All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
Fifth- and Sixth-Form Parents' Weekend Focuses on College Counseling
Despite unusually rainy weather, parents of Woodberry Forest School's fifth and sixth formers spent October 2-3, 2015, learning more about their sons' lives at Woodberry and about how they could prepare for the years beyond graduation. Parents had opportunities to meet individually and in small groups with college counselors, teachers, and advisers. Other Parents' Weekend events included a showcase of the arts with performances by the pipe and drum band; the Dozen, Woodberry's a capella group; the strings ensemble; and the jazz ensemble. A Friday night pep rally and a varsity football game against Avalon School capped off the weekend.
A highlight of the weekend was a talk on the current state of college admissions. Invited by Woodberry's college counseling office, Steve Farmer, the vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke to parents and students about the college search process. He told listeners, "Your search for a college isn't about finding out which is the best college and figuring out how to get into it. It's also about wrestling with who you are and who you want to be." Steve advised students not to search for a school, but to search for themselves in finding a good school, and he assured them their life's happiness did not depend upon getting into a certain college. Steve advised boys that, aside from finding an institution that offered the right course of study, their goal should be finding a good cultural fit. "I don't think students serve themselves best when they search for the 'fit' of a six-year-old pair of slippers," he said. "I encourage finding a school that fits like a of a pair of new shoes. Students should look for a school culture that fits but that will also draw them out and help them become the person they need to be." Steve Farmer holds an MA in English from the University of Virginia and an AB in English from Duke University. He has served at the University of North Carolina since 2000 and previously worked in admissions at the University of Virginia.
A highlight of the weekend was a talk on the current state of college admissions. Invited by Woodberry's college counseling office, Steve Farmer, the vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke to parents and students about the college search process. He told listeners, "Your search for a college isn't about finding out which is the best college and figuring out how to get into it. It's also about wrestling with who you are and who you want to be." Steve advised students not to search for a school, but to search for themselves in finding a good school, and he assured them their life's happiness did not depend upon getting into a certain college. Steve advised boys that, aside from finding an institution that offered the right course of study, their goal should be finding a good cultural fit. "I don't think students serve themselves best when they search for the 'fit' of a six-year-old pair of slippers," he said. "I encourage finding a school that fits like a of a pair of new shoes. Students should look for a school culture that fits but that will also draw them out and help them become the person they need to be." Steve Farmer holds an MA in English from the University of Virginia and an AB in English from Duke University. He has served at the University of North Carolina since 2000 and previously worked in admissions at the University of Virginia.
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
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Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.