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Have students applying to highly selective colleges? You might also enjoy this course:

How to Build a Great College List

An on-demand mini-course for Counselors and Consultants ($297)

The Mission: crafting a great college list for each of your students.

The Method: A mini-course covering the latest list-building methods and techniques from a nationally-recognized expert.

Building expert college lists for your students is one of your most essential tasks. Learn tips and accomplish this task efficiently and effectively.

Spend four hours with Ethan Sawyer and Dr. Steven Antonoff to craft informed, appealing, even outside-of-the-box college lists for your students.

 What we cover:

  • The Building Blocks of College List Creation: knowledge of your student, what your student is looking for in a college, and awareness of college options
  • How to use 'Qualities that will make a college right for you' to help narrow down choices for students
  • Exploring the Axes for Comparing and Contrasting Colleges
  • The vital role of the counselor as an attitude-change agent
  • Best ways of bringing your wisdom to the college list building table
  • Ways to describe admission categories (and alternatives to "reach," and "backup")
  • Helping students know what college planning resources are best. How to separate the noise from the substance in college admission websites, books, and resources
  • Helping students determine whether a particular college will be welcoming to them
  • Gauging how generous colleges will be when it comes to financial aid
  • Learning the role of risk in list building
  • Exploring the managerial roles in list building: information, expectation, uncertainty, and reframing
  • Articulating the traps in building a college list. Examples: halo effect, not verbalizing trade-offs often enough, trying to find perfection, not recognizing how much student change to expect, feeling that you need to know everything

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Counselor 2025: Helping Students Apply to Highly Selective Colleges and Universities

An on-demand course with former Pomona College Admissions officer Tom Campbell.

Led by Tom Campbell (former Pomona College admissions officer) across three 1.5-hour video sessions, this course will cover all things highly selective admissions: what these institutions are, what they offer, why you may consider applying, what they’re looking for, and how the process works

Counselors will leave with a clearer understanding of the current highly selective admissions landscape (and what’s changed in recent years), an inside look at how admissions officers read applications, and case studies of successful applicants.

Since we’re also firm believers that “where you go is not who you’ll be,” you'll receive information about other paths and college options (and tips on how to get students and families to see these as valid)!

Course Overview:

Module 1: What It Takes

Module 2: How It Works

Module 3: Who Gets In

 

Remember, this course is Pay-What-You-Can! If you can't afford the suggested price, request a lower price by clicking on the orange PWYC button on the registration page. Access is really important to me, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

–Ethan & Tom

What Counselors Are Saying About My Courses:

I am extremely grateful to have been given tools that I can both relate to and apply with my students. I will listen to Ethan present every time I am given the opportunity—he is that good!!!

Valerie J. / Counselor, Oaks Christian School