Westminster College Counselors will now begin counseling in Pre-First

Recently the College Counseling Office has been bombarded by phone calls from parents… of Pre-firsters. 

“I’ve been getting at least 10 phone calls a day from Pre-First parents who are asking questions about college,” said Shannon Meyring, administrative assistant for College Counseling.

Meyring has been asked every question under the sun: Are coloring books conducive to a child’s future success? Should my child start learning algebra? Is nap time beneficial or a waste of time? 

After a while, the phone calls became so out of hand that a discussion began in the College Counseling group chat, “CC ROYALTY ?”. The team of five counselors who love a good gossip session — Juan Acosta, Anthea Economy, Steve Frappier, Jay McCann, and Sumana Moudgal — at first simply found the phone calls comedic, but they soon realized that they needed a new plan. 

“As absurd as we think this is, we will now begin college counseling in pre-first,” said Steve Frappier, director of College Counseling. 

To accommodate the needs of the many anxious parents, College Counseling will expand next year to include bi-monthly sessions with lower school students and monthly sessions with middle school students. 

“In my 15 years here, I never imagined I would see a 5 year old in my office. I have trouble getting my seniors to behave half the time. This will be interesting,” said Economy, associate director of College Counseling. 

McCann and Moudgal, associate directors of College Counseling, are also unsure of how this will work. 

“I have three kids. I spend enough time with kids. I don’t need to see more,” said McCann.

Moudgal echoes these sentiments: “Hon, I don’t think I can do this.”

While Lower and Middle School parents are thrilled about this change, Upper School students are not as convinced.

“I don’t want first graders taking up my counselor’s time,” said Emerald Kara, an overly ambitious junior. “Now their Google Calendars are going to be even more packed.”

The College Counseling department is still figuring out how the expanded program will look next year, but a few new amenities will most likely be in the works. 

“I’m thinking of maybe adding a mini playground in the Inman Commons. It’ll be like Disney, and I can’t wait to wear my Mickey Mouse ears to greet the kids!” said Acosta, associate director of College Counseling. 

Additionally, the college counselors will begin using resources such as “Scoir Kids!” and “Corsava Jr.” to inspire young Wildcats as they start their college exploration journey. 

“I have no idea what our office will look like next year, but all I know is we’re going to be busier than ever,” said Meyring. “For now, I just hope the phone stops ringing.”