had privilege of hosting over 70 admissions representatives from
colleges and universities around the country. These representatives meet with interested students,
review college programs and policies, and answer student questions and concerns. This is an
ENORMOUS opportunity for our SHS students to meet and interact with admissions counselors,
many of whom are the same counselors who ultimately read and make decisions on our students’
applications.
These information sessions cover a variety of topics...
Academic programs
Popular majors
Residential life (do students live on campus? do students stay on campus all four years, etc)
Athletics, clubs and organizations
Incoming student average GPA and average Standardized Test Scores
Admissions requirements (do students have to submit standardized test scores? Will admissions
departments “Superscore?”)
Financial aid options (is merit based aid available? How to access need based aid. Financial aid
deadlines– sometimes different than admissions deadlines)
The SHS School Counselors regularly meet with the admissions representatives whenever possible and
participate in these college visits alongside our students which improves counselor relationships with
admissions counselors and gives us an opportunity to help facilitate discussion and engage more in the
admissions process.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
April 15: Sophomore Parent Night – PSAT/SAT redesign with Kaplan, Naviance Family Connection, the college
application process
May 20: College Panel Event: An admissions representative from UPENN, Suffolk University, American Student
Assistance, Collegeboard, students, and parents...and perhaps more admissions counselors (TBD). We cannot wait. ALL
GRADES AND parents welcome from Swampscott and Marblehead!
Counseling Courier
Spring, 2015
Contact: Kim Kembel
Website: www.tufts.edu
Quick Facts and Tidbits
Medium Sized research institution outside of Boston
Mascot JUMBO (PT Barnum loved Tufts and donated a lot of capital for a natural history museum. Mrs.
Barnum loves this! )
Tier 1 Research Institution for all levels: can start second semester of freshman year
7 different schools
2 undergrad on campus (Arts and Sciences and Engineering)
5 Grad Schools
6 semesters of world language required
1+4 a sponsored Gap year program
Experimental College: can take and teach courses in a unique innovative academic environment: e.g James
Bond Films, Alpine Mountaineering, Sabermetrics.
Engineering students are required to take arts and science courses
45% juniors participate in study abroad: 10 Tufts programs, and over 200 approved programs
Residential campus
Located in a small city
SAT or ACT with writing required, SAT Subject required
“It’s not the numbers, it’s the college that makes the experience.”
In participating in the Tufts information session and tour, we learned that Tufts prioritizes creating new
knowledge through research, intellectual curiosity, and an interdisciplinary approach (think STEM!)
encompassing all undergraduate and graduate coursework.
In terms of the admissions process, Tufts is a Common App school that will also require a supplement including
three separate essays (in additional to the common app essay). In considering student transcripts, the
admission committee would rather see a B in a Honors or AP class than an A in a CP course. Tufts is looking for
coursework in AP if and when offered.
The admissions counselors strongly consider the high school counselor recommendation and also expect one
strong teacher recommendation. IF you want to submit a second recommendation letter, the admissions
committee would like this second letter to shine a light on something else not covered in the first letter.
Counseling Courier
Spring, 2015
The college essays are VERY important to the Tufts admissions department. Although the Tufts supplement
prompts may change for this upcoming application year, this past year the prompts asked applicants to talk
about WHY they chose Tufts, and a “let your life speak” question looking for you to talk about what makes you
YOU. The third prompt was offered as a choice, but included options like, “ what makes you happy?” and “ tell
us about your nerdy side.” When you answer the “Why Tufts” (or Why– Any-Other-School) question in a
supplement, you need to illustrate your personal connection to the school. Do not regurgitate facts about the
school or programs that the admission department knows about and can find on their own website. Make your
interest in the school a personal one! The admissions counselor did mention that they do like to see you make
statement about who you are by using the pronoun, “I,” despite what all of your English teachers have told you.
The essay is about YOU.
Financial Aid:
Meet 100% of demonstrated need (will offer financing (grants/scholarships/loans) for difference between EFC
and COA
Cap loans at 5K per year
FAFSA and CSS apps required
Standardized tests:
A p p ly in g t o :
S ch o o l o f A r ts an d
S c ie n c e s
S c h o o l o f E n g in e e r in g
S A T a n d A C T T e s t in g O p tio n s :
O P T I O N 1 : S A T R e a so n i n g T e s t a n d t w o S A T S u b je c t
T e s t s o f y o u r c h o ic e . ( W h e n t a k e n m u lt i p le t i m e s , w e
w ill u s e y o u r h ig h e s t s u b - s c o r e f o r e a c h s e c t io n .) F o r
s t u d e n t s c o n t e m p l a t i n g a m a j o r i n th e S c i e n c e s o r
M a t h e m a ti c s w e r e c o m m e n d t h e s u b m i s s i o n o f M a t h
L e v e l I o r I I a n d a s c i e n c e te s t .
O P T I O N 2 : A C T w i t h t h e W r i t i n g S e c ti o n .
( W h e n t a k e n m u lt i p le t i m e s , w e w il l u s e y o u r h i g h e s t
s u b - s c o re f o r e a c h s e c t io n .)
O P T I O N 1 : S A T R e a so n i n g T e s t a n d t w o S A T S u b je c t
T es ts : o n e M a th ex a m (M a th L ev el I o r II ) a n d o n e
s c ie n c e e x a m ( e i t h e r P h y s ic s o r C h e m i st r y ) . ( W h e n
t a k e n m u l t ip l e t im e s , w e w ill u s e y o u r h ig h e st s u b s c o r e fo r e a c h s e c ti o n . )
O P T I O N 2 : A C T w i t h t h e W r i t i n g S e c ti o n .
( W h e n t a k e n m u lt i p le t i m e s , w e w il l u s e y o u r h i g h e s t
s u b - s c o re f o r e a c h s e c t io n .)
Counseling Courier
Spring, 2015
Contact: Stephanie Sweeney
Website: www.suffolk.edu
Quick Facts and Tidbits
4 year medium sized university located in the heart of Boston
5,500 students
73 Tremont: Student Center and Admissions office
NEW Sawyer business school
13 school buildings
11:1 undergrad student to faculty ratio
60+ academic programs
3 libraries
4 main dorms, 2 in theatre district
8 minute walk to TD garden
10 minutes to North End
Steps away from state house (the counselors checked!)
Big commuter school
The counselors trekked through Boston for the Suffolk University tour and we can honestly say that it
is very centrally located in Boston. The campus is fairly spread out in the city, which gives the sense
that Boston is really your campus. In asking about the student connection to campus and how spread
out the buildings are, our tour rep did explain that once you have decided which major or program you
will be in, you generally stay in one or two buildings for the majority of your classes. So, the campus
does feel much smaller! She also mentioned that every Tuesday and Thursday, the school sets specific
times for Clubs and Organizations to meet at which point no courses are offered. All students have an
opportunity to join clubs and orgs and can have the time during the day to meet. She strongly
recommended that students get involved in some way whether that’s with the student newspaper or
the marketing club.
Transcript and GPA
The admissions counselors at Suffolk University spend a lot of time evaluating transcripts and
strongly consider a positive grade trend. So, if you had a rough freshman year, but have turned things
around, that can be looked at favorably. The admissions counselors will recalculate your GPA using all
of your core course and four elective courses over four years (eg. Intro to Marketing, Accounting,
Sculpture). They will give a 1/2 point boost to an honors level course and a 1 point boost to an AP
course!! Only two years of a world language is required for their admission requirements, but the
courses taken have to be at the high school level.
Counseling Courier
Counselor Recommendations:
Another component of the application that the admissions committee will emphasize is the counselor
recommendation. As you know, your counselors give a very comprehensive picture of your academic
and extracurricular life and can comment on your character, integrity, level of commitment, etc. Don’t
forget that we lean heavily on the counselor questionnaire, resume, and parent response form as we
develop your letters. If you are a junior, you should be working on these now!
Demonstrated Interest
Something that really stands out in our conversation with Ms. Sweeney, the admissions counselor, is
that the office truly prioritizes “interactions” with the school. We have been talking about
demonstrated interest for years now. What does this mean? Well, a student can demonstrate interest
in a school by participating in a college info session, going on tours, going on an interview, for
example. And, at Suffolk, they also measure the amount of times you have opened an email from them
and clicked through on urls within the email! Just as many of the elite colleges and universities will
do, they have their own software program to manager prospective student profiles and part of this
profile shows your demonstrated interest in the school.
Suffolk Law
There is an accelerated track for entering the Suffolk Law program. Students must know going into
their freshman year that they intend to apply to Suffolk Law in their junior year. Students interested
in the program will take all of the major courses and requirements (a total of 96 credits) during the
first three years and will need to contact an advisor on this right away. If a student has maintained a
3.7 or higher GPA, taken the LSATs, they can apply to the program. If accepted, they will begin the law
courses in their senior year and then complete the remainder of the program for the next one to oneand-one-half years. Please contact the admissions office for more info this accelerated track.