College Counseling

No, York does not rank students when presenting them to colleges.

Students are allowed to take up to 4 Advanced or AP classes per academic year, as explained in our school policy.

No, only courses taught at York will contribute to a student’s GPA, and these courses will not appear on the York transcript.

Students have access to the Director of College Counseling and to Scoir as early as 8th Grade. Scoir is an online college and career planning network York utilizes to connect students, parents, York’s Director of College Counseling, and colleges. Programs for 8th and 9th Grade students are available each August, hosted by the Director of College Counseling. Touchpoints continue into 10th grade with family meetings and webinars. All 11th and 12th grade students are enrolled in Pathways, a pass/fail course focused on college preparation that meets twice per cycle. All students have one-on-one meetings and review sessions with the Director of College Counseling.

York provides essay writing workshops in Pathways 11, Summer Essay Writing Workshops, individual drafting sessions, review sessions with English faculty, and feedback provided by the Director of College Counseling.

There is no need to hire an outside Director of College Counseling. York’s College Counseling program is robust and highly personalized. We build the course sequence, we write each student’s recommendation letter, we own relationships with admissions offices, and we know what has worked in the past for York students at colleges and universities. We provide support that an outside advisor cannot, and start this process in 8th Grade to ensure familiarity and continuity.

Approximately 30 college admission representatives visit York each fall. York students also have access to the 100+ colleges that attend the Carmel High School College Fair each October. Juniors will meet another 50+ college admission representatives who visit Monterey through the April Case Studies program each spring.

Most colleges require a letter of recommendation from the Director of College Counseling, plus one or two letters from teachers. In Pathways 11, students identify two teachers from whom they would like to request letters of recommendation. These should be teachers who taught them in 11th and/or 12th grade. It is ideal to have one teacher from the Humanities Department and another from STEM, but this will vary based on a student’s intended area of study in college. Students request letters in March of junior year, and provide teachers with a completed questionnaire about their college goals and reflection on their time in class, plus a resume of their activities outside of school, for additional context. Teachers securely upload letters to Scoir in fall of a student’s senior year, well before any college deadlines. The Director of College Counseling writes a letter of recommendation for every senior, and securely uploads letters to Scoir. Additional letters beyond the three provided by York are not required.

As a former college admission officer herself, Ms. FM is well-equipped to network with various colleges and their admission representatives. We invite reps to York, liaison at annual admission conferences, and collaborate on the creation of York documents, such as the school profile. Ms. FM delivers advocacy calls on behalf of York applicants, and communicates key updates to colleges throughout admission cycles.

York requires that all sophomores sit for the PSAT, and all juniors sit for the PSAT/NMSQT, regardless of what colleges they plan to apply to. We highly encourage all juniors and seniors to sit for the SAT, which is proctored at York every October and April. As of 2027, we will be offering the ACT in February to any interested junior. We provide test overview sessions, score review sessions, and test prep courses in collaboration with Crosswalk Education. Students are encouraged to submit test scores to test-optional institutions if their scores fall within or above the college’s mid-50% scores for admitted students (usually published with each college’s Common Data Set). SAT/ACT scores are not required or considered at the UCs and CSUs, which are test-blind institutions.

The Director of College Counseling partners with Tuition Solutions Now to offer free FAFSA and CSS Profile Workshops to senior families each September, cost-saving workshops to underclassmen families each April, and sessions to interpret and understand financial aid awards for seniors each March. Ms. FM also provides a list of local and national scholarships students may apply to. Families should consider organizing their federal tax returns from two years prior (e.g., 2024 tax data for the 2026–27 form), records of untaxed income, bank statements, and asset values in advance of their student’s senior year.

York thinks of students, parents, and the Director of College Counseling in a Triad Responsibility Framework: the student drives the bus, the parent provides co-pilot support, and the Director of College Counseling is the GPS. Families should discuss financial boundaries candidly with their student as soon as freshman year, fill out financial aid forms in senior year, and provide a listening and supportive ear throughout their student’s time in high school. Families should read college updates in the Falcon, attend events hosted by the Director of College Counseling throughout their time at York, and should stay engaged with their student’s Scoir account. Families should always include their student in correspondence to the Director of College Counseling regarding college applications and readiness, and students should have ownership of this process.

York does not cap the number of colleges to which students apply, but we strongly recommend applying to no more than 15 total colleges. Applying to 9-10 colleges is an ideal sweet spot (~2-3 reach schools, ~3-4 target schools, ~4 likely schools). Students will work with the Director of College Counseling to determine which colleges may fall into each category (reach, target, likely), based on the college’s profile and the student’s academic record. “Likely” schools are most likely to award a student with merit-based financial aid, especially when the student’s academic profile falls above that of the average admitted student to that college. Students create preliminary college lists in Pathways 11, and start Pathways 12 in senior year with a finalized list of schools they will apply to.