College Counseling Program at Shady Side Academy

Helps Prepare Students for Higher Education

By Vanessa Orr

For many students, choosing the right college can be difficult. There are a number of factors that can affect a student’s choice from the location of a school to the types of classes offered to the number of students enrolled, and sometimes the decision can seem overwhelming. For many years, Shady Side Academy's College Counseling Center has helped students navigate this difficult process.

Beginning in January of their junior year, students start working with the Academy’s three counselors to determine what type of school they’d like to attend, and what they need to do to make their acceptance a reality. “College admissions have become much more competitive because there are more students applying, and colleges are receiving more applications than ever before,” explained Tom Rossi, director of College Counseling. “This gives colleges larger applicant pools from which to choose, allowing them to be more selective.

“Our goal is to help each student find a college that is right for them, and to help them through the application process,” he continued. “We teach them how to advocate for themselves, and we advocate on their behalf at the schools they’ve chosen. We want to make sure that our students don’t get lost in this vast sea of paper.”

To this end, counselors get to know each student individually so that they can write a comprehensive letter of recommendation to each school that the student has chosen. “Each of our three counselors has a caseload of about 40 students whom they get to know very well,” said Rossi. “We know about each student’s work in the classroom, involvement in athletics, community service work and leadership in the school. We develop personal relationships with our students so that we can better advocate on their behalf.”

In addition to providing letters of recommendation, counselors meet with college admission representatives from all over the country to explain the value of a Shady Side Academy education. “More college representatives visit us each fall than the average number of students in our senior class,” said Rossi. “This allows us to help colleges to become more familiar with the Academy as well as with the students who have applied.”

This recognition factor as well as students’ progress in such a rigorous program has helped earn Shady Side Academy a 100 percent college placement rate for its students. “Shady Side Academy's 125-year reputation as one of the nation's most outstanding college preparatory experiences provides a student's application immediate legitimacy and consideration in top colleges and universities nationally and abroad," explained Thomas N. Southard, president of Shady Side Academy.

Even before the application process gets underway, however, counselors work with students to determine what colleges might be best for them. Instead of providing a laundry list of schools, counselors guide students through a process of self-discovery and decision-making. “Some students prefer a big university to a small college atmosphere,” explained Rossi. “Others are drawn to the ‘big city’ instead of a rural setting. For this reason, we encourage students to visit colleges early on; there’s a big difference between a small liberal arts college in a suburban area and a large university in an urban setting.”

“In addition to helping students move through the college process, the counseling program helps manage students’ expectations while also providing them exposure to schools that they might not otherwise have considered,” explained head of Senior School Jeremy LaCasse. “The process is an educative one that ultimately results in each student finding the best place to be.”

Seniors Becky and Sara Tisherman of Allison Park used the college counseling program to help them narrow down the choices of what schools to attend. “When I first started, I didn’t know where I wanted to apply or what I wanted to do,” said Becky. “I only knew that I wanted a small school in the northeast that was science-based. By working with me to compile a list of schools that met my needs, my counselor gave me a foundation from which to start.”

“There is a lot of stress and a lot of work involved in finding the right school, and working with a counselor definitely helped take some of the pressure off,” agreed Sara. “Because my counselor knew me so well and knew what types of schools might fit my personality, he was able to suggest some colleges that might be right for me.”

Counselors also work with parents to help them navigate the college process. In addition to providing workshops on financial aid, counselors help parents learn how to be ‘good consumers’ when researching their children’s choices. “What’s nice about the program is that it allows parents to become involved at a very early point in the process,” said Andy Racek of Wexford, whose son Luke is a senior. “You know what to expect, and you can determine if your child is where they need to be in the process at any given time.”

“I think the counselors definitely gave me reasonable expectations about what schools are legitimate choices for me,” added Luke Racek. “They also provided me with a timetable in which to get things done. They give you a path—and if you follow it, it works.”

“The college counseling process is illustrative of everything we do at Shady Side Academy,” LaCasse said. “By paying close attention to the needs of each individual student, we help each child thrive to the best of their abilities and to the highest degree possible.”