College Counseling - Supporting a World of Options

High school students work with designated college counselor Diane Meinke and her staff in ongoing communications and support meetings from 9th grade through graduation. Ms. Meinke is a member of the State and National Associations for College Admission Counseling. Her expertise and guidance are invaluable resources assisting students and their families making the transition from Chicago Waldorf School to college.

In 9th grade, students and their families are given an overview of the college admissions process and the college counseling staff guides them in assembling and presenting extracurricular additions in their academic resumes.

In 10th grade, Chicago Waldorf School offers the PSAT tests and again in 11th grade PSAT and NMSQT testing is administered. After these and other standardized test results are received, the counseling staff sets individual meetings with each student to analyze their scores and plan for the college admissions process. Test scores are sent to the families and meetings are scheduled for further discussion and planning at the parents’ request. The staff reconvenes individual meetings with students in the Spring of their Junior year to plan for college preparation and to assist with the transition to life after high school, with an emphasis on identifying schools of choice and preparing materials for application.

In the 12th grade, students continue with individual counseling meetings to prepare as college, university and art school representatives come to the school for recruiting purposes. The college counseling staff, in cooperation with the school registrar, advise families and assist in preparing financial aid statements, transcripts, evaluation synopses, essays and letters of recommendation and provide other assistance to families for their college application process.

According to a recent study of Waldorf graduates,
94% attend college or university and 89% are
“highly satisfied” in their choice of occupation.

With guidance and assistance for targeted applications, the Chicago Waldorf School is pleased to have a 100% acceptance rate for our seniors in their college applications. Our students attend a wide range of colleges, universities and educational institutes. Here is a list of colleges and universities who have recently accepted Chicago Waldorf High School graduates. Our students have the confidence and skills to succeed and excel academically at these academic institutions. Many colleges seek out our graduates and report that the Waldorf model of education creates active, independent learners that they value highly.