College Counseling

North Shore Country Day is a college preparatory school with a program that prepares our students for attendance at a four-year college or university.

We believe the college search process is developmental. It helps students mature their skills as writers, communicators and thinkers, while developing a greater understanding of themselves and their abilities, and moves them forward into the world with a well-founded sense of confidence. 

While the college search is a collaborative process, students are firmly in the driver’s seat with college counselors and parents playing critical but supporting roles. The students who see their college search process as being the most successful are those who have taken full advantage of the four-year North Shore experience, academically and co-curricularly, and engaged with their college counselors in a thorough and exacting college search process.
 

Those who capitalize on the North Shore experience and present themselves to colleges honestly and confidently rather than “package” themselves, have the greatest level of success in securing admission to the college(s) they identify as being the best matches to their plans and goals. 

The College Counseling Office is first and foremost a “counseling” office. Counselors come to know the students with whom they work very well, particularly when students reciprocate and invest in their relationships with the counselors. The work with each student is distinct, individualized and focused on providing guidance relative to each student’s needs, talents and aspirations. 

BY THE NUMBERS

Paging

50 to 2

Student to College Counselor Ratio

100%

Percentage of Seniors who Apply to Colleges and Universities and Receive Offers of Admission

145

colleges offering admission to the class of 2026 in 38 states, DC, Switzerland and the UK

129

college admissions representatives who visited NSCD in 2025-26

Signature Programs

With a student to college counselor ratio of about 50 to 2, we help students identify and apply to colleges and universities that best match their needs and aspirations.

Meet Recent Graduates

 

College Destinations

College Matriculation for 2023-2026 NSCD Graduates

Recent NSCD graduates have matriculated at a wide range of colleges and universities across the country and around the world.

  • Auburn University
  • Babson College
  • Ball State University
  • Barnard College (2)
  • Bates College (3)
  • Beloit College
  • Boston College
  • Boston University
  • Bucknell University
  • Carroll University
  • Carthage College
  • Chapman University
  • Claremont McKenna College (3)
  • Clark University
  • Colgate University (2)
  • College of the Holy Cross
  • Colorado College (2)
  • Cornell University
  • Dartmouth College
  • Davidson College (2)
  • DePaul University
  • DePauw University
  • Denison University (4)
  • Dickinson College (2)
  • Dominican University
  • Duke University (3)
  • Durham University
  • Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne
  • Elon University
  • Emory University (2)
  • Georgia Tech
  • Gettysburg College
  • Grinnell College
  • Hamilton College (3)
  • Harvard University (2)
  • Harvey Mudd College
  • Haverford College
  • High Point University
  • Hobart and William Smith Colleges
  • Howard University (2)
  • Indiana University (Bloomington) (3)
  • Kalamazoo College
  • Kenyon College
  • Knox College
  • Lafayette College (2)
  • Lake Forest College (2)
  • Lehigh University (5)
  • Loyola University Chicago (6)
  • Macalester College
  • Marquette University (2)
  • McGill University (2)
  • Miami University (3)
  • Michigan State University
  • Middlebury College
  • Milwaukee School of Engineering
  • Montana State University
  • New York University
  • Northeastern University (3)
  • Northwestern University (7)
  • Oberlin College
  • Occidental College (2)
  • Purdue University (2)
  • Reed College
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Rice University
  • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
  • Santa Clara University
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • Skidmore College
  • Smith College
  • Southern Methodist University (3)
  • Stanford University
  • Stevens Institute of Technology
  • Syracuse University (4)
  • Temple University
  • Texas Christian University (2)
  • Trinity College
  • Tulane University (5)
  • University of Alabama
  • University of California (Berkeley)
  • University of California (Santa Cruz) (2)
  • University of Chicago (4)
  • University of Colorado (Boulder)
  • University of Connecticut
  • University of Denver (6)
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Illinois (Chicago)
  • University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) (13)
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Miami (6)
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Notre Dame (4)
  • University of Oregon
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Puget Sound
  • University of Richmond
  • University of San Diego (2)
  • University of Southern California
  • University of St Andrews
  • University of Tampa
  • University of Texas
  • University of Virginia (2)
  • University of Wisconsin (6)
  • Vanderbilt University (2)
  • Vassar College
  • Villanova University (2)
  • Virginia State University
  • Wake Forest University (6)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (2)
  • Wesleyan University
  • Western Michigan University
  • Yale University (2)

Our College Counseling Department

Kristen Kaczynski

Director of External Relations & Strategic Initiatives

Candice Sayles

Upper School Administrative Assistant; Receptionist

Mark Seamon

College Counselor
College Decisions 2026

 

Class of 2026: Finding Their Fit

After a year and a half of reflection and discovery, the Class of 2026 chose colleges and universities that reflect who they are and who they are becoming.

Advice for the Summer Before Senior Year

Though the school year is over, the Class of 2026 is already hard at work preparing for senior year and ensuring their college applications are ready to submit this fall.