Last week, The Phillipian reported that the school’s College Counseling Office (CCO) will be reformed within the next two years to extend its services to the Junior and Lower classes, recruited athletes and first-generation college students. Although the respective structure of each new program has yet to be determined, the CCO has announced plans to hire an additional college counselor and begin communication with students as early as ninth grade. A potential mentor program for first-generation students is also under consideration, in addition to combining the advising and college counseling programs, creating informational videos on college application topics, and allowing time to establish relationships between students and counselors earlier than Upper Year. Such a reform is one step forward in the right direction for the school and its students. Currently, the College Counseling program at Andover officially begins in the January of Upper year, which is less than a year before most students’ applications are due. In its article, The Phillipian reported that Sean Logan, Director of College Counseling, regarded the CCO’s inability to access earlier grades as “one of the primary weaknesses of the current CCO approach.” Throughout my Junior and Lower years at Andover, I have constantly been told by older students that “the first two years don’t really matter.” The intention of statements like this is to alleviate stress for younger students as they begin to familiarize themselves with the school and its culture. This mentality is often used, however, as a justification for wasting time and not fully applying ourselves to academics and extracurriculars. While college itself should not be the primary focus of our high school careers, the highly competitive application process requires students to actively pursue our passions, something that is important in and of itself. Regarding students’ two years as underclassmen as nearly trivial is dangerous: it can make it seem acceptable to not pursue opportunities and interests. Many students, too, fail to realize their lack of involvement too late in their Andover careers. One hopes that, as the CCO’s efforts are extended to younger students, students will be motivated to make better use of their Junior and Lower years and begin actively participating in extracurricular activities. Another issue with the CCO’s current approach is that it presents a disadvantage to international students, who often know nothing of the college application process in the United States. Even among domestic students, it seems like there is some confusion and uncertainty for those who have had no experience (e.g. through a sibling) with the college process. Many students and families often rely on groundless information from questionable Internet sources or stories from friends-of-friends. This misinformation incites unnecessary stress. Finally, extending the CCO’s program to younger students will help students with the complicated process of athletic recruiting. Kate Wincek ’14, Co-Captain of Andover Girls Volleyball and recruited athlete, began narrowing down her college options her Lower year. “The way the CCO currently works, I went through the college process for a year without having a college counselor at Andover,” said Wincek. “Also, due to the acceleration of the recruiting process, I have friends who had committed to Division-I programs before they ever officially stepped foot into the CCO.” The reformation of the College Counseling Office will prove highly beneficial to the Andover community. A more structured agenda for Juniors and Lowers will facilitate the transition to Andover and will help families and students prepare for the college process by providing them early on with necessary and accurate information early on. The new plans to reach younger students more quickly are a hopeful and much-needed step forward to revise the most problematic aspect of an otherwise excellent program.
