CCO Hosts Upper Parents’ Weekend

With an eye toward preparing uppers and their families for next year’s college admissions process, the College Counseling Office (CCO) is planning a range of seminars and workshops for approximately 350 parents and family members.“This weekend is meant for parents to learn about being a parent in a technologically interconnected age, to learn about the national admissions landscape and to learn about Exeter's philosophy regarding college counseling,” Elizabeth Dolan, director of CCO, said.On Friday night, Barbara Hofer, the author of The iConnected Parent and keynote speaker, will talk about parenting in a technologically driven era. Other events include a gap year and study abroad fair, a financial aid workshop and mock admissions exercises, which will led by 12 deans and admissions directors. Small group meetings will also be held with Exeter’s college counselors.Dolan further discussed the unique approach Exeter has in guiding students through the college admissions process. “Exeter distinguishes itself by taking a two-prong approach to college counseling,” she said. “We look at teaching students about the college admissions process as well as being intentional about developing students from adolescents to young adults.”For family members who cannot attend in person, the CCO has taken extra steps to make sure that this initial meeting and information session is accessible to everyone. “The Office will be streaming live Friday night's address as well as the Saturday's summary mock admission decision report. Additionally, after the weekend, there will be a summary of the weekend sent to all parents,” Dolan said.Upper Kiyomasa Kuwana said that his parents would be attending the event to meet his college counselor. “My parents are coming to get more information about the College Counseling Office and just become more acquainted with my college counselor, getting to know him better,” Kuwana said. “They’re not really here to preview colleges or anything, just meet him.”Day student upper Sandro Caruccio noted that parents will become more important to the college counseling process as the year progresses. “I think they’re just looking at it as a time to hopefully meet my counselor and start moving on the college process. At this point, the college counselor is with the student, but as we get more involved, the parents will get involved.”Some members of the upper student body, like Kuwana, noted that the weekend was not meant for their benefit, but rather their parents. “There’s a reason why it’s called ‘College Counseling Weekend for Upper Parents,’” Kuwana said. “It’s for the parents to know how the process goes and get to know their son or daughter’s college counselor.”Although the College Counseling Office is focusing much of its attention on the parents for this event, some students noticed a distant relationship between their parents and the office. “My parents don’t try to get too involved in the process because they speak to me directly and ask questions, and they think that it should be more of a choice and a decision of us, the students, instead of them forcing anything,” upper Mariano Montori said.Students who had already had their first meetings found the session to be a warm introduction to the year-long process.“I found my college counselor extremely helpful, and I’ve come to like her because she was honest and genuinely interested in discovering who I am,” Caruccio said. “The first thing she said as I stepped into the office was, ‘I may ask you some really weird questions, but they’re asked with good intent,’ which I find truthful.”