One definitive measurement of the MICDS academic program is to track acceptance of its students into the “class” of college or university that is appropriate to their proven abilities and accomplishments. Perhaps even more instructive to MICDS is the degree to which its students demonstrate that they have been rigorously prepared for success in the arena of higher education. Assuming a successful college placement, MICDS students should demonstrate an academic preparation that equals or exceeds that of their new classmates.

The MICDS college counseling program is dedicated to strengthening a thoughtful and comprehensive decision-making process that guides students toward successful matches with colleges or universities at which they will be both challenged and successful. Equally important is the School’s desire to continue to increase the percentage of its students who are accepted into the most selective colleges and universities.

MICDS is a college preparatory school and all its efforts contribute to successful placements. The School dedicates its academic and other programs to developing ethical, empathic, self-aware citizens who are prepared to contribute their talents and energies to the community.  Recognizing that colleges and universities seek students who appreciate the advantages of a diverse society, the School believes that its commitment to a truly multi-cultural community is complementary to the goals of the college counseling process.  Similarly, the School’s efforts to encourage the pursuit of individual passion should aid the admission process by highlighting each student’s unique abilities, and the College Counseling Office will work to communicate the uniqueness of MICDS and its students to institutions of higher learning.

The College Counseling Office will work to ensure that the faculty support and contribute to the placement process and understand the importance of the academic and non-academic criteria used by colleges and universities in their admission process. Advisories will provide opportunities for students to analyze and strengthen their own decision-making process.

Throughout the Upper School years, the College Counseling Office will work to help students and their families understand the challenges which make attaining placement at the most selective institutions so difficult. The number of completely qualified students applying to a few highly selective colleges and universities has increased greatly in recent years. Statistically only a fraction of fully qualified applicants will attain acceptance. The School will work throughout the college counseling process to guide students and their parents toward setting realistic expectations, without diminishing their ambitions.

Again, the most important result that MICDS seeks from the College Counseling Office is a successful match between a student and an appropriate college or university.  While high rates of admission to the most selective institutions may be an important gauge of the MICDS educational program, they do not provide a good measure of the College Counseling Office’s value and role to students. 

Nonetheless a key responsibility of the College Counseling Office is to provide thoughtful, unbiased feedback to the School about student outcomes in the admission process and the perception of colleges and universities about the MICDS educational program.  Additionally, the College Counseling Office will seek feedback from recent MICDS alumni to assess their perceptions of the level of their preparation for higher learning. During their first year, did MICDS graduates feel appropriately placed and better or less prepared than their new classmates?  Subsequent follow-up in the senior year of college will also provide a longer-term perspective as will tracking the career paths chosen by MICDS alumni.