Building Relationships in the College Process

In January, much attention is focused on the stress of preparing for college application deadlines and the anxiety of waiting for decisions. We see things a little differently in the College Counseling Office. For us, January is a wonderful time. We are excited about starting to work with the Fifth Formers. Much of the winter will be devoted to learning more about each individual in the Class of 2020 and having them reflect about themselves throughout the process. We get to have conversations with the students about who they are and what is important in their lives as well as help them think about the possibilities that lie ahead. We are lucky in that a community our size provides so many meaningful opportunities for us to form relationships with students.

For our five-person team, the college process is also about developing relationships with schools rather than just a transactional process of “getting students in” to a certain one. After all, the connection that students have to their colleges will last a lifetime as it is based on ties with friends, faculty and the place itself.  I’m pretty certain no one ever found a best friend based on SAT scores. We are fortunate to have time in the winter and spring to work with each student to tailor a college process that is built around individual needs and finding the best fits. By the time students really start to consider colleges, it is our hope that the process of searching for the right ones seems intuitive.




As important as it is for students to connect with colleges, it is an essential role of counselors in our office to develop relationships with admission departments in colleges around the world. This fall, we hosted approximately 100 college representatives at Westminster to meet with the Sixth Form class, and we made sure to speak with each and every guest, getting to learn more about their colleges and the people who represent them. In the spring, Westminster, along with a number of other Hartford-area independent secondary schools, will hold an annual college fair for Fifth Formers where admission officers from 150-180 colleges and universities will be available to meet with us and our students. This is a wonderful opportunity for our counselors to expand the range of schools we can talk to students about.

This summer, we will continue to get out and meet with representatives from various colleges on their turf. Usually members of our staff are able to travel to a dozen or so college campuses once Westminster’s academic year ends. There are many great colleges and universities out there, and we look forward to learning more about them with each trip. Similarly, we encourage our students to take some time to visit college campuses. For our students and families one of the most exciting aspects of the process is discovering many wonderful colleges during these visits and, for our Fifth Formers in particular, by engaging with college admission officers, they have the opportunity to develop relationships upon which they can build during the application process. And we stand ready to help guide these visits based on the relationships we’ve established with our students.