College Counseling Welcomes An Alumnus Back!

While it's no surprise for the CDS College Counseling department to have alumni visiting, they were excited to welcome CDS Class of 2021 graduate and lifer, Chloe Wang, to join as an intern this summer. 

You might remember Chloe as one of two Class of 2021 seniors who amassed $1 million in college scholarships during the college decision-making process. After narrowing her college choices down, Chloe matriculated to Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Since starting college in the Fall of 2021, Chloe has wasted no time getting involved. She not only plays for the varsity volleyball team but serves on their leadership council as the Media Promotions Manager. She is part of the Mount Holyoke News team and frequents the radio show on WMHC. Chloe serves as the class of 2025 board secretary and as if that wasn't enough to keep her busy, on top of her classes, she is doing independent research in the field of immunopathology.

When asked why Chloe wanted to join the college counseling department this summer she fondly recalls the process as one of her favorite parts of high school. "I was always searching colleges to see which ones I liked and even had a spreadsheet of all my applications," says Chloe. Learning about the different colleges, the courses they offered, how the admissions process worked, and then seeing her friends choose colleges that suited them was intriguing to Chloe. She also enjoyed talking to the admissions officers at each college she was applying to find out their take on why the university would be the right fit for her. What ultimately stuck out to her during her college choice process was the college counselor who told her to trust her gut on where she thought she would be happiest. That advice stayed with her as she weighed her options and she realized that no matter how long she looked at the statistics, feeling comfortable on her new campus was the most important outcome. 

Now with a year of college under her belt and confirmation that Mount Holyoke was the right choice, her perspective on the college counseling process has made her want to help others find their perfect fit. Although the college admission process is complex and stressful, Chloe remained steadfast in her application preparation while working collaboratively with the college counseling department to ensure her best results. Everyone at CDS is excited to welcome Chloe back to gain valuable exposure to the intricacies of the college counseling department while contributing to important projects on behalf of CDS.  Chloe will be seeing the behind-the-scenes of the college counseling prep for the upcoming school year including updating the school profile, working on the curriculum for college counseling advisory events, and helping with college counseling marketing materials.

Carrollwood Day School's college counseling philosophy centers on a five-year developmental program that is designed to align the academic and social achievement of each student with a wide array of colleges and universities in order to make a complex process more seamless. Our emphasis is to gradually release information to parents and students as they begin their tenure in the upper school, as each year of high school represents a different facet of the college admission process. It is our goal to partner with both students and families to find the best competitive fit institution for each CDS student, where students can feel challenged as well as support both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Thank you to Director of College Counseling, Drew Guarino, and Associate Director of College Counseling, Danielle Cohen, for facilitating this internship program for Chloe.