The goal of the College Counseling Program at NYA is to assist students in the process of self discovery and ultimately the search for colleges that are compatible with their interests and abilities. The process is a highly individualized one that emphasizes fit first and foremost. We believe that there is no one perfect college for any one student and the approach to the college search process is aimed at finding a group of colleges with which each student is individually well matched. The Director of College Counseling provides guidance and support throughout all aspects of the college search and application process.

The College Counseling Program is focused primarily on working with juniors and seniors, but 9th and 10th graders have opportunities to begin thinking about how to best prepare for college early in their academic career at NYA. Ninth grade workshops focus on NYA’s curriculum and the options available within, and requirements specific to, various academic departments. Special emphasis is placed on what an NYA transcript looks like and how a college views it. We also discuss extracurricular interests and building non-academic profiles. Our work with 10th graders continues to emphasize academic and extracurricular choices and we introduce the standardized testing they should expect to encounter in the following year. We believe that the most constructive thing freshmen and sophomores can do to prepare for the college process is to focus their energy and attention on working to the best of their ability both academically and in extracurricular endeavors. Juniors begin working intensively in one-on-one sessions with the Director of College Counseling to begin building a list of colleges to research more thoroughly and are also counseled about the appropriate timeline for standardized testing.

Through ongoing individual meetings, the Director provides a general frame-work of organization for seniors in the fall to assist them with the considerable task of applying to college. The Director strives to remain in regular contact with both students and parents to keep everyone on track and current on the demands and deadlines inherent in this process. Seniors are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to meet directly with the 60+ regional representatives from colleges across the country that visit NYA each fall and parents are encouraged to attend special college planning events and evenings throughout their child’s junior and senior years. The College Counseling Office coordinates and assembles all NYA support materials such as the transcript, profile, counselor letter of recommendation and two teacher recommendations and sends these directly to each college to which a student applies.