COLLEGE COUNSELING

COLLEGE COUNSELING AT BMA IS DIFFERENT.

Students at Burke Mountain Academy are the beneficiaries of a well-tailored college advising program that considers their academic and athletic ambitions. As such, our advising program is very different from those of other high schools. For instance, college counseling at traditional private schools generally begins in earnest in the middle of the junior year with perhaps, some programming in the lower grades. The case is quite different at BMA. 

We believe that students in grades 9 and 10 should focus on their athletic, social, and academic development without the distraction of overt college admissions programming. Similarly, during the winter of the junior year, when students at other high schools are beginning to consider their college options, our students are intensively focused on the race season; discussions about college would put counter-productive pressure on their athletic performance. 

You might wonder if our timeline puts students at a disadvantage in college admissions. Certainly not. Our goal is to help students select and apply to colleges that are well matched. Some students may choose to take a gap year or a PG year to continue focusing on their ski racing. What's important is that students feel confident in the process.

While the Director of College Counseling is always available to parents and students of all grades, formal advising at BMA begins in the spring of a student's junior year, when they participate in a multi-day college counseling workshop. When they return to campus for their senior year, college advising is directly integrated into the schedules of all 12th graders during Trimester 1 of the English 12 class. To ensure that students have completed high-quality applications for the Early Decision/Early Action deadlines, the Director of College Counseling attends the October training camp in Europe.

“From an academic point of view, we certainly have a high opinion of ski academies…. They end up being some of the strongest students we have.” 

Bob Clagett, Dean of Admissions at Middlebury College in The New York Times