College Counseling
Connecting a student's head, heart, hands education to an inspired life beyond LWHS.
Our Model
Our model of college counseling is intentionally designed to be an organic extension of a student’s overall education at LWHS. The college counseling team’s approach not only fits with the school mission statement, but also builds on its embodiment by students during their final years here:
A private school with public purpose, Lick-Wilmerding High School develops the head, heart, and hands of highly motivated students from all walks of life, inspiring them to become lifelong learners who contribute to the world with confidence and compassion.
Please see an overview of the pre-college journey.
The Process
Every aspect of the process—from how students are assigned counselors, to when the formal in-depth work starts (January of junior year), to how college counselors get students to think about what they need and want in their college experience, to the way in which the teacher recommendation process is orchestrated, to the timing behind the essay-writing workshops, to the tenacity in reading draft after draft of application essays—is designed with the head, hearts, and hands of the school's highly ambitious students from many diverse backgrounds in mind.
While the college counseling team is always trying to balance the needs of many parties—students, parents/guardians, faculty, college admissions officers—it maintains a mostly student-centric perspective. The focus is on counseling, not “placement,” and thus the college counselors abide by the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s Code of Ethics and Professional Practices in guiding our students and families, and in communicating with colleges.
The best applicants for college are those students who have most fully and authentically engaged in their high school experiences—academic, personal, and extra-curricular—rather than those who have been focused on “what colleges want” from the beginning. Students who approach the college process thoughtfully, rather than frantically, and see it as a mode of self-discovery rather than a game—as important as strategies might be at times—do best and remain happiest with their final options and decisions. LWHS college counselors encourage students to follow their lead in approaching the college research and application process with a sense of calm, mindfulness, and enthusiasm for the possibilities to come!
In the News
List of 3 news stories.
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The Admissions Waitlist
Because both of our kids have practice or other obligations most nights, we do not watch much TV in real time. However, this spring between the NCAA tournament, the NBA playoffs, and Carson Garrett (a Georgia Tech student) on Survivor, we’ve been a bit more tuned in lately. Read More -
The Problem with College Rankings and How We Fix It
Within a few months of joining the faculty at Duke University in 2021, I
could spot them: the high school seniors, juniors and even sophomores on their pilgrimages
to our verdant and coveted wonderland, with its Gothic Revival spires, ecstatic basketball
fans and acceptance rate of 6 percent. Read More -
After a Year of Turmoil, Elite Universities Welcomes More Diverse Freshman Classes
The aftermath of the George Floyd protests and a decreased reliance on standardized tests have led to more diverse admissions at elite universities. By Anemona Hartocollis New York Times Published April 17, 2021 Updated May 31, 2021 Jianna Curbelo attends a career-focused public high school in New York City, works at McDonald’s and lives in the Bronx with her unemployed mother, who did not graduate from college. Read More
Downloads
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LWHS School Profile 2022–23
Learn about LWHS curriculum offerings and policies, and see where LWHS alumni have attended college.
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Pre-College Journey
This presentation guides students through many of the major events related to college counseling from their freshman fall to their senior spring.
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Request a Transcript
Please fill out this form to obtain a copy of your official LWHS transcript.
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How to Calculate your GPA
See numeric values of letter grades and follow these steps to calculate your GPA.
Lick-Wilmerding High School
755 Ocean Avenue | San Francisco, CA 94112 | 415.333.4021
A private school with public purpose, Lick-Wilmerding High School develops the head, heart, and hands of highly motivated students from all walks of life, inspiring them to become lifelong learners who contribute to the world with confidence and compassion.