The Upper School campus was buzzing August 18-20 as nearly the entire Class of 2027 dedicated three days of their summer for Viewpoint’s College Counseling Summer Institute (CCSI). With college application deadlines quickly approaching, our College Counseling Office does everything possible to guide seniors, support them, and get them ready to be confident, thoughtful, and successful college applicants. 

Our stated goals for CCSI:

• Develop and revise a personal essay draft  
• Explore majors and additional supplemental essay questions
• Complete the Common Application 
• Introduce the UC Application
• Discuss essay drafts with a college admission rep  

On the first day of CCSI, seniors heard from college admission experts Jamie Black, Senior Regional Manager of Admissions at the University of Wisconsin, and Kathryn Pierce, Regional Assistant Director of Admissions at Washington University in St. Louis, during a panel titled “Wisdom from the Other Side of the Desk.” Our guests shared their advice and best practices for how to approach writing the college essay and our seniors benefited from their insight and partnership with our office. 

The three day CCSI program also included a review of important dates in senior year, college application procedures, completing their application with our office’s Guide to the Common Application, organization strategies, and one-on-one meetings with their college counselor to receive specific feedback on their personal college essay. Our team also presented in the Carlson Family Theater (CFT) on tips to write and research the many additional supplemental essays they will encounter. Seniors also greeted Mike Emborsky, the new Head of Upper School, and heard from Head of School and President Mark McKee. 

The CCSI experience culminated with each senior having an individual 20-minute Zoom meeting with a college representative to present their essay draft and hear valuable feedback. The colleges represented were:   

Boston University

Brown University

Colgate University

Hampden-Sydney College

Lafayette College

Lehigh University

Muhlenberg College

Northwestern University

Pepperdine University

Tulane University

New York University

University of Colorado, Boulder

George Washington University

University of Iowa

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

University of Miami

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

University of Southern California 

Whittier College

Willamette University

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

What a highlight! We are grateful for our partnerships with these colleges and their support of our students. 

Viewpoint seniors are starting the year off in excellent shape. They are ready for the next step, assigned a to-do list, and have their next meetings with us on the books! We can’t wait to continue this momentum in the fall and guide them through this exciting time.