Finding the Right College Fit 2019

Finding the Right College Fit

by Tiffany Townsend, Director of Marketing & Communications
The Class of 2019 is the first class to go through the High School under the four-year college counseling model. Students are matched with their college counselor at the beginning of freshman year and stay with the same counselor throughout their high school career. Four seniors share their experience with the program and how it helped them find the right college fit.

Fred Jackson — Rhodes College

For Fred Jackson, finding the right college fit started with discovering that what he thought he wanted wasn’t what resonated with him after all. Fred’s counselor, Laura Stewart, says, “We generate an initial list of schools that we think students should visit based on our conversations about their interests. In the beginning, Fred was focused on larger schools near ski areas and the coasts, but it took him visiting those schools to understand that it wasn’t the environment he wanted to be in, especially after his Ensworth experience.”
Fred began to narrow down his choices, recognizing that he wanted a small liberal arts school, preferably in the south, with a strong science program. Both of his parents had attended Rhodes College in Memphis, which Fred refused to consider, but over a three-day weekend, he decided to take a chance and visit. He was surprised to find that he loved it. “Memphis was a cooler city than I expected, and I liked the feel of the Rhodes community. They also have a really strong biology department. They recently built a new science building, and it feels like you are walking into Tony Stark’s house; it is very advanced,” he says.
Fred opted for an early read to Rhodes, where students can submit their transcripts and scores to get a rough idea on the possibility of acceptance. After further thought, he decided that Rhodes was where he wanted to be, so it was the only school to which he applied. When Rhodes football coaches found out he was interested, they reached out to him, although he wasn’t initially sure if he wanted to play football at the collegiate level. Only after Fred was accepted did he consider the possibility of playing. Mrs. Stewart says, “He found it to be more important as he got into the process because he’s so used to being a part of a team here. It’s a great opportunity for him to pursue sciences in an academically rigorous environment while also playing on a team.”
Fred notes that his college counseling process was incredibly smooth. “It gave me peace of mind immediately from freshman year to have a plan,” Fred recalls. “Choosing a college can seem intimidating, and it’s a big deal, but it’s calming to know that you have someone who can help you with anything you need during your process. It’s great to have someone by your side all four years.”

Lauren Hall — Emory University

Lauren Hall moved to Nashville from Kentucky in eighth grade and started at Ensworth her freshman year. She admits that she was surprised to have a college counselor immediately assigned to her, as she didn’t know at the time what a college counselor was or what they did. Now, four years later, she refers to her counselor, Terry Whitehill, as her “favorite person” and credits him with helping her broaden her horizons and dream big when it came to applying to colleges.
When Lauren and Mr. Whitehill began meeting, she thought that an in-state or nearby public university was her only attainable, affordable option. During her first two years at Ensworth, faculty recognized Lauren’s strong work ethic and commented to Mr. Whitehill that they wanted her to have opportunities equal to her potential without having to worry about financial constraints that can often limit options for many families. Mr. Whitehill introduced Lauren to the QuestBridge Scholars program and encouraged her to consider colleges with strong merit-based scholarships. “Lauren was open to every suggestion I made and followed through by completing all required applications and diligently doing her part to provide herself with these amazing opportunities,” he says.
Lauren was accepted as a QuestBridge summer scholar her junior year, which helped in her application to become a QuestBridge Scholar the following year. She references the important role that faculty played in her acceptance. “I did a math competition my junior year and formed a great relationship with Mrs. Glenn,” Hall says. “I know she wrote a wonderful recommendation that made a difference.” QuestBridge has approximately 15,000 applicants each year, which narrows to 5,000 finalists, matching 1044 students from 47 states with colleges—a 16% acceptance rate nationally.
Lauren applied to 16 schools, 12 of which were part of the QuestBridge program. She ended up with several great options, including Emory, one of the nation’s top universities. “It was helpful how QuestBridge was set up; they made the process easy. After researching all the schools, I ranked them in order of preference, and then QuestBridge matched me with Emory,” she says. Whitehill notes that, ultimately, she matched with the school that was the best fit for her, pointing out Emory’s size, location, and strong pre-med and business programs that align with Lauren’s interests. As a QuestBridge Scholar, she will receive a full, four-year scholarship to Emory, valued at over $250,000.
When asked what advice she might give to underclassmen, Lauren shares, “It’s important to find the faculty and staff you can form really good relationships with; it makes your day a lot better when you have those people.” And those strong relationships also helped Lauren in her quest for the right college.

JaTorria Lee—Samford University

When asked about her college counseling experience, JaTorria Lee speaks effusively. “I really love the fact that I had a college counselor throughout my high school experience and that I had Mr. Phillips. He relieved so much stress, and he was very honest with me, which I loved. I thought that senior year would be so stressful; I was in his office literally every day the first quarter, but it ended up being one of the easiest processes ever. They guide you step by step.”
For JaTorria, one of the steps to consider was that she wanted to compete in track at the collegiate level. NCAA eligibility and the recruiting process added another layer to her college application experience. “My coaches and Mr. Phillips, they know about the process,” she explains. “They know how to get you where you need to be and what you need to have. They had connections, and they knew who to talk to and the coaches that would potentially want me to run.”
Mr. Phillips adds, “JaTorria and I would text coaches and admissions representatives together. She was very hands-on, and I was hands-on in her process. The advantage of track and swimming is that you know exactly where you will fit in a school’s team because you can look at the website, view their times, and know if you would be competitive in their program. JaTorria knew that she wanted to go somewhere where she wouldn’t be the top runner as a freshman, where she would be pushed athletically to work hard and improve.”
In addition to a strong track program, JaTorria was also looking for a mid-sized school with a diverse student body, preferably located within a three-hour drive and in a city similar to Nashville. She applied to four schools: Samford University, Rhodes, Western Kentucky University, and the University of Memphis.
In the final stretch, Samford came out on top. “They gave me everything I wanted in a school. Being an athlete in college can be difficult, but students at Samford seemed genuinely happy, like they were handling the balance of academics and athletics without being overly stressed. I was impressed that for a predominantly white institution in the south, it was very diverse. And all of the people were so friendly and welcoming; everyone was amazing,” she explains.
JaTorria says that her Ensworth experience has prepared her well for the transition, “I think the sense of community here has made me into the person I am and has taught me to be compassionate and empathetic. Ensworth really instills in you to be a nice person. That’s really important when you are going through different stages in your life. It’s all about who you are as a person and who you know—that’s what gets you places in life.”

Liam Ferris—Brown University

For Liam Ferris, the pieces of his college puzzle started coming together earlier than they do for most—in middle school when he became involved in the Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program). Through this program, he was connected to the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and was encouraged to apply for their Young Scholars program. It was also in middle school that the seeds of one of Liam’s interests were planted when he attended camp at the urban farm of Trevecca Nazarene University.
At Ensworth, Liam continued to develop his passions for both science and music. He joined the Rock Band, took part in many of the musical productions, and delved into music theory. The production experience at Blackbird Studios gave him a deeper appreciation for the technical side of music. He also continued his relationship with the Trevecca Nazarene urban farm, interning there during the summers. “I am interested in the intersection of biology and humanities: how the food system in the US works, why people eat what they do or make environmental decisions that they do,” Liam explains. “I think sociology offers a more effective way to convince people that there is a problem, instead of just throwing statistics at them.”
When it came time to narrow down college choices, Liam knew that he wanted a smaller to medium-sized school with flexibility in the curriculum that would allow him to pursue his interests in both environmental science and music. He applied to nine schools that fit his criteria, noting that Brown University was a “moon shot” because of its selectivity. He worked with his advisor through the Cooke Foundation to apply through their college scholarship program.
Liam’s counselor Paul Phillips, shares, “Liam was very directed with his search; he had a good idea of what he wanted to do. He was accepted to many schools, so we did a lot of prioritizing: comparing colleges, and using the process of elimination to narrow his options.” Liam notes that it was very helpful to have an established relationship with Mr. Phillips, as he explains, “He already knew me and my interests, and I knew him, so it was much more comfortable going to see him and asking daunting questions, questions that you might not get answered from the college directly.”

Liam’s final choice came down between Vanderbilt and Brown. He had not visited Brown before applying, but he was attracted to the fact that they offered the programs he was looking for with a very flexible curriculum, more so than the average liberal arts college. Liam attended Brown’s accepted students weekend, and his experience visiting classes and interacting with students confirmed that it was the right place for him. Mr. Phillips observes, “He was wearing a Brown University t-shirt the Tuesday he came back from his visit. Honestly, he could not have made a poor choice, because all of his options were great; it was truly about finding the best fit.”
Back

Share It