By Derek Rogers, Director of College Counseling
Like most aspects of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, the college admission landscape has seen many changes in these last few months and its future is still unfolding. Whether it’s shifts in testing policy or enrollment deadlines, the field has never been in such flux. Amid this uncertainty, one aspect of the process remains constant for our students: that the college counseling team at Rainier Scholars is here to walk alongside and guide them as they navigate this new reality.
Each year, we provide students with comprehensive and personalized college counseling support. Whether it is helping students find best-fit colleges, guiding them through all aspects of the financial aid process or preparation for standardized tests, we have an effective approach to helping students make their college dream a reality. During COVID-19, the look of these activities may change, but our support is ever-present.
We continually engage with colleges across the country to help our students find campuses where they will thrive. Currently, we are in deep conversation with our college partners about supporting students during this challenging time. Colleges continue to recognize the hard work that Rainier Scholars students put into the application process and value the rigorous academic preparation and leadership development training they complete.
As with most challenging situations, we don’t have all the answers to what things will look like moving forward. Despite this difficult reality, one of the most important things we can do as counselors is to acknowledge the feelings of uncertainty that our students might have. We’re talking with them about how they will still get to go to college, but that the start of their college process might be very different than they have imagined. Through it all, our students can take comfort in the fact that we will be walking with them on this journey, as always.