College Guidance in the Virtual Era
Grier’s College Counseling Department is dedicated to meeting the needs of Grier students and ensuring they have the knowledge and resources to find, apply, and be accepted at the colleges that are the best fit. College Counseling Department Chair Ms. Katie Kingera and her fellow College Counselor, Ms. Katt Barr, facilitate virtual meetings with College Representatives, conduct weekly workshops to encourage students to progress with college applications and essays, and meet weekly with seniors to set goals to meet application deadlines and review and submit final applications.
In this Covid Era, colleges and universities are staying active and engaged with potential students, like those at Grier, through video conferencing. Ms. Kingera writes, “From mid-September to mid-November, we will have had about 60 college representatives who have scheduled to visit (virtually) with our 11th and 12th graders. In other years, we typically have about 12 to 15 college representatives visit Grier School in person to meet with our students. Now that admissions representatives aren’t travelling, they have to time meet with our students virtually. This has been an unexpected benefit for us!”
Ms. Kingera notes how the abundance of representatives allows for small, meaningful interactions with small groups of students and a counselor in attendance. Ms. Kingera adds, “Though these meetings are virtual, they are small and only include other interested Grier students. Therefore, students get personalized face to face time with the college admissions representative who will likely be the person who reviews their application.” Ms. Kingera adds, proudly, that most colleges have reached out to Grier, a sign that they recognize the quality of our graduates.
As usual, Grier holds college application workshops on Sundays, designating time for students to work on their college applications. During these workshops, an English teacher is always present “to help students with their application essays. Virtual and day students can sign up for virtual visits with the English teacher during the workshop times (9am to 11:30am).”
Additionally, the College Counselors meet weekly one-on-one with each senior to review their applications and set goals to meet application deadlines. Several students have already submitted their applications this year including Caroline C., Sophia J., Gia S., Sarah L., and Kirsten R.
All together, the Grier College Counseling department provides an excellent support system to ensure success for each college-bound Grier graduate.
KK, RW | KB
KK, RW | KB
Grier School
2522 Grier School Rd. | P.O. Box 308; Birmingham, PA 16686-0308
Phone: 814-684-3000 | Fax: 814-684-2177
Phone: 814-684-3000 | Fax: 814-684-2177
