College Counseling at St. Margaret's

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School’s college counseling office works closely with our students and their families to help them plan and execute an appropriate and fulfilling college application process. The formal college advising process begins during the second half of junior year. Some components of St. Margaret’s College Counseling Program include: individual meetings with students and their parents beginning the second half of junior year; specific workshops for students on the nuts and bolts of the college application, including the essay; workshops for parents on the college process throughout the year, some which are open to all divisions of SMES; advice on visiting colleges and admissions interviews; regular communication with the SMES community to share important information on applying to college; and providing support to the deans and academic advisors on issues pertinent to student preparation for college.

The college counselors at St. Margaret's Episcopal School bring a wealth of experience to the college process. Mr. Allen has nearly two-dozen years of experience as a college admissions officer at Westmont College, Colby College, MIT and Stanford University. Ms. McColgan came to St. Margaret’s from the admission office at Stanford University. Her background also includes experience as an admissions officer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The college counselors are professionally active and maintain a national profile in order to proactively strengthen the relationship of St. Margaret’s with colleges and universities.

Mr. Allen and Ms. McColgan work closely with the academic advisors to ensure that our students enroll in classes that meet their skill level and prepare them for selective college and university admissions. In a sense, the college counselors function as academic tutors, as that term in used in the world’s great universities, interacting with students individually and in small groups to ask questions that encourage reflection and thoughtful responses.

Please read Mr. Allen’s Philosophy of College Counseling statement to better understand our approach to the college process.