Dear Juniors and Parents of Juniors,

            Counting Mrs. Levine’s letter to you in the fall announcing the college selection program we held then, this is our second Update on the college selection process. One of our principal values in this partnership among the Delbarton faculty, parents, and students is communication. Perhaps at no other time in a boy’s four or six years at Delbarton is communication more vital than as we proceed through the college selection experience. We want to assure you of our attention to the boys as they pass through these next fifteen months or so. We also hope that all will pay close attention to our Updates, that the juniors will attend our daytime counseling meetings, and that you consult with us on the college process whenever you have a question or a concern.

            Be assured that we are at our phones most of the day, and if we happen not to be available, know that we will get back to you promptly. For this Update we would like to focus in a terse way on a number of points relevant to the very beginning of each boy’s college search.

• Check the College Counseling page of the Delbarton web site where we will post the first cycle of interviews that we will have with each of the boys, a cycle that will begin with the early letters of the alphabet commencing after spring break. Each boy is asked not to miss a meeting, but if he must he should find a substitute or let us know in advance that he cannot attend. The next cycle of interviews will be posted in late April.

• These meetings of late March through the end of the year are the first of two or three sessions with us and each boy. At Delbarton we have developed a guidance process whereby each boy is regarded as the counselee of Mr. Rosenhaus, Mr. Flanagan and Abbot Giles. This gives each boy a different set of ears and ideas, and, because we communicate fully and daily about our conversations with each counselee, the student can benefit two fold because of this partnership. On the schedule, where a boy’s name is preceded by AG, he has a meeting at that time with Abbot Giles, if it is preceded by MR, his first meeting will be with Mr. Rosenhaus, and MF will be with Mr. Flanagan. Second time around we will switch the counselors.

• In addition to the meetings that the boys will have with the counselors in the spring, we would like to begin as soon as possible our meetings with the parents. At such a meeting, both parents, a counselor, and each boy meet for an hour to an hour and one-half discussing in detail the student’s file as well as identifying safeties, middle of the road, and long shot colleges. Until the summer, the best times for these meetings for us will be Saturday mornings, Saturday afternoons, Sunday afternoons and Sunday evenings. Meetings can also be held on weekday evenings, but it is often difficult for a boy to spend an hour or two away from his books, especially during this important spring term of his junior year. Vacation days, such as Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, Easter week, and Memorial Day weekend are also opportune times for these parent guidance meetings. All meetings are held in our office in Old Main. Parents, please give Mr. Rosenhaus, Mr. Flanagan or Abbot Giles a ring when you can identify a good time for such a meeting. (973-538-3231, x 3012, 2340 or x3060)

• Parents and boys should use some of the time during the spring vacation to visit schools. We recommend that you also use convenient time between now and the summer vacation to visit more schools, and, surely, complete your college visiting over the summer. The summer will be a good time to do the interviews, if they are required or possible, and some students even use a return time during the fall for those interviews. The important thing is that you do not delay this process. Some students may apply early to a college next November, but no one should apply early unless he has exhausted his research and made a mature and well thought out decision. This calls for an early beginning to the research and data collecting. All students should visit at least a dozen colleges before next September.

• Love your “safeties!” There are 3800 colleges out there. Far more than 20 or 30 of them are perfect matches for Delbarton graduates. Find those perfect matches, fall in love with them, and come to understand that you can be exceedingly happy there.

• Have no fear that this process will end well. Empathy, communication, professionalism, and knowledge, both of the self and the opportunities, will all converge over these next fifteen months to guarantee that the best choices are available and, in the end, are made. Count on it.

Once again, we look forward to working closely with you on the college selection process in the year and more ahead. Please be in touch with us whenever you have a question. We are at the main number of the School 973-538-3231, Mr. Rosenhaus’ extension is x3012, Mr. Flanagan is x 2340 and Abbot Giles is x3060. In our absence our associate, Pat Scala, is at x3061. May God bless you.