While many seniors are finishing college applications or have already been accepted, the college process is now beginning for most juniors. On Jan. 10, counselors Christina Ketchem and Thomas McNichol hosted a College Kick-Off seminar just for parents, and on Jan. 15, all counselors hosted meetings for students.

The parents-only seminar featured statistics about previous years including average SAT score and average number of colleges. Ketchem and McNichol also talked parents through the schedule for the seniors as it related to college, including when to take SATs and when to start applications.

For Ketchem, the most important part of the College Kick-Off was to make sure parents knew that it was fine if their students had not started the college search yet, but that it was time to start looking.

“If parents haven’t started doing research yet, that’s okay,” Ketchem said. “However, it’s important for parents to help their students get organized and encourage them to start the process early.”

The student session was focused on what the students needed to start doing in order to prepare for the college application process, including asking for teacher recommendations and signing up for junior counselor meetings. The students with counselor Andrea Smith as their counselor will have the meetings on Jan. 22.

“I found out that it is important to start the college search early and narrow it down to find the right fit,” junior Helen Zhang said.