All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
Academics

College Counseling

Welcome to College Counseling

The college search is a process of the head and the heart. Good research and access to strong planning tools and expert advice combine with feelings of excitement and belonging to narrow a range of institutions to just one: a college home consistent with each boy’s interest and potential.

But the path to that college isn’t clear at the outset. And that haziness can worry even the most prepared students and families, threatening to cloud out the best parts of the Woodberry experience.

Our approach to college counseling is meant to lift the fog and slow the journey. We encourage boys to begin by focusing not on college but on Woodberry and themselves. Admissions offices are interested in passionate, prepared students who impact the people around them. What better way to begin the third form than with clear advice to dive into school life, to train your academic muscles, and to try a range of clubs and activities with the goal of learning about yourself and what you love?

Once boys have a sense for themselves and their place here, they’ll begin to engage a more formal college program. In addition to experience with standardized tests, we’ll offer fourth formers chances to explore their aptitudes and interests and how those might connect to their academic futures. Fifth formers begin their college planning in earnest with small group discussions and one-on-one work with a college counselor.

Our staff is committed to a calm, thorough process focused on finding a good college match for every boy. We’re accessible to families and eager to work through individual circumstances and ease particular fears. We listen and suggest, we challenge and redirect, and we help students focus, clear-eyed, on the path ahead.
 

Resources


Stephen Jackson Named Director of College Counseling

Stephen Jackson, a college counseling professional with more than 20 years of experience, has been named Woodberry Forest's new director of college counseling. Mr. Jackson comes to Woodberry from Fountain Valley School in Colorado, where he has spent this past year working as both a college counselor and a dorm head. Prior to that, he was director of college counseling at Baylor School in Tennessee for ten years. 

Read more >>

The College Counseling Team

List of 3 members.

  • Photo of Curtis  Johnson

    Curtis  Johnson 

    (540) 672-6050
    Sewanee: The University Of The South - BA
  • Photo of Julia Hixson

    Mrs.  Julia Hixson 

    (540) 672-6004
    University of Mary Washington - BA
    Wake Forest University - MA
  • Photo of Elena Kritter

    Elena Kritter 

    College Counseling Assistant and Test Coordinator; Fine Arts Coordinator
    (540) 672-6777

SmartTrack College Funding

We recognize that Woodberry is a substantial financial investment for families and that you are also thinking about how to pay for college. As you work on your financial plans, you may want to consult with SMARTTRACK, a group that offers advice and resources to families. The SMARTTRACK® College Funding High School Initiative provides our families with free resources to help you plan ahead and pay less for college. Click here to create your complimentary account.
Smarttrack College Funding
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.