While most students and faculty enjoy the winter break, Northwood’s College Guidance Office is working late, sometimes well past midnight, to accommodate students in many time zones and residing in countries as distant as South Africa, Hong Kong, and Korea, to ensure they fulfill their college application requirements.
“We prepare around 400 applications each year (plus another 140 or so for graduates who have taken a year or two off and who are now applying), says Director of College Guidance, David McCauley.
The application process begins in February and March of the student’s junior year with each student completing a self-assessment that yields a likely list of colleges for them based on preferences such as individual learning style, geographic location, school size, and so on.
Then, in addition to all the other paperwork required, each student's essay is reviewed and, in many cases, made yet stronger through the editing of Dave and College Counselors, Steve "Reno" Reed and Justin Felhaber (and with the assistance of Administrative Assistant to College Counseling, Sandy Baker) who, combined, possess over a century of insight as to what colleges want to see in students’ writing. Dave says in particular, “The attention and expertise that Reno offers all of the senior class is second to none. He is the best essay instructor whom I have ever worked with.” This attention continues with counselors then calling colleges, now typically narrowed down to four or five top choices, to personally advocate for our students.
To date, these efforts have resulted in over 50 Northwood seniors having been accepted to schools of their choice.
While much in the realm of college guidance has changed over the years, for example, software that assists in managing students’ applications, and the common app now required by most colleges and universities, it is the “Northwood touch” that continues to ensure success for our students in gaining admission to the best-fit school that will provide a lifetime of personal and professional satisfaction.