OVERVIEW
The mission of the St. John's Prep's College Center is to provide educational and career guidance for all students beginning as early as freshman year. The Department focuses on fostering a sense of social and academic empowerment, career development awareness, and responsible decision making in each of our students. We are proud to say that 100% of the graduates of St. John’s Preparatory School go on to college.
Support provided by counselors include:
SJP students, parents and their counselors have access to the Naviance Student Connection, assisting students with academic, career, college and personal planning. Students have access to their individual accounts and are able to keep track of their preparation for post-secondary education programs, including college and university attendance and career planning. Naviance Student Connection compliments the series of classroom lessons, individual appointments, speakers, and informational sessions for students and parents we offer throughout the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school.
Other resources can be found on the College Counseling website to find out about college information, financial aid, test preparation, and NCAA eligibility.
KAPLAN SAT /ACT CLASSES
St. John's Prep offers an exclusive test prep course for students preparing for the SAT and or ACT exam. Classes are held at the school on weekend mornings beginning in September and in February and are open only to SJP students. These classes also come with access to the full Kaplan online resources including their SAT channel.
In the fall, Kaplan administers a free practice ACT/SAT Combo test at St. John’s Preparatory School. Students will be able to compare their SAT scores to their ACT scores to provide clarity on which test to take.
9th GRADE PROGRAM
Ninth graders are enrolled in freshmen guidance classes beginning their first semester. In September, freshmen parents are invited to a special Freshmen Parent Night. During this informative evening, parents meet their student's teachers and are provided strategies to help their students succeed throughout each of their four years of high school. In addition, there are three Parent Teacher Nights held in October, December and in March for the parents to meet with the subject teachers and an SJP counselor.
10th GRADE PROGRAM
Counselors continue to monitor student progress and identify support programs to meet graduation requirements. In the sophomore guidance classes, career, college planning, and implementing a graduation plan becomes the focus of the Fall Parent Workshop. All sophomores sit for the Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test (PSAT) offered here at St. John's Prep in mid-October. In addition, sophomores are invited to attend our annual College Information Night as well as the College Fair held here at SJP in October.
St. John's Prep High School Counselors conduct sophomore planning conferences, review of the student’s academic performance and results of assorted tests, and a definition of the student’s future goals to develop an appropriate plan for graduation. Additional discussion topics include college admission testing, career and college exploration, and transcript review.
11th GRADE PROGRAM
Junior Year begins with the Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in October and ends with the Registration for the Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) or ACT in May.
Juniors and their parents are invited in the fall for our annual Junior Parent Workshop. This includes planning presentations by college admission representatives informing parents about graduation, the college and university application process, college requirements and post-high school options. In October the juniors and their families are encouraged to attend the College Fair. During the spring semester, juniors meet with counselors to review graduation and college requirements. College admission testing dates, course selections, career and college exploration, and conduct a transcript review. Throughout the year, counselors monitor student progress in meeting high school graduation and the students’ college and university goals.
12th GRADE PROGRAM
Monitoring student progress to meet high school graduation continues through the twelfth-grade year and includes transcript and graduation checks provided to students and parents early in the Fall and Spring semesters. Parents are invited to the annual College Fair in late October. Counselors meet with seniors in the Fall to review graduation status, college admissions, and other post-secondary options. Individual student meetings are then held with students requesting letters of recommendation. Parents are invited to attend the College Financial Aid workshop in the fall. Throughout the year, counselors monitor student progress towards graduation and the students’ college/university or career goals.
On-Site Evaluation and Colleges Visiting SJP
St. John's Prep invites a number of colleges and universities to hold on-site evaluations during the year. Any senior who meets the requirements (Grade Point Average and SAT score) set by the participating college/university may apply in advance of the day and will be interviewed by a representative of the college on the day of the visitation. There is no fee for this application and at the conclusion of the interview, the student will receive an immediate response of acceptance, deferral or rejection.
Throughout the course of the year, many college representatives visit our school during lunch periods. In addition, selected sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited to participate in small seminars with an individual representative of a college and or university. These seminars allow our students to learn first- hand what is expected of them academically as they continue here at SJP and anticipate application to these institutions. To date, the following colleges/universities have participated in such seminars: Harvard University, Columbia University, Cooper Union, Scranton University, Catholic University, American University along with a number of programs throughout the country.
COURSE ENROLLMENT EXPECTATIONS
Since most colleges and universities are increasing admissions requirements, and leaders of business and industry are concerned about the academic preparation of young people entering the workforce, the faculty and administration at St. John's Prep School expect all students in grades 9-11 to enroll in six courses during each year of high school. Institutions of higher learning report a direct correlation between academic success at the university and the maintenance of a rigorous course of study during all four years in high school.
In addition to our exclusive partnership with KAPLAN, St. John's Prep faculty are college board trained and help students gain thorough knowledge and understanding of each of the test formats in their classrooms.