College Counseling

Welcome to College and Career Counseling

The College and Career Counseling Office at New Garden Friends School helps students to explore their various and diverse post-graduation options. Rooted in the tenet of the NGFS philosophy of respecting each individual’s uniqueness, we recognize that there is no set path or framework that works for every student. Rather, each student’s post-graduation search process is an individual one.

There’s a saying in college counseling: college is a match to be made, not a prize to be won. The same is true when considering apprenticeships, gap year programs, and other opportunities.

Through individual counseling with the student and family, informative programs, and school visits by college representatives, we strive to help students identify the colleges or other programs that best reflect their interests and talents. Students are guided through all aspects of the college application process from developing a college list and writing their essays to completing their applications and financial aid forms.

Here's a basic timeline:

• College and Career Counseling is available to students and families as early as freshman year. Appointments with the college counselor are available by request.
• During the winter term of the junior year, juniors, and their parents come into the office for an individual conference to begin the process of defining their direction after they leave NGFS.
• Students are encouraged to use the summer between their junior and senior year to visit campuses, explore online planning resources, and formulate their application lists.
• In the fall of senior year, counseling focuses on the steps involved in the application process. 

"The College Counseling process was extremely thorough. They really got to know our son and diligently worked with him, coordinating all the pieces to find the school that was the right fit for him. As a parent, the college application process can be really daunting, the NGFS program guides students AND parents throughout the process. It was so beneficial to us that this is included as part of the tuition and that Ben was given time at school to work on parts of the application."  - Susan Wooster, parent of Ben, Class of 2018