We encourage parents to schedule a University Readiness Review session, preferably early in a student’s grade 9 or 10 year of high school. Postponing UNIVERSITY PLANNING until grade 12 often results in disappointment when families realize what they SHOULD have been doing in the last two or three years in terms of preparation and readiness for university.
Select College Admissions’ counseling services are individually tailored to each student and the family’s needs and begins with an initial 1 – 1.5 hour meeting with both student and parents present. Our program is flexible as some students will require more help than others in the university preparation, selection and application process.
Ideally, the first meeting with university-bound students should take place at the beginning of their grade 9 year. Meetings at this stage might include career/interests/learning style/personality assessments as well as a review of strategies for success. We like to ensure that our students are on the right track with study skills, extracurricular activities, community service involvements, and leadership goals. We review coursework, beginning with grade 12 and work our way down to the current grade. We plan ahead for summer enrichment options, including jobs, internships as well as academic, athletic or service-oriented summer activities by reviewing program deadlines, recommendation requirements, and the student’s résumé. We have had successful experience with competitive summer programs in both Canada and the U.S. We meet with grade 11 students more often in order to get their timeline started for the following two years prior to university. It is essential that we work with grade 12 students during the summer prior to their graduation year in order to review their last round of testing and to begin the university application process early: finalizing their university list with “likely”, “target” schools, and “reach” institutions, ensuring that they finish drafts of their essays and complete their online applications. We, naturally, spend a substantial amount of time with our grade 12 students in the fall and winter, helping them with all components of their university applications.
Select College Admissions advises a small group of students. We provide consistent support for unique, authentic, and convincing applications to give students that critical edge in the competitive admissions process. Our students benefit from our services through group workshops and individual one-on-one meetings to establish academic, extracurricular, and post-secondary goals.