College Advising
Blake DeYoung, Director
Office of College Advising
Helping plan your future
If the popular press were to have their way, all high school students and parents would believe the following myths: excellent colleges are defined by their top tier rankings; GPA and SAT scores are the sole determiners of the admissions decision, and; personal success is ultimately defined by the college name that appears on the admissions acceptance letter.
We beg to differ – emphatically.
At the Bear Creek School, we pursue a vastly different college selection paradigm, one that places a high regard on the emerging success story of each student as they pursue collegiate choices.
The college advising experience is a complete partnership between our staff, students in their 9-12 grade years, parents and college admission offices. The primary goal in this partnership is to link students with a number of “best fit” schools that will allow them to pursue their vision and passions at the collegiate level. Our students are challenged to own the process: to value it not as an end to itself, but an experience in evaluating and defining watershed decisions in life. Each student is encouraged to look inward and pay attention to the patterns, interests and abilities that are uniquely theirs to pursue.
College success and one’s personal life accomplishments are, first and foremost, determined by the God-given passion, talent, motivation and discernment of each individual. High school students are as varied as their shoe selections—and the college selection process should ultimately follow that individuality. No one college fits all; and contrary to popular belief, there are multiple colleges that would effectively serve as the destination for any given student. Our goal in College Advising at Bear Creek is to work individually with each student to shape and refine a host of college choices based on their accomplishments and future directions.
The ultimate selection of best fit schools concludes a long process, but a student’s growing awareness literally begins in middle school and into the early high school years, culminating in the senior year. College planning workshops, grade-level advising sessions, standardized test preparation, college tours, on-campus recruitment visits with admissions staff and individual college application drafting sessions are all intentionally designed and individually tailored to meet the needs of our students.
The Bear Creek School’s academic curriculum is a powerful platform to advance our students into college level readiness. Students are exposed to big ideas through a sequence of courses that raise the bar of learning across the academic disciplines. Students come to personally understand, and then learn to exercise the power of, their world view. They are confident, discerning and invested in the future that awaits them. Our experience tells us that these are essential attributes that clearly distinguish our students during the college admission selection process.
Students from The Bear Creek School continue to experience an exceptionally strong rate of admission. The breadth and caliber of college offers continue to span the Ivy League, research universities, Fine and Performing Arts schools, and domestic and international schools of distinction. This one fact alone confirms what we already know to be true: Bear Creek students are clearly recognized as being fully prepared, accomplished and motivated to excel in any educational venture.
The college decision making process is not a product; it is a culmination, a celebration and a bridge that links each student to their past and future potential. It is a validation of effort, challenge, perseverance, opportunity and calling. The Bear Creek definition of success is clearly about the quality of their continuing journey not just the selection of an intended destination.
