By Sarah Opdahl

New Fairfield High School seniors went through a unique year in their post-graduation planning process. For college-bound students there were the high-stakes bets to contend with the ultra-competitive landscape in college admissions offices, the roller coaster of a year with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) problems and delays, and the knife’s edge risk of whether to submit standardized test scores, which was certainly challenging, to say the least. However, as social media filled with the class of 2024’s acceptances and commitments, it is clear to see that they played their cards well.

NFHS’s dedicated guidance staff processed a record number of over 1,500 college applications for this class of 183 students, an average of 10.5 per college-bound student. This number is par for the course, if not low, for most students in the current post-pandemic college admissions process and it represents an over 35% increase since 2021. Director of Guidance Kim Laughlin is proud of the work that was completed by “an incredibly talented team of School Counselors whose background and experience provide our students with exceptional, tailored post-secondary planning support.” Not only providing continuous application support, they also offer an ongoing funnel of scholarship information, arrange for college placement visits and interviews, tours for local colleges, and more. Students appreciated their advice—senior Nicky Eklund says the guidance was helpful in providing “information about local scholarships and kept students informed when new ones were available.”

To the counselors’ delight, the process—which demanded nuance due to the changing landscape of admissions decision deadlines in reaction to FAFSA delays—yielded remarkable results, with one student admitted to an ivy league school and many more landing top-tier acceptances, plus many scoring prestigious scholarships. In the fall, NFHS students will grace the campuses of Duke University, Boston University, Tulane University, and Northeastern University, to name a few. Increased acceptances and commitments were also seen at very competitive private liberal arts colleges and universities, such as Wesleyan, Colgate, University of Richmond, Vassar, Case Western Reserve, Skidmore, and Lafayette. State school acceptances and commitments were also plentiful, including many highly sought-after spots at schools like University of Virginia and Florida State University.

Laughlin says many students applied to a mix of reach, match, and safety schools in their college application process this year, with many choosing to submit test scores, as “the landscape is changing and continues to change regarding admission trends related to test scores,” in that many schools are beginning to require submission again.

To help combat nerves and provide as much information as possible about finances, the counselors leaned on partnerships with local colleges and universities to provide additional programming on the financial aid processes. “FAFSA concerns and uncertainty created issues for students, families, counselors, and college financial aid offices. Challenges were faced across all groups of stakeholders,” Laughlin said. She went on t o say that even now, “The changing FAFSA and extended commitment deadlines have delayed some students’ and families’ decisions about next year. Difficulties with the FAFSA have impacted the release dates for some information that families and students value in their decision-making process.” Given this fact, she explained, “We do believe that these delays had the effect of more students choosing local schools where the necessity of receiving financial aid would not be as great.”

Laughlin is happy about the highly visible, centrally located College and Career Center office in the new high school building, which drew students in for “the over 80 post-secondary institutions, training programs, and military representatives we hosted onsite this past fall. These interactions allow students to connect directly with admissions professionals, who often read our students’ applications. Additionally, we offer onsite admission days for some local and community colleges, providing prepared students access to decisions on the spot.”

Though the high majority of NFHS students will attend college in the fall, there continues to be an increase in students interested in pursuing non-college avenues. “Our counselors have worked with students to consider other options such as community college, certification programs , apprenticeships, military, and employment,” Laughlin noted, going on to explain that the Pledge to Advance CT (PACT) program has increased the number of students who decide to attend CT Community Colleges for free for two years.

The guidance counselors are breathing a happy sigh for the class of 2024, but they won’t rest for long. Though they have sprinkled information for juniors throughout the spring, sessions in resume building, essay writing, and interviewing strategies, were recently ratcheted up to further the post-grad planning process and help deal a winning hand to the class of 2025.