FROM THE DESK OF…
MRS. DEBBIE SOLOMON
DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE GUIDANCE
The Office of College Guidance helps to guide students towards appropriate choices for education after high school. Helping to identify the needs of students while promoting positive attitudes and choices is an integral part of this process. To help prepare students for the college search, students are informed about test choices, most often required of admissions. This includes the SAT and PSAT exams. Students do better when they are acquainted with the format and rigor of these exams, so Central has provided several review courses. This includes a comprehensive SAT Review Course on campus as well as a Pre-PSAT Review Course for students who have demonstrated highly competitive performance on the tenth grade PSAT exam. This course was created to provide the skills necessary to excel of the PSAT exam given in eleventh grade, which determines Semi-Finalist status on the National Merit Scholarship competition.
In our effort to bring the college to the high school, YUHSG offers a College Fair attended by the very best colleges in the northeast. Last year, admissions officers from Columbia, Barnard, University of Massachusetts, and University of Binghamton attended as well as many other fine institutions. We are fortunate to partner with Yeshiva University. As a result, Stern College for Women provides a personal connection with our young women. The Associate Director of Admissions meets with the senior class and acquaints them with special programs of interest as well as guiding them through their admissions process. As a courtesy, college interviews to Stern take place on our campus. Additionally, The Director of Financial Aide provides an annual workshop for parents to get acquainted with financial aide opportunities and required forms. During the year, college representatives have addressed our students from such schools as Columbia and Barnard. This year, University of Pennsylvania and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Medicine have asked to meet with interested students.
Parents are integral partners in the college process and they are invited to meet in private session to discuss their concerns and get comfortable with this milestone in their daughters’ lives. This is not a one-shot deal; parents as well as students are welcome to call or e-mail any questions or concerns and expect a prompt response.
When students show a collective interest in a particular college or university, arrangements are made to take students to the college and learn firsthand if it is a good fit. For example, last year, interested students toured Stony Brook University after a presentation by religiously observant representatives from the Medical School and the Physics Department.
Many of our students apply to Queens College (part of the City University of New York). Because of this, we have partnered with Queens College to offer the High Jump Program which makes college courses available to qualified Juniors and Seniors. This is usually their first opportunity to attend college and absorb the feel of it. This process helps enormously in providing a comfort factor for later high school graduates. Similarly, Yeshiva University provides opportunities for high school students to attend the Sy Syms School for Business for undergraduate credit.
The Office of College Guidance provides an individualized approach for college-bound students. The office offers an open-door policy for all inquiries, and private appointments on request, which work around the students’ schedule. Students are encouraged to review all college applications in the OCG before they are submitted.
The college admissions process is a culmination of a student’s academic and extra-curricular efforts in high school. The Office of College Guidance is delighted to partner with them in this endeavor.