College Planning

 College Counseling Office

While the college planning process does not begin officially until the middle of junior year, looking ahead at the four years of High School for ninth graders naturally implies anticipation of college opportunities beyond twelfth grade.

The best college applicants are those students who have made the most of their opportunities in High School, in both academic and extracurricular experiences. Ninth grade is an ideal time for students to explore the myriad of activities and organizations, athletic teams, and the visual and performing arts at Dalton and to make informed choices about which to pursue throughout High School. The right balance of activities will help each student complement an active, rigorous classroom experience with meaningful, satisfying, extracurricular pursuits.

Identifying rewarding community service activities will provide further opportunities for students to distinguish themselves in productive activity that reflects their enduring and developing interests and values. Choosing curricula and activities that motivate and inspire students to build upon early school involvement in ninth and tenth grade ultimately should make them stronger applicants for the nation's best college opportunities.

An activities' fair at the beginning of ninth grade introduces ninth graders to Dalton student life, and Peer Leaders and organization and committee leaders welcome freshmen to their meetings and events to explore possibilities for continued involvement. Coaches and arts teachers encourage ninth graders to consider sports teams and courses in art, dance, music, and theatre, all of which can lead to positive, ongoing experiences. Faculty House Advisors, who work with students for all four years of High School, help students identify and commit to those activities for which they are best suited and in which they are most engaged.

House Advisors meet with students and parents concerning all academic matters and decisions and help each student craft an appropriately challenging academic program from ninth grade through senior year.

Special presentations during the first two years of High School help guide students in planning standardized testing over the four-year period. Further information on testing can be found in the High School Course Catalog (Download PDF).

Though juniors and seniors continue to take Advanced Placement exams, Dalton eliminated Advanced Placement Courses in 2003-2004 in favor of its own enriched courses, created by faculty, to encourage greater opportunities for analysis, creativity, and in-depth study of all subject areas. The following statement outlines the rationale for this change and demonstrates approximate equivalents of these new classes with traditional AP courses: statement on Advanced Placement Courses (Download PDF).