College Counseling

Applying to college forms a capstone experience in a student's journey at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. The College Counseling office is with her every step of the way.

Our Guiding Principles

• Fit is the ultimate outcome. Fit is multi-dimensional and individually assessed.
• College searches run on self-reflection. The better students know themselves and the adults they imagine growing into, the easier these decisions will be.
  • We can’t tell students all the answers. Instead, we encourage students to ask the right questions – of themselves and their potential future communities.
• A college search can teach a student a great deal, not merely result in a matriculation.
  • This may be the first time a student makes a decision of this scale; it won’t be the last. We help them acquire tools and strategies they can keep using long after their diplomas hit the wall.
  • We host dozens of admissions representatives on campus in our parlor.
• We are on the student’s team, but the student drives the process.
  • We expect students to take ownership of, and responsibility for, completing tasks, managing deadlines, and doing their own research.
  • We are here and accessible to offer plenty of help, encouragement, and expertise along the way.
• A college search is a big, complicated, important project. It is not a student’s only, or even their most important, priority.
  • We take our students’ futures seriously, but encourage healthy balance with all the other facets of a full, dynamic life, especially their mental and emotional wellbeing and relationships with their family, friends, and community.
• Students are exposed to standardized testing and interest inventories beginning in the Freshman year. Testing includes, but is not limited to, the MBTI, PreACT, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, SAT Subject Tests, ACT and AP Exams.
• A college search can be fun! When students are confident and trust that the process will work out well, we can (and should) approach tasks and milestones with joy and excitement.
• Lifelong learning applies to us, too. We keep up with our profession and the landscape of higher education, build and maintain relationships with counterparts and colleagues, and contribute to our field.
  • We follow the best practices outlined in the National Association of College and Admission Counselors’ Guide to Ethical Practice in College Admission.

Useful Links

• SAT Site: Register for the SAT and SAT Subject Area tests, have scores sent to colleges and prepare for the SAT.
• ACT Site: Register for the ACT, have scores sent to colleges and prepare for the ACT.
• The Common App is an undergraduate college admission application that applicants may use to apply to any of more than 700 member colleges and universities.
• Princeton Review offers test preparation coursework.
• It is suggested that all families submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in October of the senior year.
• Unigo and Fastweb are useful scholarship search tools.
• Athletes considering playing sports at the college level, review the NCAA site.

ASH College Counseling Forms

• In order to send out Academy of the Sacred Heart transcripts, we must have a signed Record Release Form on file.
• Students should fill out the Student Questionnaire and return it to the College Counseling Office at the beginning of Senior year.
• Parents should fill out the Parent Questionnaire and return it to the College Counseling Office at the beginning of the Senior year.