Seniors Focus On College Process During Virtual 'Boot Camp'

Seniors received a “crash course” in this year’s unique college counseling process during a virtual boot camp hosted by Benjamin’s college counseling team.

The College Counseling Team led the two-day camp filled with live Zoom sessions covering everything from making the most of virtual college visits to writing supplement essays about living through a pandemic.

Anna Wright, Director of College Counseling, emphasized that despite an unusual and difficult year, her team was there to make the admissions process seamless for the senior class.

“It’s all manageable. We will break it down into steps for you. Having anxieties about coming back to school and undertaking the college process is completely normal. However, if you hear nothing else from us today, I want you to know that everything is going to work out,” said Wright.

Associate Director of College Counseling Bekka Goldberg assured the class that everything they would have done in the office could still be undertaken virtually, sometimes even more efficiently.

“You can still cover the same materials. In some ways, I find that when you’re doing the work of applications the virtual sessions have been much easier – sharing screens, documents at the same time. In terms of collaboration it’s very useful,” said Goldberg.

Goldberg told seniors that they should try not to worry about the process and assured them that they have the same resources they have had in the past.

Students were able to ask questions regarding on-campus protocols for the Fall, admissions testing, and essay writing. Goldberg encouraged students to approach the essay just like any other school paper.

“Once you get going, it gets easier. Just start writing. Share your essay with your college counselor – you may be surprised when they tell you, ‘this is really good.’”