College Counseling
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West Sound Academy inspires students to embark on a learning journey to ignite their curiosity and encourage them to make their own unique impact in the world. The college counselor works closely with learners, caregivers, teachers, and advisors and focuses on supporting students in finding the path that best matches their abilities, interests, and aspirations.
Our International Baccalaureate-based curriculum empowers students to think critically, engage globally, and actively pursue their unique passions in an encouraging educational environment. The self-management, communication, and research skills students develop from middle school through high school prepare them to succeed in whichever path they pursue after graduation. Read more about how the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme prepares students to excel in college and beyond here: What is IB?
We believe there are multiple options for a "best fit" next step for our students, and our program focuses on helping students take an analytical approach to creating and evaluating a list of potential schools.
Our Academic & College Counseling Office offers a variety of opportunities for our students:
- One-on-one advising. Beginning informally in middle school, our counselor helps students envision their post-secondary goals and establish a strong academic record during advisory. Our small case-loads allow them to get to know each student personally and provide tailored guidance to each family.
- Advisory College Workshops. All 11th and 12th-grade students explore college majors and career fit through interest and aptitude assessments, and begin building a resume. In the spring of junior year, students are guided through brainstorming exercises to help craft their personal statements and given guidance on building their college lists.
- Additional preparatory opportunities. Students can also meet with visiting college representatives, visit local colleges, attend college application workshops, and participate in college application essay and application reviews.
Our open-door policy allows students to stop in with quick questions and easily schedule longer sit-down appointments. Parents are also welcome to schedule in-person or virtual meetings with the college counselor.
As additional support for college and career exploration, WSA offers SCOIR, a comprehensive college and career software for all 9th through 12th-grade students and their parents, which provides each student with a personalized profile and the opportunity to engage in career assessments, access scholarship databases and résumé-building tools, and research potential colleges.
For information about our school, please see the WSA 2025-2026 School Profile
Where do WSA Graduates go to college?
West Sound Academy blog post: Caps, Gowns, and Big Plans: WSA Celebrates Declaration Day 2026.
WSA Voices
We consistently hear from WSA alumni that they are well-prepared to be successful in their college or university programs. Here’s what some of them say:
“Oh, I definitely felt prepared for college. Especially thanks to the volume and quality of readings we did in English and History class. I can manage my workload in university really well.”
WSA graduate, class of 2021
“I feel especially confident to contribute to discussions in college, thanks to WSA. I got a lot of practice speaking in a scholarly way in discussion-based classes. I struggled with anxiety in high school, but I always felt like we could come to class and discuss our readings, and listen to each other’s perspectives.”
WSA graduate, Class of 2020
“My history class at WSA with the amount of reading, and the textbook outlines were really helpful experiences - to be forced to look at something really quickly and take something from it - for specific tasks and being able to pull out meaningful points from the reading really prepared me for my upper level History major readings in college. I saw my peers struggling to keep up with History readings in the first few years of college.”
WSA graduate, Class of 2019
“One thing that WSA gave me, that I don’t see my peers in college have, is confidence when approaching professors. I hear my peers say “Oh, I couldn’t possibly talk to the professor.” and I don’t have that hesitance. I think it’s thanks to the close relationships with teachers that were fostered at WSA.”
WSA graduate, Class of 2018