College Day 2025: Insight and Inspiration for the Road Ahead

Canterbury School's annual College Day provided Fifth Form students with a valuable, immersive look into the college application process—complete with expert advice, hands-on experiences, and direct connections to admissions representatives from around the country.

The keynote address was delivered by Andrew Carter, Deputy Director of Admission at the College of the Holy Cross, who encouraged students to focus on what they can control in the coming months, adding that it might even increase their chances for admission. He gave them three areas to consider:

• Apply full effort and energy to their classes this spring and next fall.
• Prioritize their connection to the college essay topic they select—it does not matter so much to colleges what the topic is, but it matters tremendously how the student connects to that topic.
• Engage with colleges both in-person and online to learn as much as they can and demonstrate their interest to those schools.

Students then broke into Mock Admissions Committees led by visiting college representatives from Bates College, the University of Chicago, the University of Delaware, Miami University—Oxford, Texas Christian University, Trinity College, Union College, and the University of Wisconsin—Madison. The afternoon also featured a Sixth Form Student Panel, where members of the Class of 2025 reflected on their experiences in the past year with essays, interviews, college visits, and decision-making. 

For Fifth Form student Miguel Garcia ’26, the day’s activities were eye-opening. “The speaker explained that the college essay should be about something you love rather than something you think might look good,” he shared. “That helped me a lot, because the essay is one part of the process that I was nervous about. Plus, the mock committee and Sixth Form panel taught me how much of a role extracurriculars play in portraying who you are in ways that grades cannot.”

Following lunch with their families, the Fifth Formers headed over to Pigott Arena for the vibrant College Fair, featuring more than 80 colleges and universities from across the country. Students explored academic programs, met admission counselors, and gathered materials and contacts to support their upcoming application season.

Director of College Counseling Sarah Ferland was thrilled to see the lively interaction between college visitors and students. “From Drew Carter sharing sound advice with students and parents to college representatives guiding them through mock admission committees, the day helped our Fifth Form families take the next step in their journey toward college,” she said. “I am thankful to our guests, proud of the students, and appreciative of our parent partnerships as we help prepare families for the college process.” 

Earlier in the week, Fifth Form students got a dose of real-world advice as a virtual panel of recent alumni shared college prep tips, personal stories, and what they wish they had known before heading off to school. The panelists were all members of last year’s graduating class currently wrapping up their freshman years in college—Anne Celestino ’24, Bucknell University; Nicholas Ciampi ’24, Boston College; Elsa Copeland ’24, Bates College; and Jake Towey ’24, St. Lawrence University.

Both the panel and College Day left students feeling empowered and energized, with a clearer sense of direction and deeper understanding of what lies ahead.

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