Testing in Transition: Unpacking the Latest Changes

Co-Presenters:

Claire Wilkins, German Swiss International School (Hong Kong)

Nicole Thompson, The American School in London (United Kingdom)

Join our panel—including a testing expert and two international school college counselors—as we explore the recent shifts in standardized testing. We'll discuss the SAT and PSAT's move to digital adaptive formats, the upcoming overhaul of the ACT, test site availability challenges, and the evolution of admissions testing policies in college applications, with a specific focus on international students seeking to apply to schools in the USA. Gain insights into how these changes impact students and learn strategies to navigate this evolving landscape effectively.

Champagne College Counseling on a Beer Budget

Co-Presenter:

Karen Rowe, Sugar Bowl Academy (CA)

Bring your counseling game to the next level without breaking your budget. Discover how communication channels like Instagram and YouTube can support your work, and learn more about the College Ambassador Program. Explore the concept of design-thinking and hear how college counselors have used the approach to develop new strategies to support students.

“Please indicate how you identify yourself." Counseling students on checking the box with integrity.

Co-Presenters:

Andy Losier, Sage Hill School (CA)

AhYoung Chi, Beverly Hills High School (CA)

David Thompson, Bishop's School (CA)

Carlos Jimenez, Colorado College (CO)

“Strategy" is at play now more than ever for getting into college. So too are talks of identities and their associated privileges. The barring disconnect between these topics is resulting in students misrepresenting their identities in hopes of increasing their chances of admission. Join us for recent "learning experiences", examples of what secondary schools are doing in terms of identity education, and what colleges are seeking when certain identities are selected.

Rethinking the High School Visit: Implementing Programs to Connect Students and Admission Counselors

Co-Presenter:

Michael Nation, Oaks Christian School (CA)

Karen Rowe, Sugar Bowl Academy (CA)

A cross-comparative look at how 3 competitive independent schools build connections between students and admission counselors. With an emphasis on developing 21st-century learning skills, we explore ways to embed values into your programming. We surveyed our students and admission professionals from across the country to hear their impressions about what works and what doesn't during the high school visit.

Comprehensive Look at the Comprehensive Model

Co-Presenter:

PJ Petrone, Marymount School (CA)

Stacy Kadesh, Independent Educational Consultant (CA)

Does waiting until spring of junior year to start college counseling still fit the needs of your students and community? Three counselors—one public school, one private school, and one independent counselor—with very different comprehensive college counseling models share highlights of their programs, how they were created, and how they are being received.

No More Walking Backwards: Moving the College Tour Forward

Co-Presenter:

Katherine Folkman, Collegewise (CA)

What can colleges and universities do to make the campus tour more valuable? Through a comparative analysis of campus tours, information sessions, and marketing strategies, we will help admission offices understand what students want to know, see, and do while they are on campus visiting your institutions.

Improving College Enrollment with District Collaboration

Co-Presenters:

Esther B. Hugo, LMU School of Education (CA)

Guadalupe Navarrete, Sequoia Union High School (CA)

David Schindel, Sandia Preparatory School (NM)

Ralph Figueroa, Albuquerque Academy (NM)

Freida Trujillo, Tony Hillerman Middle School (CA)

Debra Chandler, La Cueva High School (NM)

Jessica DeSantis, Lehigh University (PA)

Learn about two award-winning programs from two ACAC’s which offer a series of motivational, intentional, and experiential activities for students, counselors, and faculty that were implemented in a district-wide approach to improve college-going rates.

Discuss the tools needed to implement these cost-effective, comprehensive programs whose shared goal is to improve student outcomes. Gain strategies for improving counselor communication and professional development, building relationships with colleges, and analyzing follow-up data with positive outcomes.

How to Support Your Student-Athletes and Their Parents

Co-Presenters:

Valerie Johnson, Oaks Christian School (CA)

Michael Nation, Oaks Christian School (CA)

Working with families of athletes can be an exceptional and often demanding experience. How can we as counselors help calm the frenzy and offer guidance that is effective? This session will provide a toolbox of resources that will help you support both your student athletes and their parents as you help guide them through a unique, ever-changing, and frequently challenging process.

College Athletics: Advising the Unrecruited Student-Athlete

The road to admissions for a student-athlete is drastically different than the path taken by a “student”, both procedurally and from a timing standpoint. Are your athletes starting their recruiting experience in their sophomore year, including registration with the Eligibility Center, per the NCAA rules, and then visiting/meeting with college coaches by the summer before their junior year? Do YOU know, specifically, How and When to counsel your athletes as they initiate their college recruiting experience? If you’re not answering “yes” to all of the above questions, please join us for this session.

Two Major Updates, One Power Session: ACT 2025 & the New College Planning Case Study

Co-Presenter:

Andy Taylor, Vice President, Educational Solutions  Managing Director ACT Education Solutions (AES) 

An action-packed session with two timely updates: First, hear directly from a Senior Leader at ACT on major 2025 changes—shorter test, optional science section, superscoring, and more—and how they’ll impact national and school-based testing. Then, dive into a refreshed College Planning Case Study (formerly Case Study 2.0) with new strategies for testing timelines, integrating prep, and balancing the application workload. Leave with exclusive insights and practical tools to navigate a fast-changing admission landscape with confidence.

Case Study 2.0: Reframing the Conversation on List Building Around Balanced Lists and Application Workloads

Co-Presenters:

Michelle Rasich, Rowland Hall School (UT)

Are scattergrams even useful anymore? Is junior year too late for the traditional case studies program? Is there more we could be doing to help families build a balanced college list using data? The answer to all of these questions is YES! Join us to learn about Case Studies 2.0, a re-envisioned extension of the application case studies program we all know and love. The new approach moves beyond discussing how the application is evaluated and focuses on ways to help students and families better anticipate outcomes as well as understand the time commitment associated with a full application cycle.

Revolutionizing University Admissions: The Impact of ChatGPT (created by Chat GPT)

Co-Presenters:

Aaron Fulk, University School, Nashville (TN)

Scott Kominkiewicz, Iolani School (HI)

Chat GPT created this description: "As technology continues to advance, universities are seeking new ways to streamline the admissions process and improve communication with prospective students. One such solution is the use of ChatGPT, a powerful language model developed by OpenAI. In this presentation, we will explore the ways in which ChatGPT can be leveraged to improve the university admissions process, including automating repetitive tasks, providing personalized communication with prospective students, and even assisting in the selection process. Additionally, we will discuss the potential ethical considerations and implications of using ChatGPT in this context. This proposal aims to show the potential of ChatGPT to revolutionize university admissions and improve the experience for both universities and prospective students."

All of us are reading brazen news headlines that are catastrophizing the impact of artificial intelligence on our work in admissions and education more broadly. Will AI be the end of the college essay? Will AI make writing letters of recommendation easier? Will ChatGPT be the end of English essays in general? We don’t know how many answers we will have to these questions, but we hope to dig into how ChatGPT works and examine it in a more nuanced way, including how AI–like all things–can be a weapon or a tool based on who wields it.

DTA Today...and Tomorrow: Talking Data from Stats to Stories

Co-Presenters:

Janet Weller, The Harpeth Hall School (TN)

Sandra Sohne-Johnson, St. Anne's Belfield School (VA)

Louis Trujillo, Saint Ann's School (NY)

John Reilly, Trinity School (NY)

Have you ever wondered how to make the data stories of our profession more accessible to your school community? Are you eager to hear key takeaways from the Data Trends and Analytics Committee's DTA Today webinars? Do you have data trend ideas you'd like the committee to explore? If so, the DTA Committee invites you to join a conversation about what we learned by hosting DTA Today webinars this year. In this interactive session, we'll share our stories, ask which ones you want to hear, and discuss what's next!