Spring Parents Weekend

12:30 - 5:30 p.m.

College Counselor Meetings - 15 minutes each. (Current Fifth Former Parents Only)
Please schedule meetings in advance with the College Counseling Administrative Assistant, Karin Irwin at (860) 927-6034 or click here to use the contact form.

Dickinson Science Building - College Counseling office.

7:00 p.m. - 9:30 P.m.

Building a Parenting Tool Box for College: Tools and Tips for Supporting Your Child Through the College Application Process

Karren Garrity, Kent Parent and Professional Counselor

Karren Garrity, Kent School parent and professional counselor with years of experience working with children and adolescents, offers insight into adolescent development, and best ways to support your child through the college application process. Following the screening of the movie, In 500 Words or Less, Karren will facilitate a conversation about this powerful film and offer specific tools for healthy and productive parent/child communication.

In 500 Words or Less

Dickinson Auditorium

8:00 p.m.

Chamber Concert

Mattison Auditorium

8:00 a.m.

Welcome

Lobby - Mattison Auditorium

9:00 a.m.

Headmaster's Welcome

Mattison Auditorium

9:15-10:15 a.m.

The Current Landscape of College Admissions
Ann Fleming Brown, Dean of Admission, Union College

The inimitable Ann Fleming Brown will share a lifetime of experience and perspective on college admissions in the new millennium. Ms. Brown is sure to relieve anxiety with her legendary sense of humor, removing the veil of mystery from the admission process in order to help you understand how the process works from the inside out. What does it mean to read an application from a "holistic" perspective? What are current trends in college admissions? How does one determine the best match? How important is the visit or the interview? What are colleges looking for in an applicant?

Mattison Auditorium

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Parent's Committee Meeting

Headmaster's Study

10:30 - 12:15 p.m.

Breakout Sessions (to run concurrently from 10:30 – 11:15 and 11:30 – 12:15. Please choose two.)

Selective College Admissions in 2011

Ann Fleming Brown, Dean of Admission, Union College
Come take advantage of Ann Fleming Brown's twenty-three years of experience as Dean of Admissions at one of the nation's most selective liberal arts colleges. Ann will answer your questions and offer a dean's perspective on the admission process.

Mattison Auditorium

The Role of Athletic Recruitment in the College Process

Todd Marble, Kent's Director of Athletics and Summer Programs, will lead a discussion on the complexities of athletic recruitment in the college process. What is the role of the student, the parent, the coach and the college counselor? What is the difference between Division I and Division III recruiting process? Come learn how to help your student-athlete negotiate the many demands of athletic recruitment.

Middle Dorm Common Room

Managing the College Process with Family Connection

Kent School subscribes to the premier web-based college management tool, Family Connection. Come learn more about the power of this soft-ware, its many applications and opportunities for communication. How do you conduct a college search? How do you determine the difference between a reach and a safety school? Which schools are test optional? What are the admission requirements at any school? Learn to become a power user of this dynamic program.

Technology Classroom-Administration Building

12:15

Cookout

Dining Hall Lawn (weather permitting)

1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

College Counselor Meetings - 15 minutes each. (Current Fifth Former Parents Only)
Please schedule meetings in advance with the College Counseling Administrative Assistant, Karin Irwin at (860) 927-6034 or click here to use the contact form.

Dickinson Science Building - College Counseling office.

5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Dinner

Dining Hall

8:30 p.m.

Choral Concert

St. Joseph's Chapel

11:00 p.m

Evening Check-in (Dorms)

School Bookstore is open on Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and on Sunday, 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. The following college guides will be available at the bookstore:

• Selective Guide to Colleges by Edward Fiske – As close as you can get to knowing what a college is like without visiting the campus. An excellent resource.

• Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope – An excellent source for students who know they want to attend a small liberal arts college. It gives in-depth examples of schools that may be lesser known (at least by some people), but still have excellent programs.

• Princeton Review’s The Best 369 Colleges – This book reaches its conclusions based on the reflections of independent counselors. It is a bit more entertaining than some of the others – it ranks schools by quality of food, intensity of study, levels of drinking, and degree of “granola”…all of which you may or may not find helpful.

• The College Admissions Mystique by Bill Mayer—Written by a veteran college counselor with over 30 years’ experience, Mayer demystifies the process of college admission. He covers practical issues, including discovering colleges, narrowing the search, finding financial aid and using college counselors to the best advantage. He also deals with the emotional side of the process, as this is a time of transition and growth for the whole family. He has a healthy and helpful approach to an anxiety-ridden process.

• The Gatekeepers by Jacques Steinberg – Steinberg had nearly total access to the Wesleyan admissions office for one year. What follows is an insider’s account of the admissions process at one highly selective liberal arts college. It reads like a novel and is both informative and well-written.

• On Writing the College Application Essay by Harry Bauld – Every student applying to college should read this book. It’s utterly entertaining, relevant and very, very helpful.

• To College--NOT You! Surviving the College Search With Your Child, edited by Jennifer Delahunty