College Counseling

RPCS offers a comprehensive college counseling program designed to help students at every stage of the college search, application and decision process.

The college counseling office supports, guides and educates our students and their families as they engage in self-reflection in order to consider a wide variety of colleges and universities, ultimately evaluating what program and school will be best for them – academically, socially, and financially.

In our supportive college counseling environment, students learn to establish goals based on interests, to manage the tasks involved in a complex process and to make healthy and confident decisions about the next step in their education.

Class of 2025 college sweatshirt group shot

Another primary role for the college counseling office is to advocate for our students and our School. We do this by hosting college representatives on our campus for fall information sessions, visiting college campuses each year to remain current on offerings and admission standards and practices as well as to promote RPCS, and attending numerous professional conferences and association meetings throughout the year. We are ever attentive to the relationship between our office and those of the colleges and universities that interest our students.

The college counseling office recognizes the important role that parents and guardians play in the college search. Our office serves as a centralized location for information and counseling on admission and financial aid investigation and procedures. In addition, we provide an extensive offering of evening events throughout the year for parents at each grade level that focuses on timely aspects of the college search and application process.

Information by Year

9th Grade

College Counseling hosts programs for all grade levels throughout the year. Topics include Financial Aid and Scholarship Planning, Discovering HBCUs, Navigating Collegiate Athletics and Recruiting, Standardized Testing, and The Admission Landscape, College Money Method Webinars, among others. Program information will be advertised in the College Counseling Bulletin in Upper School News every two weeks and on the College Counseling Parent and Guardian Portal in myRPCS.

10th Grade

College Counseling hosts programs for all grade levels throughout the year. Topics include Financial Aid and Scholarship Planning, Discovering HBCUs, Navigating Collegiate Athletics and Recruiting, Standardized Testing, and The Admission Landscape, among others. Program information will be advertised in the College Counseling Bulletin in Upper School News every two weeks and on the College Counseling Parent/Guardian Portal in myRPCS.

Fall SemesterStandardized testing preparation will include a presentation prior to the PSAT, PSAT administration in October, an opportunity to take a practice ACT and a program to review PSAT score reports.

Spring SemesterStudents: Two C Block classes are devoted to early planning for the college process. As students continue to prepare for standardized testing, four introductory lessons are offered by Capital Educators tutors and students have the opportunity to take a practice ACT. Students are assigned to their primary college counselor and may schedule optional meet-and-greet meetings. Students considering participating in Varsity athletics at the college level may begin to work with the athletics college counseling departments to start shaping their college search.

Parents/Guardians: College Counselors host an evening program for sophomore parents/guardians to overview the department and provide guidance on how to help their child begin college investigation and preparation.

11th Grade

College Counseling hosts programs for all grade levels throughout the year. Topics include Financial Aid and Scholarship Planning, Discovering HBCUs, Navigating Collegiate Athletics and Recruiting, Standardized Testing, and The Admission Landscape, among others. Program information will be advertised in the College Counseling Bulletin in Upper School News every two weeks and on the College Counseling Parent/Guardian Portal in myRPCS.
Fall SemesterJuniors regularly meet with their primary college counselor and are encouraged to meet with the college representatives visiting RPCS to learn more about the colleges that interest them. College Counseling administers the PSAT/NMSQT as well as an optional practice ACT. Following the PSAT score release, a program to explain the score reports and provide advice on future test planning is hosted by College Counseling and Capital Educators. All Juniors attend the official College Counseling Kick-off meeting with their primary college counselor. A parent/guardian program overviewing all aspects of the college planning, application, admission and decision process follows the student kick-off. Students and parents complete several surveys to prepare for their next college counselor meetings.
Spring Semester
Juniors meet individually with their primary college counselor to discuss interests and goals and to define a list of possible colleges to consider for visits and applications. Students attend the C-Block class once per cycle to discuss topics related to college and wellness. Topics include exercises in personal analysis, overview of types of colleges, researching selectivity in the college process, campus visit strategies, time management and balance, writing application essays, and completing the Common Application. College Counselors advise students through the course selection process. Each student completes a customized next steps list to continue work over the summer.
Summer
Students are assigned several tasks to keep their application process on track such as refining drafts of college essays, working on their Common Application and building the list of colleges where they intend to apply.

12th Grade

College Counseling hosts programs for all grade levels throughout the year. Topics include Financial Aid and Scholarship Planning, Discovering HBCUs, Navigating Collegiate Athletics and Recruiting, Standardized Testing and The Admission Landscape, among others. Program information will be advertised in the College Counseling Bulletin in Upper School News every two weeks and on the College Counseling Parent/Guardian Portal in myRPCS.
Fall SemesterSeniors meet regularly with their college counselor to manage the college search, application and decision process. All seniors attend an August workshop to continue their application work. Seniors are encouraged to meet with the college representatives who visit RPCS. Once per cycle seniors attend C Block class to complete all aspects of the college application process and discuss topics related to the transition to college. College Counselors write recommendation letters, coordinate teacher recommendations, process all school application material and advocate for students with college admission representatives. Admissions and financial aid counseling continues as students learn of their college decisions and make their college choice.
Spring SemesterCollege, financial aid and wellness counseling continues throughout the senior year. College Counseling hosts a celebratory college sportswear photo opportunity event. All final transcripts are sent to complete the college enrollment process.

School Profile

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Four Year Matriculation

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Upper School Curriculum Guide

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Information for College Admission Representatives

Thank you for your interest in visiting Roland Park Country School! We register appointments through Scoir Visits. If you do not see a date/time that will work with your schedule, please email Sally Diehl (diehls@rpcs.org) and we will try to open an additional appointment to accommodate your schedule. .