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This is a joyful and stressful time of year for seniors who are applying to colleges. Those who applied under the EA (Early Action) or ED (Early Decision) deadlines are receiving their decisions. For those seniors who have been accepted it’s a very exciting time but for those who have been deferred or denied, it’s a frustrating, disappointing and stressful time.

I invite you to attend the next College Planning Night meeting on January 15th where a representative from Revolution Prep will be talking about the Growth Mindset in today’s youth and I will be talking about “When to Reach for a ‘Reach’ School”. As sort of a precursor to that meeting, I wanted to share with you in this post what I think is one of the more underrated aspects of applying to a competitive admission college (freshman admission rate under 20%). This aspect is to not think about the typical checklist of items (courses, grades, test scores, essays, letters of recommendation, and even extra-curricular activities) but to think “outside the box”. Let me say, however, that the above list of items is still very important and if you are average or even just above average in any of the above items, that will hurt your chances of admission to a competitive admission college. Nevertheless, “elite” colleges get thousands of applications where students are excellent in all of the above items and yet they need a way to distinguish which students stand out. Below are three points to explain what it means to “think outside the box”.

1. What do YOU do to serve others?

Colleges want to see how you spend your time. Your time could be spent doing things that you benefit from or are about you (sports, test prep, clubs, drama, music, etc.) or you could spend your time doing things that benefit others (employment, volunteer work, community service, etc). Let me reiterate that the things you spend your time doing that are about you are still important. I am not saying that when you do them you are selfishly thinking about yourself because teamwork and collaboration are crucial to success. You are hopefully using the gifts, talents and abilities God has given you to glorify him and colleges still want you to participate and be involved in these areas, BUT, the students that the “elite” colleges are accepting, go beyond just participating in these things. They look to find ways to use their experience, leadership and platform to go beyond and invest their time into benefiting others and into those less fortunate. This is not easy for a 15-18 year old to understand or wrap their head around because up to this point in their life they just needed to get to the next “rung on the ladder.” They had to take the next course, check off that they will be in the same activity the next year, get to the next game, etc. They grow up with this “checklist” mentality but this is normal for teens to think this way. In my perspective though, the “elite” colleges are looking for the “extraordinary” student who thinks like a 22-23 year old when they are 18 (not saying all 22-23 year olds think this way but hopefully you know what I mean). The last thing I will mention about this is that the student needs to drive everything. Colleges will easily see through if Mom or Dad “set things up” or the student isn’t the one taking the initiative. These “elite” colleges are excellent at knowing which students are more mature, are proactive and lead naturally.

2. What did you do last summer?

This is a popular college interview question. The summer is an excellent time to get involved, serve and spend time doing things you cannot do during the school year because you no longer have school work which takes up the majority of your time from September-June. Colleges WILL want to know what you did in the summer and the summer is also an important time to take on more responsibility and participate and lead in ways you can’t during the school year. It’s natural to sleep more, spend time chatting with friends, work a part-time job, go to the beach and/or pool and just relax. The “elite” colleges though, are going to see if students NATURALLY gravitate towards community service spending time with those less fortunate to make their lives better. I am not referring to missions trips with your youth group or doing something with your family or attending a course at a college over the summer. These are all great things as well and you should do them if you want but they are not showing initiative by the student. This is where the “thinking outside the box” comes in because it’s not normal for most teens to do this…and that’s okay! Sometimes kids just want to be kids and there is nothing wrong with that. The “elite” colleges are not for the overwhelming majority of students out there; however, these are the types of students they are looking for. The things that these colleges like to see sometimes are the things that are really hard, cause you to face real adversity and are uncomfortable experiences because you work with difficult people (or young people): but these show grit, maturity, selflessness and determination to overcome true adversity. What is tough is that the most meaningful experiences are not planned but result from true intention to serve. So think of ways you can serve others, think of situations you can see yourself doing this and don’t be afraid for it to be difficult and uncomfortable at first.

3. It’s Not The “What” but the “Why” That Matters

Students (and parents) can get so good at answering the “what” question when preparing to apply to the “elite” colleges and universities. They got straight A’s, very high test scores, were a student government leader, played two sports, were in the choir, etc. These are all great things to do and you should do them. The problem sometimes lies with why they do them. A number of times in meetings I get the sense that students do the “what” thinking that it will look good on their resume or look good when they apply to colleges. However, this is not a good answer to the “why” question. Students should do what they enjoy and have a gift and talent for and not do things because they think they have to in order to look “good” when applying to college. The “elite” colleges and universities are excellent at looking past activities and extracurriculars to truly see “why” the student does what they do. My advice is to use 9th and 10th grade as a way to see what a student may enjoy (this can be done in 8th and 9th grade as well) and then they will know what they want to continue to do in 11th and 12th grade. If they want to stop doing something because they no longer enjoy it, that’s fine. Hopefully they will continue to pursue the things they do enjoy and that’s what colleges like to see. Parents cannot be concerned when their child chooses to stop an activity because they no longer enjoy it. They also may they think their child is doing too much but it’s what their child wants to do. Let them make the decision. When a student gets to 11th and 12th grade students should be encouraged to participate in what they enjoy. Obviously, they aren’t adults yet so we will encourage them and give advice & guidance. Nevertheless, the final decision needs to be up to them.

In conclusion, I want to point out that I work with great students who have great futures ahead of them. God is going to use them in amazing ways to bring glory to Him. If you know me, you may know that I always say that there are many great colleges in the United States and a student’s success in life after college is determined by the effort, taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them and networking with the number of people that have influence on them at whatever college they end up attending. I also say that going to a college that is going to pay you to go to their school and you not having to pay a lot from your own pocket is also very smart. Yes, going to a highly competitive college can have its advantages but recent studies have only supported this for certain majors (Finance and Political Science) and not others (Engineering). Another study says that for males going to an Ivy League school compared to a non-Ivy it has no bearing on their salary after they graduate and for females it could mean a 14% increase in salary but a 4% decrease in marriage.

If you do what you love and enjoy, God will bless you in ways you can’t imagine and provide for your needs. If you continue to trust in Him and use the talents, gifts and abilities He has given you, you do not need to be anxious about the college application process because He will bless you in ways you can’t imagine. There are definitely things in our control that we can do when it comes to preparing ourselves to apply to the most competitive admission colleges, but there are also things that are out of our control that always factor in to these colleges decisions. These can be things like family background, ethnicity, race, etc. but also how God uniquely created us to be may not be the best fit for these colleges and that’s okay! The goal is to apply to colleges that fit YOU the best.

I am currently working through the topic of majors and careers with juniors and also just finished another College Bus Tour with 41 juniors in which we visited 6 colleges in 3 days (Messiah, Penn State, Grove City, University of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland). Something I hear often when discussing majors with students and also talking with alumni of Delaware County Christian School is that it is important to get a “good” job. However, nobody seems to ever understand or know what a “good” job means. Most people determine that a “good” job is one that you can make a lot of money. Others may say that a “good” job is one in which you are doing what you love to do. Both of these interpretations of a “good” job have some truth to them but I also think there are many misunderstandings when it comes to getting a “good” job. Let’s look at some myths when it comes to finding a “good” job and see if we can come to a bit more of an understanding of what a “good” job is.

Myth #1: A “good” job is one that makes me a lot of money. 

I tell students all of the time that you can make all the money in the world, but if you do not enjoy what you are doing and you are not using the gifts and passions that God has given you to glorify Him in your work, then you will ultimately be miserable. High school students assume that in order to be happy in life you need “a lot” of money. I don’t think they even know how much “a lot” is, but they get the idea in their heads that if I have enough to afford the things that I want to make me happy, I will end up living a happy life. This ultimately is a heart issue and understanding who we are in Christ. Are we storing up treasures on earth or in heaven? Which is going to make us happy (which happiness is here today and gone tomorrow) or joyful (which lasts) and being content?

Myth #2: I need to get a “good” job right out of college

There are individuals who do land a “good” job (well paying in a field they were studying) right out of college but this is also pretty rare. Most need to start “at the bottom” and work their way up, gaining experience and skills and knowledge necessary to move “up the ladder”. Most starting salaries are in the $30,000-40,000 a year range but some start lower and there are jobs in the science, medical and computer fields that pay more. Nevertheless, a lot of individuals get a job in something they are not really excited about but they can network, gain experience, get the knowledge and even training in areas they enjoy and then use that to transition to a position that does utilized their gifts, abilities and skills a bit more. I get discouraged when I hear individuals turn down job opportunities right out of college because it wasn’t exactly what they wanted to do. Then they are still not working because they are looking for that perfect fit. When you are 23-30 years old, there may not be a “perfect fit”, but God may provide opportunities that you should take advantage of in order to grow and learn. Take advantage of these opportunities even if it may not pay what you want to be the exact job description you want.

Myth #3: I need to get a job that is in the same field as my major in college.

There is obviously nothing wrong with this and a number of people do get jobs that are in line with their degree, however, it is okay to pursue opportunities that come along that may not be what your degree is in. I share with the juniors in my Career Stewardship class with them that there are 10-12 majors that students need to start taking courses to fulfill requirements to complete right away freshman year. These majors are ones that you need a degree in a specific area to get a job in that field after college. Some of these majors include Engineering, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Athletic Training, Physical Therapy, Education, Accounting, Architecture, Pharmacy, etc.

There are then a plethora of other majors that you can start fulfilling the requirements 2nd semester of sophomore year and still complete your degree to 4 years. These include English, Psychology, Business, Political Science, Math, Communications, Marketing, Pre tracks (Law, Med), etc. You can major in any of these more broad majors and get a job in a field that doesn’t have to do with your major. What is more important when applying for jobs with one of these majors is great communication and interview skills, willingness to learn, strong work ethic, working well with others. I am not saying that you do not need these skills to be successful in one of the “specific” majors mentioned above, but it is not as important.

Myth #4: A “good” job lets me live the way I want to live

I am going to piggyback a bit on the first myth. High school students tend to think that they need to get a job that supports the “way they want to live” which means making enough money in order to get the nice house and cars, be able travel, have kids and buy things they want. While all of this sounds nice, one really needs to re-evaluate their motives and selfish desires if this is the case. Let me also say that there is nothing wrong with any of these things. If God does provide because one is able to pursue a career in something they enjoy, love and are using the gifts and abilities God has given them, that is great. I know people that are able to afford more than others but they are also very generous, giving individuals whose heart is in the right place. It’s when we pursue these things with the intention that this is the only way to be (or seem) successful and we are concerned about our reputation more than joyfulness and being content in what God has provided.

I tell my students all the time that if you are pursuing a career utilizing the opportunities God has presented to you, and you are using the gifts, talents and abilities he has given you, you will make enough money to provide for you and your family. If we have the proper perspective of who we are in Christ and that we are stewards of everything he has provided for us, we are going to be “successful” and have joy in our lives.

Myth #5: There are only a handful a “good” jobs out there. 

I wanted to make sure that everyone knows that there are more majors to pursue in college than you think and there are so many types of jobs and careers in today’s workforce that we are not even aware of. There are many majors and careers that haven’t even been created yet. Please keep pursuing the opportunities that God provides for you today utilizing the gifts, talents and abilities He’s given you and He will eventually place you in the major and then career He has planned for you. For more information about today’s workforce and what occupations there are please visit https://cew.georgetown.edu/

When thinking about, talking about, researching and visiting colleges, sometimes it is easy to “settle” and go with the schools that you read about, hear about from relatives or others or read about in the media (sometimes going with one ranking list). The ultimate goal in the college planning process is to apply to colleges that you know will be a great fit for you. I recently talked to a parent that said, “when visiting a college with my child, I actually got angry because I just settled for the school I thought I was “supposed” to go to but if I knew some of these other schools were out there, I probably would have attended a different school”.

Now, the college planning and application process is much different than it was 20 years ago. There are more options, colleges are more expensive and because of the internet and social media, people are much more aware of hundreds of more schools that they were 20-25 years ago. Below are four reasons not to “settle” when researching colleges:

1. College is very expensive– Your goal throughout the college planning process should be to find the best fit college for the least amount of money. This means you should expand your search to include schools that are a few or more states away. These are colleges that may throw more merit scholarship money your way because they want more students from the area you live in. Even if it is a private or public out-of-state university which typically costs more money, a lot of times these schools tend to be cheaper because you are able to qualify or apply for merit based scholarship money. This is not to say that some local colleges or universities can be less money as well. This is why you need to consider the local state university as well and don’t assume it’s not as good of an education and “settle” for the more expensive school.
2. Rankings Don’t Tell the Whole Story– A lot of students and parents like to look at rankings to form their opinion about a college. The US News and World Report feeds off of this frenzy with their rankings every year. They know people look at their rankings as “truth” and they determine what colleges are the “best” colleges based on these rankings. First of all, rankings are “gamed” and colleges know what they need to do in order to stay at the top of the rankings. So it is a money driven and strategized process that US News and World Report doesn’t control, the colleges do. Secondly, there are so many different companies ranking these days (Money magazine, Forbes, LinkedIn, Princeton Review, etc.) that each is trying to build some different criteria into their rankings that they think is better and gives a more accurate indication of how “good” a school is. While rankings can be helpful in understanding what and how it does, it should never be the reason we think a school is better than another. We need to know what the most important factors are and do our own research to see if the colleges we are considering are a good fit. We also need to be willing to be open colleges we haven’t heard of.
3. There are so many colleges out there– I have been a college counselor for 18 years now and every year I hear of and learn about colleges I never heard of before. One way to enjoy the college planning and research process is to continue to learn more of what is out there and trying to see if there is a similar school to the one(s) you are considering for less money. Use college search tools in websites like Naviance, College Board, College Data, College Scorecard, etc. to open your understanding of colleges that you never knew of before. Play around and have fun with these college search tools and see what you find out.
4. Always Keep the Door Open– One piece of advice I always give is that no student should ever “shut the door” on their college planning and application process until they make that final decision on where to attend. When I meet with seniors sometimes I hear them not be open to advice about other schools because it overwhelms them to think there are more options out there. They would rather be close minded and not consider other options because the process stresses them out. I understand the process can be stressful, but you are going to be more stressed when you are at a school that you are not succeeding at or you are staring at college loan bills you have to pay back after college because you didn’t consider what other school you could attend.

 

It is now the middle of September and things are in full swing for high school seniors. School has begun and that means the bulk of a senior’s time is doing homework. If you are playing a sport, you are now getting to the middle of your senior season. There are a number of other extracurricular activities seniors are involved in as well. On top of all of this, seniors are working on their college applications they will be submitting this fall.  Below are some items to pay attention to as we head into the next month and half before the November 1st EA or ED deadlines.

1) Work on your essays NOW – I remind seniors over and over that they take the entire amount of time it takes to complete an application, 80% of that time should be spent on the essays that they need to write. However, what happens a lot of times is that a senior will rush through writing an essay to just get it done because they waited too long to write it and they end up submitting a mediocre, cliche and not well written essay. It may take up to two weeks to write a good Common App Personal Statement. This is the essay that every senior is required to write as part of the Common Application that gets sent to every college they apply to through Common Application. The rough draft could take a couple days to write, then you must send it to at least two people to proofread your essay and get it back to you. After you get it back from them you should tweak and edit your essay and get it back to your proofreaders to read through it one more time.  Unfortunately, you can’t do this a week before an application deadline.  There isn’t enough time to do it well and you will not submit a solid essay.  On top of the Common Application Personal Statement essay there may be a number of supplemental essays. Seniors, please work on your essays now and don’t put them off thinking you will have time later. I am happy to proofread any essays and I know a couple others that can also proofread that do a great job.

2) Continue to show interest- Don’t get caught up in the checklist of things you have to do in order to apply to a college (application, essay(s), test scores, letters of recommendation, etc.) and forget that the admission counselors actually making the decision on your admission are people too! Below are very important ways to continue to show interest.

A) Meet with a college admissions counselor if they visit our school– This is VERY important! You may not be given a better opportunity to connect with a college admissions counselor than if they personally come to your school and all you have to do is walk to an office or classroom at your school and meet with them. On the flip side, if an admissions counselor visits us here at DC, and you do not take the time to meet with them, they may get your application and think, “if this student really wanted to come to my school, why didn’t they meet with me when I was at their school?”. Please take 20 minutes out of your schedule to meet with any college admissions rep that visits us here at DC from a college that you will be applying to.

B) YOU need to ask any questions that you have throughout the college application process- I emphasized this when meeting with each senior and it is so important. If you have any questions throughout the application process, you, the senior, need to ask the college admissions counselor who will be reading your application.  This shows interest, helps the college admission officer know who you are, you get the best answer directly from them and it shows that you are proactive, mature and take initiative on your end. There’s nothing wrong with Mom or Dad calling but this doesn’t move the needle when it comes to showing interest. I can also call but I will always make sure you make the initial contact and if you do not get an answer in a timely manner or don’t understand the answer, I will be happy to get involved.

C) Take advantage of an opportunity to visit a school you are applying to or attend an information session- These are two great ways to show interest as well but I understand it may be difficult to visit because of distance, cost and time. If there is an information session that the college hosts in the Philadelphia Area, this is a great way to get more information about the school but also show interest. If you are unable to either visit or attend an information session, e-mail the college admissions officer who has our school and let them know why. They will understand and you reaching out will be a plus.

3) Don’t obsess over rankings- There are so many different college rankings lists out there it’s hard to keep track of them all. Each list has different criteria for evaluation and the number one school on one list can be toward the middle or bottom of another. Even within the same list a college can jump or fall an unbelievable number of spots in the span of just a few years. Instead of worrying about where a school falls on a list, focus on fit! The top school on a rankings list might not be the best school for you. Fit is key when building your balanced college list. If you have a couple reach schools on your list, you need to have a couple target schools and a couple safety schools. I think you should apply to only a few reach schools because then you can invest the appropriate time and energy into each of their applications rather than spreading your time over 10 reach schools in which you have the same opportunity to be admitted.

4) Don’t Wait to Apply- The college application itself, without the essays included, should take an hour to complete online (I already talked about the amount of time the essays should take above). It’s important that everything in the application is correct so please have someone look over it before you submit it. What some seniors do, however, is wait until a week before (some a day before) to complete the application, and whenever you do something closer to a deadline, the greater the chance you are going to make unnecessary errors because you are going to rush to get it done. Please plan in advance and make sure that you complete an application at least two weeks before a deadline. Why? Because this will allow the other information that needs to be sent in order to complete you application (transcript, letters of recommendation, resume, etc.), to get to the college in a timely and efficient manner.

5) Enjoy the process and give God control! – The stress of maintaining good grades and staying active in activities, all the while completing a dozen college applications can take the fun out of the process. Remember, this is an exciting time! You’re learning more about who you are as a student and a person. You’re visiting the schools you might very well attend next year, meeting new people, and making memories. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a step back and get back to the basics – what do you enjoy? Or is it just reading a good book when you have a chance? Take time to do the things you enjoy and reflect on your ultimate goals. At the end of the day this process is supposed to be fun, so do what you can to make it enjoyable again. However, most importantly, surround this college application process in prayer and make sure in the end that you understand that you are ultimately not in control of where you go to college, God is, and He is going work things our according to his plan.

We are  in the home stretch of summer.  Many of us have travelled, vacationed with family, or spent time at camp.  There have been cookouts,  days at the pool and a myriad of other outdoor activities.   Hopefully, the summer offers time to relax, kick our feet up and enjoy having life slow down just a bit.  In another month, the business and craziness of life is going to kick back into gear and we will be working (although most still work through the summer), heading back to school, playing sports, taking lessons, etc. When life becomes busy, it becomes even harder for us to find time to be still.  Sometimes we never really grasp what it means be still.  Even in the summer.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Why doesn’t God just say, “Know that I am God”?  Why does He also say “Be still”?  I think God knows that He designed us to know Him more but we can’t really do this when we are not completely focused on Him. We can only focus on Him if we are “still” and not trying to think of or do eight things at once.

In essence, we want to be like God. We think we are in control. We think we know what’s best for us. We want our life to go a certain way and if it doesn’t, we want to blame someone or something else. This comes to the surface often during the college application process for seniors. It’s not unusual or wrong to make a plan and to pursue a particular college or major. These are necessary steps and goals.  However, as believers,  if we place our identity in these things and begin to think that our success in this life relies on whether these aspirations or goals are met is a dangerous place to be.  Suddenly we are placing the trust we should have in God’s plan for our lives in the plans that we have for ourselves or even the plans that others we know have for us.

Below are three ways that seniors (we all can benefit though) can “be still” through the college application process:

Keep a consistent quiet/devotional time. I understand this is easier said than done. We get in our routine, there is so much going on at once and we value our sleep, time with friends and leisure time more than spending 10-20 minutes with God each day.  I have fallen victim to this myself multiple times, but I also know that if I can spend time with the Lord each day, “be still” and recognize that we need to communicate with Him and continue to grow in our knowledge of Him, the rest of your day(s) will be more joyful, stress free and you will be less anxious.  Seniors, the more you read God’s Word, pray that He would guide and direct you through the college application process and trust in Him through this time, you will enjoy the process more and see the opportunities God provides as blessings and not, “well, that’s not what I wanted”.

Create time you will not use or be on your phone. There is a link to a great article below by Tom Reinke on how our cell phones are changing us. He gives six ways in the article but for this post I will emphasize one that I think pertains to being “still”. The third reason Tom gives is that we are “multitasking what should be unitasked”.  He says, “we multitask everything, trying to think in two directions at the same time, trying to be in two places at the same time, trying to live in physical space and virtual space simultaneously”. Our phones get us to think that we can keep track of and manage more than we can. You might say to yourself that you can do four things at once on your phone but that isn’t how we were created. We were created for relationship and the college application process should be relational as well. We should be taking advantage of talking to college admission representatives at college fairs or college visits, wanting to interview if possible and calling an admissions rep on the phone sometimes to ask a question and not just e-mailing them. Tom goes on to say, “scripture calls us to a life of single-minded self-reflection that often gets thwarted by the hum of multitasking”. I heard of a phrase this summer that I am going to use more and more. It is “use your tongue, not your thumb”. 

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/six-ways-your-phone-is-changing-you

Get proper sleep! When are we most still in our lives? When we are asleep. When I hear someone is overwhelmed, stressed and anxious, the first question I normally ask is, “how much sleep are you getting each night?” Why, because sleep is very important to our physical and mental health and when someone thinks they have too much on their plate, the first thing in their life to go is sleep. They work until the late hours of the night trying to “do it all”, but all they do is end up getting sick, become irritable and not themselves to others and really stressed and anxious.  We were created by God to need sleep and if we say to ourselves, “I can produce more and more by getting less and less sleep”, we are ultimately telling God, “I can be like you”, which is impossible because He is the most perfect, Holy and Sovereign God. John Piper wrote a great article about sleep (see link below) and he says at the end, “sleep is like a broken record that comes around with the same message every day: Man is not sovereign. Man is not sovereign. Man is not sovereign. Don’t let the lesson be lost on you. God wants to be trusted as the great worker who never tires and never sleeps. He is not nearly so impressed with our late nights and early mornings as he is with the peaceful trust that casts all anxieties on him and sleeps.” Seniors, you will be more busy this fall than you have ever been because on top of your school schedule and extracurricular activities you will be working on your college applications, don’t use this time as a reason to not get as much sleep.  Manage your time well so you get the appropriate amount of sleep you need.

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/a-brief-theology-of-sleep

 

This graduating class of seniors at Delaware County Christian School is the first I have worked with since I started the College Counselor Corner blog back in January. I want to start a tradition of recognizing and congratulating each class that I work with because first, they should be recognized for all of their hard work but second, to let those of you who read my blog know who I work with and the seniors that teach me so much throughout each year.

The DC Class of 2017 is an outstanding class filled with future artists, entrepreneurs, teachers, computer programmers, doctors, ministry leaders, fashion designers, engineers and much more. There are 72 students in the class and they are attending 48 different colleges. Below are two pictures of a map of the United States and Pennsylvania that I update every April on the wall outside my office with the current class of seniors. I put their senior picture and school name over the location on the map where they will be attending.

On the 2nd to last day of school for the seniors, they are able to wear a shirt of the college they will be attending. Below is this year’s picture. Listed below the picture are the names of each senior in the picture and then those that are not in the picture. You may need to save the picture on your device and make it larger to view it more clearly.

1st Row (left to right): Molly Harnish (George Mason), Stella Yang (Penn State), Ayanna King (Virginia Weslyan), Allie Zubyk (Syracuse), Alex Thompson (St. Bonaventure), Ciara Mullen (Univ of Richmond), Cheyenne March (Liberty), Kaley Matthews (Fordham), Ying Zhou (Penn State), Taylor Mingle (Davidson), Maddie Coury (Virginia Tech), Rebekah Brown (Arizona State), Maggie Linton (JMU), Ana Yee (Harvard)

2nd Row (left to right): Leah Pulliam (Liberty), Christian Yanes (Bucknell), Daniel Poirier (Springfield College), Nina Mirzai (Loyola Marymount), Broderick Soland (One Life Institute), Johnny Hughes (Lipscomb), Stephen Hansen (Drexel), Ben Tyson (Covenant College), Nate Carroll (Liberty), Elizabeth Hawkins (Temple), Tirzah Peddy (Spelman), Alivia Thompson (Gordon), Sarah Perry (West Chester), Kiersten Elken (Kutztown), Ava Berzinsky (Ohio State), Sunny Shin (Gordon), Molly Wells (Butler)

3rd Row (left to right): Caleb Madison (Penn State- Brandywine), Josh Grieb (Temple), Cody Moorhatch (Temple), Jaime Fitzgerald (Univ of Pittsburgh), Kouadio Toukou (Univ of Pittsburgh), Davis O’Leary (Taylor), Daniel Nichols (Univ of Tennessee), Dawson Garner (Penn State- Abington), In front of Davis O’Leary, Kal Elias (Univ of Delaware), TJ Tann (Univ of Richmond), Elisha Abney (La Salle), Jedaiah Ngalande (Stanford), Winston Harris (Temple), Niya Ray (Spelman), Olivia Smith (Eastern), Julie Zhou (School of Visual Arts), Rachel Smith (Cairn), Chandler Harvey (St. Johns Univ), Rhonda Rinicella (Univ of Pittsburgh), Ronnie Marie Falasco (Amherst), Claudia Norton (Penn State).

Not in Picture: Rachel Bae (Villanova), Ethan Harvey (Grove City), Jake Gutowski (Kutztown), Jake Allen (Kutztown), Michael Alford (Eastern), Peyton Azar (West Virginia Univ), Jacob Favino (Wheaton), Jackson Lee (Embry- Riddle Aeronautical), Harry Lin (Univ of British Columbia), Nick McManus (Penn State- Brandywine), Adaeze Nwobodo (Univ of Pittsburgh), Lea Pan (Undecided), Reggie Parks (Penn State- Abington), Todd Romero (Bloomsburg), Wendy Su (undecided), Alicia Thomson (The Masters College), Grace Sutphin (Univ of Tampa), Ella Yuan (PSU-Abington), Manyi Zhang (SUNY- Stony Brook).

To view a list of colleges that the DC Class of 2017 has been accepted to go to http://www.dccs.org/cf_news/view.cfm?newsid=979. This is not a complete list of acceptances but just a snapshot that was published on our website back in early April.

Once again, congratulations DC Class of 2017! I will be praying that your transition to college is an exciting and smooth one. God has great plans for you!