Academics
College Counseling
The centerpiece of Cooper’s college counseling program is individualized counseling, which provides students and parents with personalized guidance throughout the college process and helps students find colleges where they will be challenged to reach their full potential.
Recognizing that a student’s story is central to a college application, Cooper’s college counseling program focuses on individualized counseling. This approach allows our three full-time college counselors to know each student, and our counselors use their extensive experience in selective college admission and at independent schools to provide customized guidance to students and parents. Students consult with their counselor throughout the college application process, including as they develop a college list, create a resume, write essays, prepare for interviews, and complete applications. Through frequent and personal interactions with students, our teachers and counselors are able to write individualized letters of recommendation that prove to be an invaluable component of student application packets.
Our four-year college counseling process educates students and parents about current trends in college admission and each component of the application, helping students feel confident as they submit college applications. In addition to students’ individual counseling, some highlights of our program include:
- Admission deans and representatives come to campus each year to share their insights with families in grades 9-12. In recent years, guest speakers for Cooper’s programs have included the deans of admission from Case Western Reserve University, Davidson College, Hamilton College, Rice University, Syracuse University, and the University of Southern California.
- Students meet during advisory with the college counselors at all grade levels. The curriculum for juniors includes self-exploration to help them establish priorities for their college search, information about researching colleges, and assistance brainstorming and editing their first college essay. As a supplement to the personalized counseling, college counselors meet weekly with seniors to ensure they are maintaining deadlines and completing applications effectively.
- A Case Studies Program is held each spring, during which sophomores, juniors, and their parents serve on mock admission committees that are chaired by college admissions officers brought to the campus for this program. This program gives students and parents firsthand knowledge about preparing thoughtful and compelling applications.
- Naviance, a web-based college counseling software program, provides students and parents with additional information about the college process.
- Counselors regularly attend professional conferences to exchange information with college counselors at peer schools and to interact with representatives from colleges who also attend the conferences.
- Counselors frequently visit college campuses during school breaks and in the summer, making strong professional connections with admission representatives and seeing numerous colleges firsthand.
Our Staff
Our three full-time college counselors each have over 15 years of experience in the field. Their experience working in selective college admission at both public and private universities informs their work with students and families every day, and they are committed to helping each student highlight his or her strengths in the application process. Their individual work with students and families ensures that each student’s application process is thoughtful and personal.
The John Cooper School
From Curiosity to Wisdom
The John Cooper School is an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational, college preparatory day school. Our mission is to provide a challenging education in a caring environment to a diverse group of select students, enabling them to become critical and creative thinkers, effective communicators, responsible citizens and leaders, and lifetime learners.
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