College Counseling

Latin measures its success by ensuring that each student is prepared with the academic and emotional skills needed to thrive in college and beyond, and it is the College Counseling Office’s mission to ensure students continue their education at their best-fit institution. College counseling is a highly personalized process at Latin. With a counseling staff of four, each with significant college admissions experience and counseling expertise, the program is as individualized as the rest of our curriculum. Our counselors work closely with students to discover their hopes and dreams, their interests and strengths, and then match those with the best-fit schools. Each student’s college process is about so much more than simply gaining admission; it is an opportunity to learn about one’s own educational and social needs and to develop decision-making tools that will help shape future choices both in and out of the world of academia. Ideally, applying to college is the conclusion of a Latin career that involves engagement in the classroom, an impassioned approach to learning, and a commitment to the life of our school, community and the world beyond Chicago.

The staff of Latin’s College Counseling Office encourages students to be involved, reflective, and accountable for their choices. As the people who know their children best, parents/guardians also play an active role. No two students are alike, and we work hard to connect with students and families and meet them where they are. We will work closely with each student and family to find a group of schools that best match (and build upon) the individual strengths, interests and achievements of an ever-evolving Latin student. We support students and their families every step of the way; we help build college lists, create college visit itineraries, brainstorm essay topics, prepare for interviews, fill out financial aid paperwork, and review all applications prior to submission. We also provide emotional support; we are there to celebrate a student’s successes and console students during times of disappointment.

Latin students attend some of the most diverse and reputable institutions in the United States and abroad; they seek schools that are both far afield and locally situated, small liberal arts colleges and large universities. Latin students are successful in the college application process and apply to a broad spectrum of schools. Ultimately, their choices reflect diligence, the strength of their academic preparation and self-exploration that are the hallmark and natural culmination of their Latin education.

138

unique institutions attended in the past five years

100%

college matriculation

First page of the PDF file: Latin_College_Counseling_2024-25

Highlights of our process

Four on-site college counseling staff members offering direct advocacy
Significant, personalized one-on-one counseling beginning junior year with student and families
Grade 11 curriculum focused on school research process
Grade-level programming
Family counseling and financial planning meetings
Informal coffees and Q&As with the counselors

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Test-Optional: How Latin Prepares Students Amid Evolving Trends (Part 2)

College Counseling at Latin: An Overview (Part 1)

I understood the value of this education first hand when I went off to college. My persistence and strong desire to learn and connect with my professors was a reflection of the close relationships I made with my teachers at Latin.

Latin taught me from a young age how to be organized, think critically and manage a rigorous academic load.

When I got to Kenyon, I had a head start because of Latin. It wasn't just that I was confident in writing a paper. It was that while everyone else was learning to write a paper, I had time to think about the bigger picture.

Timeline

Freshmen and Sophomores

While college counseling at Latin formally begins at the end of the first semester of junior year, the process actually builds upon the strong academic and personal advising that takes place throughout a student's high school career.

During freshman and sophomore years, students are encouraged to get involved in school activities, athletics and clubs to hone their academic interests and artistic talents. The best foundation for a successful college process is the same as the one for a successful high school experience. Students are encouraged to enroll in a variety of appropriate courses that expand their minds and challenge their sensibilities. They are also encouraged to join organizations that test them as citizens, competitors and leaders.

Students take a practice ACT in the fall of sophomore year and a practice SAT (PSAT) in the fall of junior year. This ensures that students have some exposure to the tests and their formats by the time the formal counseling process begins.

Juniors

Beginning in the spring semester of their junior year, all students meet in group seminar classes with a college counselor to discuss a variety of issues related to the college search process. These classes address a variety of topics that include but are not limited to:

Taking a personal inventory/assessment of strengths and achievements
Researching colleges
Test planning and learning how tests are used by colleges
Mock admissions committee exercises
Coping with the public nature of the college process
Essay writing and interview skills

Students and families are also assigned to and begin individual meetings with a college counselor at the start of the spring semester. Since Latin’s college process is personalized, it is important to our counselors that they get to know each and every student. This helps ensure that they are able to provide students with tailored suggestions about their college choices, and professional and personal advocacy throughout the process.

Seniors

College seminar classes return in the fall of senior year, and each student and their counselor work together to develop a list of colleges that are appropriate, competitively diverse and appealing to the student’s interests and needs. These classes take place in the first half of the semester and include topics such as:

Details and deadlines
How to submit applications
Self-advocacy, preparation and interviews
Essay writing
Timelines

Latin counselors serve as advocates for students throughout the college process. They represent the student's interests to colleges, write letters of recommendation, and offer wisdom and careful counsel to each member of the junior and senior classes. College counselors act as advisers, editors, interview coaches, and ambassadors to representatives from over 100 colleges and universities.

Latin’s College Counseling Office provides information and guidance until each senior has made a decision to enroll in the school of their choice. While our counselors' first priority is to address the needs of each student, they also serve as resource for parents and guardians. Parents and guardians are encouraged to seek their counsel while navigating the transition to college.

School Acceptance List

2020-2024

Schools in bold have a Latin student in attendance.

Academy of Art University
Adelphi University
Albright College
Allegheny College
American University
Amherst College
Antioch College
Arizona State University
Arts University Bournemouth
Auburn University
Babson College
Baldwin Wallace University
Bard College
Barnard College
Bates College
Baylor University
Belmont University
Beloit College
Bennington College
Bentley University
Berklee College of Music
Boston College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Bradley University
Brandeis University
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
Butler University
California Institute of Technology
California Institute of the Arts
California Lutheran University
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
California State University-Long Beach
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Carthage College
Case Western Reserve University
Chapman University
Claremont McKenna College
Clark Atlanta University
Clark University
Clemson University
Cleveland Institute of Music
Colby College
Colgate University
College of Charleston
College of the Atlantic
College of the Holy Cross
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State University
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Hollywood
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Cornell College
Cornell University
Creighton University
Curry College
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Denison University
DePaul University
DePauw University
Dickinson College
Drake University
Drexel University
Duke University
Eastman School of Music
Eckerd College
Elon University
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott
Emerson College
Emory University
Emory University-Oxford College
Fairfield University
Fashion Institute of Technology
Flagler College
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida State University
Fordham University

Franklin and Marshall College
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia State University
Gettysburg College
Goldsmiths, University of London
Gonzaga University
Goucher College
Grinnell College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamilton College
Hampton University
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College
Hastings College
Haverford College
Hawaii Pacific University
Hobart William Smith Colleges
Hofstra University
Hope College
Howard University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois State University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Indiana University
Iowa State University
Ithaca College
Jacksonville University
Johns Hopkins University
Johnson & Wales University-Providence
Juniata College
Kalamazoo College
Kent State University
Kenyon College
Kettering University
King's College London, University of London
Knox College
Lafayette College
Lake Forest College
Lancaster University
Lawrence University
Lehigh University
Lewis & Clark College
Lewis University
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Loras College
Louisiana State University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University New Orleans
Lycoming College
Macalester College
Marquette University
Marymount Manhattan College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
McGill University
Merrimack College
Miami University-Oxford
Michigan State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Middlebury College
Middlesex University
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Minnesota State University
Montana State University
Morehouse College
Mount Holyoke College
Muhlenberg College
New York University
Newcastle University
North Carolina A & T State University
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University
Northern Illinois University
Northwestern University
Nova Southeastern University
NYU Shanghai
Oberlin College
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
Occidental College
Ohio State University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Oregon State University
Pace University

Parkland College
Pennsylvania State University
Pepperdine University
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Prairie View A & M University
Pratt Institute
Princeton University
Providence College
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Purdue University
Reed College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhodes College
Rice University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Roger Williams University
Rollins College
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rutgers University
Saint Louis University
Saint Mary's College
Saint Xavier University
San Diego State University
San Jose State University
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
Savannah College of Art and Design
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Scripps College
Seattle University
Skidmore College
Smith College
SOAS University of London
Southern Illinois University
Southern Methodist University
Spelman College
St Olaf College
St. Mary's College of Maryland
Stanford University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stonehill College
SUNY at Purchase College
Swarthmore College
Syracuse University
Temple University
Tennessee State University
Texas A & M University
Texas Christian University
Texas Tech University
The American University of Paris
The Catholic University of America
The College of Wooster
The Juilliard School
The New England Conservatory of Music
The New School
The University of Alabama
The University of British Columbia
The University of Edinburgh
The University of Tampa
The University of Tennessee
The University of Texas
The University of Texas at Dallas
The University of the South
Towson University
Trinity College
Trinity College Dublin
Trinity University
Tufts University
Tulane University
Union College
United States Air Force Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy
United States Military Academy
United States Naval Academy
University College Dublin
University College London (UCL)
University of Arizona
University of Birmingham
University of California-Berkeley
University of California-Davis
University of California-Irvine
University of California-Los Angeles
University of California-Merced
University of California-Riverside

University of California-San Diego
University of California-San Francisco
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of California-Santa Cruz
University of Chicago
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado
University of Connecticut
University of Dayton
University of Delaware
University of Denver
University of Dubuque
University of Evansville
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Houston
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Illinois Springfield
University of Illinois
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky
University of Maine
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of New Hampshire
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
University of Notre Dame
University of Oregon
University of Oxford
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound
University of Redlands
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of South Carolina
University of Southampton
University of Southern California
University of St Andrews
University of Sussex
University of the Andes
University of Toronto
University of Tulsa
University of Utah
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Washington-Bothell Campus
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
Valparaiso University
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University
Warren Wilson College
Washington and Lee University
Washington College
Washington State University
Washington University in St Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Western Illinois University
Western Michigan University
Wheaton College
Whitman College
Willamette University
William & Mary
Williams College
Wittenberg University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Xavier University
Xavier University of Louisiana
Yale University