College Counseling

TJ students prepare for college over years, not months, with the time and guidance to discover where they might thrive.

College Preparation That Starts Long Before the Application

At TJ, college counseling is a relationship that develops over time.

In middle school and the early years of high school, that means learning how to manage challenging work, ask for help, explore your interests, and begin noticing what you are especially good at and what you care about.

As you move through high school, the questions become more specific. What subjects keep pulling you back? What might you want to study more deeply? What kind of college environment would suit you? What possibilities have you not considered yet?

By the time applications begin, you have spent years building the habits, experiences, and self-knowledge that make those decisions easier to understand. And because college counseling has been part of your TJ experience throughout those years, you are not starting the process with someone who has just met you.

Meet Eric Steere

Director of College Counseling

EMAIL ERIC

As TJ's Director of College Counseling and faculty member, I am proud to be part of a community that so clearly knows and cares about its students. There is magic that happens when these relationships are strong, when young people invest in their education and become the drivers of their plans.

A Counselor with an International Perspective

I studied International Relations at the University of St. Andrews and Durham University in the UK. A short but entertaining career as a freelance writer followed before I found my calling in education. I have taught and worked as a college counselor in a variety of settings, from community college and university to an IB boarding school in South India, and most recently at an American international school in the UAE.

Having grown up in New Jersey, which is like a cross-section of the world, and through my career in education, I am sensitive to the concerns families from all backgrounds have when considering options for higher education. My goal is to help students learn how to become the best version of themselves by accompanying them through this process. Beyond gaining admission to a college where they will thrive, they will learn how to make the most of their college experience and stretch their expectations of what they can achieve beyond.

Eric Steere, Director of College Counseling.

Ready for What Comes Next

Our Mission

Thomas Jefferson School engages its students in the education necessary to live as responsible citizens of the world. Through the strongest possible college-preparatory program and within a nurturing community, students develop a responsibility for their own learning and a desire to lift up the world with beauty and intellect.

Preparation with a Purpose

College counseling is part of how TJ carries that mission forward.

Throughout the school's history, 100 percent of its graduates have been admitted to college, and many have continued their education in graduate or professional schools. Every student receives a great deal of individual attention throughout the college application process. The Director of College Counseling meets with every grade level multiple times each year to prepare them for the college search and application process.

Preparation for college at TJ is also preparation for the independence that comes after it.

Where That Preparation Leads

The goal is larger than completing an application. Students leave TJ prepared to make informed choices about what comes next and to take responsibility for what they do when they get there.

100%

of TJ graduates have been admitted to college throughout the school's history.

1390–1530

SAT mid-50% range.

50+

colleges and universities visit TJ each year.

Grades 7–12

College preparation develops throughout a student's years at TJ.

College Counseling Year by Year

Middle School

In these years, developing a strong foundation in academic skills and study habits is paramount, and the TJ College Counseling Office works with middle schoolers to prepare them for academic success in high school. Students also learn how to access support and help in their new community.

9th Grade

Students are guided by the College Counseling Office to better understand what it means to be a member of the TJ community and how they can define their impact in the classroom through involvement in TJ’s clubs, activities, and athletics. Students are onboarded to Scoir, TJ’s college counseling platform. Students also reflect on their first career assessment, a personality test informed by Jungian archetypes.

10th Grade

Students build on their foundations for a successful TJ career, learning how their interests and goals enrich community life as they grow into leaders at TJ. Students are guided through developing their activities list, building a resume, reviewing and understanding PSAT results, and attending university visits. Colleges evaluate a student’s GPA and course selection from freshman year to senior year, and the college counselor works with each student to determine their plan for the road ahead. Students also take a careers assessment based on John Holland’s occupational themes and reflect on their results as they relate to their goals at TJ and beyond.

11th Grade

Breaking down each step of the planning process into manageable objectives, students develop an activity list, research colleges, continue to explore career interests and college majors, and develop a timeline and checklist to organize their plans. Through critical self-reflection, students assess where they are in their college search process and articulate where they want to go. The seminar culminates in a final presentation (to the college counselor) in which each student describes how they developed their college list and how it connects to their plans beyond TJ.

12th Grade

Students work through the completion of each constituent part of their college application: application essays, activities list, CommonApp support, financial aid and scholarship applications, and strategies for leaving TJ and making the most of college.