Seniors Getting College Ready at Summer Sessions
Seniors Getting College Ready at Summer Sessions
At more than a dozen College Boot Camp sessions, Seaford High School seniors are getting the guidance and support they need to get their college applications ready. Scores of students are taking advantage of the workshops, which focus on multiple topics.
College Boot Camp, led by the high school’s guidance counselors, runs from Aug. 4 to Oct. 27. It includes nine summer sessions, followed by additional workshops once the school year begins. Topics include Beginning the Application Process, the Common Application, the College Essay, Activity and Resume Sections, Self-Reported Academic Records, Common Application Supplements, Financial Aid, College Portal Accounts and Submitting Free SUNY Applications.
Seniors are welcome to attend as many sessions as they’d like, during which they get personal support from the guidance counselors. The College Essay workshop on Aug. 13 featured admissions representatives from Adelphi University, Iona University and St. John’s University, who gave students individualized feedback on their essays. Guidance counselor Sarah Squicciarini said seniors were encouraged to come with as close to a finished draft as possible for the admissions experts to review.
“Our students are getting a head start on this very important piece of the application process,” she said. “It’s great that they’re getting their essays pretty much finalized at this point.”
Guidance counselor Frank Stazzone noted this is the third year of College Boot Camp. It started small with a few sessions and has continued to grow because of its popularity. New this year, he said, are September and October workshops.
The online common application opened on Aug. 1, and Seaford is hosting five sessions on that topic alone in August to help seniors get a jump start on the process.
Kayla Hoehn is attending three of the College Boot Camp workshops and finds them very valuable and informative. She is considering a career in radiology and is looking at colleges both near and far.
“It’s very helpful for my future,” she said, “and to try and get a head start in the application process. The earlier, the better.”
In addition to College Boot Camp, the guidance counselors host individual planning meetings with students during their junior and senior years.
