College Advisement

The Office of College Advising assists students and their families in successfully navigating the college selection and admissions process.  There are thousands of post-secondary institutions to choose from and selecting the right one can be rather overwhelming.

In addition to individual appointments, college-related speaker and information seminars for parents and students, Lausanne Collegiate has selected Naviance Family Connection to assist our students in managing the college application process. Naviance Family Connection is a comprehensive Web site that students and parents can use as a tool in planning for college. We are pleased to make this new resource available to all of our students and families throughout  the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years. While we anticipate heaviest usage among our juniors and seniors, many of our younger students and their parents will find this tool to be helpful in longer-term planning. Other resources provided by Naviance Family Connections are the links to useful Web sites relating to college information, financial aid, test preparation, NCAA eligibility, etc. We encourage our student to utilize this Web site throughout their high school years.

By asking the right type of questions and through careful introspection and consideration, we can work together to find a set of schools that are best aligned with your child's academic and extracurricular interests, career aspirations and financial aid requirements. One of our primary goals is to help students find the best "fit" - institutions where they will be successful and happy during the next important phase of their lives.

We are equally dedicated to ensuring that Lausanne students position themselves in ways that make them highly competitive when applying for admission. Of course, performing well in classes and on standardized tests and demonstrating a strong commitment to community service and extracurricular activities are very important, but there are a number of resources and strategies that can be utilized to enhance a student's application and maximize the chances for gaining acceptance to the chosen schools. These include:

• assistance with essays and applications
• guidance on summer academic/leadership programs such as the Summer Writing Workshop at Rhodes College and the PAVE program at Vanderbilt
• SAT and ACT preparation courses

These are some of the things that we do to help in serving our students:

• establish and maintain relationships with admissions offices throughout the country
• coordinate useful college information sessions
• research and advertise high quality career shadowing opportunities
• write effective recommendation letters

All of these strategies and tools have their place in the college search process. Since all students are unique, however, one-on-one counseling and listening seem to be the most important things that we do. We are absolutely committed to helping all students at Lausanne achieve their placement goals and we are also available to meet with parents.

For further information or to arrange an appointment, please feel free to contact me.

Tela McEwen-Thigpen
Director of College Advisement
tthigpen@lausanneschool.com
901-474-1046