College Counseling

The centerpiece of Cooper's College Counseling program is individualized counseling. Our three full-time college counselors work closely with students and parents to provide customized guidance throughout the college process. Students consult with their counselor during each step of the process, including developing a college list, creating a resume, writing essays, preparing for interviews, and completing 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.

• Parents and students learn about the college process through group sessions led by the college counselors.
• Admission deans and representatives come to campus each year to share their insights into the college admission process. In recent years, guest speakers for Cooper’s junior student/parent meetings have included the deans of admission from Davidson College, Case Western Reserve University, Dickinson College, Emory University, and Rice University.
• A Case Studies Program is held each spring, during which juniors and their parents participate on  mock admission committees that are chaired by college admissions officers brought to the campus for this program.
• 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 first-hand.