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The most selective colleges and universities in the United States actively recruit Wichita Collegiate School graduates. Why? Because Collegiate offers a program which prepares our students to excel. The college counseling program at WCS works closely with families to ensure that our students find the college environment which best serves their academic, social, and co-curricular needs.

Wichita Collegiate School believes that students and parents can rely on three “Great Expectations” as they look forward to the college application process:

Wichita Collegiate School’s national reputation as a college-preparatory school is based on the quality of our proven liberal arts curriculum, which includes Advanced Placement coursework in eighteen academic areas: Calculus (AB & BC), Statistics, Computer, United States History, American Government, Macroeconomics, English (Literature & Language), Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French (two levels), Spanish (two levels), and Latin (Literature & Vergil). In 2006-2007, seventy-three Upper School students received 126 scores on AP examinations and earned scores of “3” or better on seventy-nine percent of those exams, potentially earning college credit.

The WCS Upper School also offers concurrent credit through Wichita State University and Friends University for selected academic courses. Concurrent credit, which allows students to earn college credit for Upper School courses, is available in the following courses: Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Statistics, Chemistry, American Government, Macroeconomics, United States History, and Advanced Composition. During 2006-2007, Upper School juniors and seniors earned over 250 hours of college credit through concurrent credit.

In addition to academic preparation, Upper School students receive extensive preparation and practice for the PSAT, SAT, and ACT examinations. All freshmen, sophomores, and juniors take the PSAT examination each October, with significant preparatory work in English and mathematics classes prior to the test. In addition to in-school preparation, Collegiate offers extensive SAT and ACT preparation programs through summer coursework.

The College Counseling program at Wichita Collegiate School is committed to providing outstanding support to our families throughout the admissions process. This support consists of four fundamental components:

• Experience: Kevin Mykel, Dean of Upper School and College Counselor at WCS, has been assisting WCS students and parents with the admissions process for over seventeen years. Collegiate’s tradition of excellence and Mr. Mykel’s long tenure have contributed to the strong relationships that WCS enjoys with selective colleges and universities across the United States. These relationships significantly benefit current students as the excellence of our graduates is a known quantity to admissions committees.

Kevin Mykel is joined by:

Mrs. Dana Hensley:  College Advising Coordinator

Mrs. Annette Shamas, Creatve Career and College Advisor

Mrs. Linda Howell: College Advising Associate

• Resources: Collegiate has committed significant resources to supporting our families through the college counseling process. A new college counseling room contains both print and computer resources for student and parent use

• Events: Throughout the school year, parents and students participate in a comprehensive program of college-related events. This program begins with two “College Nights” during the first week of school for juniors, seniors, and their parents. Other events include numerous visits by college representatives and a number of informal college counseling meetings which will address a variety of topics, including financial aid, scholarships, and standardized testing.

• Individualized counseling: The WCS college counseling program offers a truly individualized approach to the admissions process. Students and parents are expected to meet often with Mr. Mykel to craft a personal application plan.

The WCS college preparatory and college counseling programs demonstrate their effectiveness through the success of our students as college applicants. On average, approximately two-thirds of our students apply to at least one out-of-state university ranked as “very competitive” or higher by the Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges. Over the past three years, ninety-two percent of these students received at least one acceptance to these prestigious universities.

The 49 members of the Class of 2009 received 168 offers of admission to more than 93 different colleges and universities, as well as merit-based scholarship offers of approximately $4 million.The amount of merit-based scholarships is especially impressive since many of the most selective colleges in the country devote most of their financial aid resources to need-based grants and award few, if any, merit-based scholarships.

Colleges and universities attended by members of the Class of 2009 include:

Allegheny College, Baylor University, Chapman University, Clemson University, Emory University, Friends University, Kansas State University, Marshall University, Oklahome State University, Pepperdine University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, University of Kansas, University of Michigan, University of Missouri, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Tulsa, University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, Wichita State University, Willamette University, Wellesly College, and Yale University.

Click here to view our Luckiest Colleges map

Click here to view a list of College Acceptances for the Class of 2009

Virtually 100 percent of WCS graduates go on to college. Since 1967, more than half of our graduates have attended one of the 100 best colleges and universities in the nation, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report.

In the college classroom, Collegiate students excel, earning consistently superior grades while pursuing curriculums that are typically significantly more demanding than normal freshman coursework.