St. Stephen's University Counseling | Information & Resources

University Counseling

St. Stephen's offers specialized career and university counseling services that prepare students for the future and aid in their college or university search process. Our international student body applies to multiple education systems and matriculates to universities throughout the world whose admissions requirements vary widely. We work with students to highlight their individuality and their passions, provide strategic guidance throughout the application process, increase college admissions competitiveness, and help students make informed decisions about their college choices.

Preparing for the next stage of life should be exciting. In order to make this a seamless process, students and families are encouraged to become involved early on so that their academic planning is sound. This involves completing on-line surveys, managing timelines and deadlines for making decisions about universities and careers, researching colleges to include comparing Grade Point Average (GPA), standardized test scores, and other statistics to actual historical data from our school for students who have applied and been admitted in the past, and lastly, signing up to attend on-campus visits from universities from around the world.

University Counseling by Grade

Grade 9

College preparation for freshmen includes a strong academic performance that is based on good study habits and skills. It is important to note that when applying to universities in the United States, a student’s academic performance in the 9th grade is also considered when his or her transcript is being reviewed. In addition to a strong academic performance, students are also greatly encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities and service-learning programs.

Grade 10

The primary responsibility of sophomores is to build upon their academic performance in freshman year. The sophomore year constitutes the first "trend year" in which a college will begin to see academic patterns. Depending on their academic performance, some students may be ready to take the PSAT in October. Many St. Stephen's students elect to participate in a career profile exercise that examines students' skills and interests and provides a detailed analysis of how students' personal and academic potential match career choices.

Grade 11

Juniors meet with visiting college admission representatives during the fall and spring.

All juniors at St. Stephen's take the PSAT in October. Scores on this test determine National Merit Scholarship status (US citizens only) for juniors and identify strengths and weaknesses in scholastic preparation and aptitude. By the end of November, juniors and their parents complete lengthy questionnaires about their interests and priorities and in addition, students are required to write a Curriculum Vitae. Through this experience, students begin to track their accomplishments and activities as individuals and students. In January, Grade 11 students and their parents attend a College Orientation Evening to receive explanations of the college admissions and application process and determine criteria for selection of colleges and universities in different national systems. After the college evening for juniors, each student arranges a family meeting with the University Counselor to begin discussing the student's personal and academic development, summer enrichment options, and college choices. In the spring, as practice for the following year, juniors complete a draft of the personal statement or college essay and edit it with the help of the University Counselor.

Grade 12

In the early fall, seniors ask teachers to write their college recommendations (required for US colleges only), finalize their personal statements and applications and enter their college/university choices on Unifrog. US-bound seniors typically take their final SAT in October and their final SAT II in November or December. For UK universities, workshops are offered to students on a variety of topics including completion of the UCAS online application, writing the personal statement, and interviewing UK institutions. Students also receive interview assistance for US colleges. Throughout the admissions process, seniors and parents keep the college counseling office informed as to progress, problems, acceptances, and final choices.

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