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2007-2008 School Year Success Stories

High School: Springfield High School of Science and Technology
College: American International College
Adviser: Nate Cleveland
Students: Michael, Claudia, and Jong Ho

During the course of the year I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of very interesting and talented students, all of who have provided me with ample material to write about their successes. Instead of choosing just one student to talk about, I want to highlight several of the students and how through working with the College Advising Corps their futures were altered.

Michael first came to me in September unsure of what type of college that he could attend and was considering just applying to several local Community Colleges. After meeting with him several times, we honed his interests and matched those with schools that fit his criteria (New England, medium sized schools, relatively affordable, band program) as well as including some reach schools. After numerous drafts of his college essay, some SAT prep work and lots of hard work on his part we sent out his applications before the winter break. I am proud to report he got accepted at all five of his colleges and now has the luxury of choosing the best fit for him both academically and financially.

Claudia was another student who experienced similar success. She wanted to go to Western New England College (WNEC) or Boston University, but was not sure if she could get in. We met several times to find a strong list of schools for her to apply to, including both of her top choices. To enhance her application I suggested she attend the American International College Application Day at the High School and interview with the admissions staff. After practicing with me in the office, she did very well in the interview and they accepted her right then. Using this newfound confidence, she set up an interview with WNEC staff and had another great interview. She was accepted there as well and plans to attend in the fall.

Jong Ho was one of my most exceptional students academically, having a perfect weighted GPA of 4.0 and scoring very, very highly on his SAT's especially the math section. His interests were very much in computer science or engineering, but the schools he was applying to didn't have strong programs for what he wanted to study and he had no reach schools at all. We talked about broadening his horizons a bit and applying to a few more academically rigorous schools. He decided that he would apply to MIT, as well as UMASS Amherst and both WPI and RPI. He plans on attending UMASS in the fall, as they gave him a substantial financial aid package but he was glad that he aimed high and was accepted at several of the top engineering and science schools in the state.

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