College Counseling

College Counseling is part of the year-long Freshman Experience curriculum.
Freshman year is the basis for a strong academic foundation. We encourage students as they explore courses that both challenge and engage them.

College counseling begins here, with guided strengths assessments and goal setting practices to encourage our students to think about the big picture and make the most of their time at Porter-Gaud.

Parents and students attend Freshman College Night in November. The program outlines our comprehensive college planning approach and features a keynote speaker to help demystify the world of college admissions.

The PSAT 8/9 is administered in the spring.

We encourage sophomores to build on their progress from freshman year and focus on life as students, not on the college search. Porter-Gaud College Counseling offers sophomores opportunities to touch base through both structured meetings during study halls and more informal conversation-based meetings with college counselors and peers.

Parents and students attend Sophomore Night in February. We invite several expert guests from different colleges and universities to give workshops on a wide variety of college admissions topics, such as creating an appropriate college list, planning college visits, standardized testing, and debunking admissions myths.

Sophomores take the PreACT in the spring.

We encourage juniors to start exploring a variety of college-types so that they can begin to craft a list of schools that might meet their criteria. College representatives visit the Porter-Gaud campus throughout the fall.

Juniors sit for the PSAT in October.

Parents and students attend the Junior Night in January, our event designed to get families started with the actual process of applying to college. After this kickoff event, students meet with their college counselor one on one about their personal application process.

Juniors are encouraged to take both the SAT and ACT at least once during the school year.

Senior College Night kicks off application season in August.

Counselors meet with students as needed to refine college lists and touch base about the application process, requesting teacher recommendations, and standardized testing plans appropriate for a student’s list of colleges.

Most deadlines for Early Action and Early Decision are in November and December of senior year, and Regular Decision deadlines are typically in January.

While the actual process of applying to colleges winds down with January application deadlines, the conversation around fit and where to enroll continues through the spring. Students will meet with college counselors throughout the spring to discuss options and where to enroll by the May 1 National Deposit Deadline.

Celebrate the accomplishments of our seniors as they head out to make a difference in the world!