College Advising

The College Advising Office provides an individualized process for each and every student.

Our experienced team of college advisors educates, guides, and supports students as they go through the process of self-assessment, research, application, and college choice. We look beyond the numbers of GPA and test scores to help students and their families find the college with the best overall fit and where students will find success.

Our Approach
The College Advising Office is open to students and parents of all grade levels. Students will begin meeting in groups in the ninth and tenth grade to understand the resources available to them at KUA and learn how to get an advantage in the process during the summer months. Students are then assigned an individual college advisor at the beginning of their junior year and will begin meeting in November and continue throughout their senior year.

Our Team
We have more than 70 years of combined experience working in college advising and college admission offices. We work alongside students as teachers, coaches, advisors, and dorm parents, providing valuable insight into our students’ lives.

Additional Resources
We offer free SAT and ACT test prep for all students and can connect students and families with outside tutors who offer in-person and virtual test preparation sessions.

Helpful Hints

List of 5 items.

Freshman Year
Academics:
- It is important to begin high school as strong as possible. The later you are in your high school career, the more difficult it is to improve your G.P.A. Make certain that you are doing all the work required of you in each of your classes.
- Building relationships with teachers can be quite positive. Make the most of office hours and ask for assistance as needed.
- Establish good study habits early.
- Read, read, and read some more. This is perhaps the best thing you can do to improve your standardized test scores and academic performance.
Involvement:
- Look for opportunities to develop non-academic skills such as leadership, creativity, responsibility, special talents, and individuality.
- The earlier you become involved in activities, the easier it will be to achieve leadership roles in those activities.
- The more activities you try early, the easier it will be to determine which activities hold the most interest to you.
Sophomore Year
Academics:
- If appropriate, challenge yourself with honors classes.
- Take the PSAT for the first time.
- Begin to include college campus visits as part of your family vacations or KUA long weekends and breaks.
- Register for the June SAT Subject Tests if appropriate. See your college advisor for more details.
- Read, read, and read some more. This is perhaps the best thing you can do to improve your standardized test scores and academic performance.
Involvement:
- Look for opportunities to develop non-academic skills such as leadership, creativity, responsibility, special talents, and individuality.
- The earlier you become involved in activities, the easier it will be to achieve leadership roles in those activities.
- The more activities you try early, the easier it will be to determine which activities hold the most interest to you.
Junior Year
September
- Prepare for the PSAT.
- The October test will be used to determine the National Merit Semifinalists and Commended students.
- Visit with college representatives at KUA.
- Work on maintaining or improving your grades. Grades from your junior year and first trimester of senior year will be the most important.
October
- Visit with college representatives at KUA.
- Take the PSAT/NMSQT at KUA.
November
- Schedule an appointment with Mr. G to review your progress.
January
- Results of the PSAT are returned to students.
- Review your scores to help identify the areas you need to concentrate on in your preparation for the SAT.
- Begin preparation for the SAT and ACT. Use our online software, Method Test Prep.
- Plan on taking the April ACT and the May SAT at KUA.
- Receive your college advisor assignment. Schedule a meeting with your college advisor to begin the college selection process.
February
- Register for the April ACT and the May SAT.
- Attend the College Planning Weekend.
March
- Schedule college campus visits during spring break.
April
- Take the ACT at KUA.
- Attend the college fair at Colby-Sawyer (required junior class activity).
- Apply for Pre-College Programs over the summer.
- Register for the June SAT Subject Tests, if appropriate.
May
- Take the SAT at KUA.
- Identify two current teachers (one English or History and one Math or Science) to write letters of recommendation.
- Division I or II athletic recruits.
- Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. This is required to make an “official” visit as a prospective student-athlete or to play at the Division I or II levels. Register online at www.eligibilitycenter.org.
Pre-Senior Year Summer
June-July-August
- Read, read, and read some more. This is perhaps the best thing you can do to improve your standardized test scores and academic performance.
- Visit college websites and look through college guidebooks.
  - The Fiske Guide to Colleges, Princeton Review’s Best 378, Peterson’s Competitive Colleges, The Insiders Guide to the Colleges, and Colleges That Change Lives
  - Make college campus visits.
  - Read carefully the brochures you receive in the mail or in the admissions office.
  - Begin thinking about and creating a draft of your college essay. Use the Common Application topics as a guide.
Senior Year
August
- Create your Common Application account at commonapp.org. The application should be available on August 1.
September-October
- Begin working on your applications.
- Link your Naviance account with your Common Application account.
- Schedule meetings with your college advisor.
- Know what your deadlines are and plan so you can meet them.
- Save all of your documents (essays and short answers) so you can use them for other applications.
- Have your college advisor read your essay.
- Early Decision and Early Action applications must be completed now. (Deadlines do vary, but many are November 1 or November 15. The University of California system application process is geared around the month of October.)
- Keep your grades up. The first trimester of senior year is a critical marking period. Some colleges will wait to make a decision until after they see first trimester grades.
- Register to retake the SAT, ACT, or SAT Subject Tests. Over two-thirds of students improve the second time around.
- KUA is a test center for the ACT in October and the SAT/SAT Subject Tests in October, November, December, and January.
- Update/Complete your resume. This will be useful for the “activities” section of most applications as well as helping you organize your thoughts for college admission or alumni interviews.
- Meet with the college reps from any school in which you are interested when they come to KUA.
- Finish campus visits to your top schools. Arrange for permission for these trips with the College Advising Office. Use the designated college visit days in October.
November
- Finish and submit your applications.
- The earlier you have them completed the better.
- Have your college advisor review your application before you submit.
- Make sure you put your full effort into your application.
December
- Complete any applications you still intend to submit.
- Apply for your FAFSA PIN # at pin.ed.gov (if you are planning to apply for need-based financial aid).
January
- Submit any last applications.
- Complete your FAFSA online at fafsa.ed.gov. You may also need to complete the CSS/Profile (if you are planning to apply for need-based financial aid).
- You can file the FAFSA and CSS/Profile before you file your tax forms with the IRS. It is possible to use estimated data, although actual data are better. Some colleges may contact you for an alumni interview.
February-March
- Respond quickly to any requests for additional information from college admissions and financial aid offices.
- Be patient and wait. Admissions offices are very busy and they are doing their best to give your application every possible consideration. This can be a stressful time, so make sure you talk things through…with your friends, your parents, your advisor, or your college advisor.
April
- Finish strong in your classes. Your college will see your final grades. All offers of admission are contingent upon you successfully completing your final trimester. This means performing at the same level you did throughout high school.
- Review all your acceptances and financial aid awards.
- Meet with your college advisor to discuss your college options.
- If you have any doubts about your decision, visit the colleges you have been accepted to: stay overnight, sit in on a class, talk to students and professors, and get a feel for the campus.
- By May 1, notify all colleges who accepted you that you will or will not be enrolling.
- Your enrollment deposit must be paid by May 1 to the college you plan to attend. You may only deposit at one school.
May
- May 1 is the deposit deadline for most colleges.
- Inform your college advisor of your college choice so your final official transcript is sent to the correct school.

Quick Links

List of 3 items.

Helpful Resources

College Matriculation 2017-2020

2020-2021 School Profile

Information on Standardized Testing

College Advising Tool

Meet the College Advisors

List of 4 members.

Gunnar Olson

Director of College Advising

603-469-2175

Bio
A boarding school graduate, Mr. Olson came to KUA in 2019. He spent the l9 years prior to KUA as a college advisor at independent schools in Ohio, Texas, and Alabama. After working at St. Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, he became the Director of College Advising at Indian Springs School in Alabama. In 2016, Mr. Olson moved to Ohio to become the Director of College Counseling at Western Reserve Academy. Before working in boarding schools, Mr. Olson worked on the “college side” of admission in New York and Michigan.

As a student, Mr. Olson was fortunate to work with a wonderful college advisor, who inspired his approach to his work with students. His philosophy for the college search and application process is a student-centered approach, striving to find the right fit for each student. Mr. Olson has presented at various regional and national conferences about all aspects of this process and served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools.

Mr. Olson enjoys living on campus because it allows him to interact with students outside the traditional academic environment. He feels this interaction makes him a better college counselor. He is visible at numerous athletic and cultural events on campus. He enjoys golf, food, old movies, and all sports. Having grown up in New England, he is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He will be living on campus with his wife Anna, a Cubs fan.
Derek Gueldenzoph

Senior Associate Director of College Advising

603-469-2171

Bio
Derek Gueldenzoph came to Kimball Union in 2012 after spending almost 20 years serving in college admissions and financial aid at four different small liberal arts colleges: the Dean of Admissions for St. Olaf College in Minnesota, the Dean of Admissions for The College of Wooster in Ohio, the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Enrollment for Austin College in Texas, and an Admission Counselor for his alma mater, Beloit College. Derek graduated from Beloit with a BA in Psychology and Government and has his MA from Bowling Green State University in College Student Personnel. He played soccer all four years at Beloit and was inducted into their Athletic Hall of Honor in 2011.

Derek is joined at KUA by his wife Margot Gueldenzoph. They live on campus with their two boys, Cole and Reid.
John Kluge

English Teacher, College Advisor

603-469-2191

Alumni 1966
Bio
A 1966 graduate of Kimball Union, John has taught English at KUA since 1989 and was English Department Chair till 2016. Holder of the Lionel Mosher and Peter Holland Chair in English for 25 years, he has taught AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, English IV Honors, English IV, and English III. John has served on many committees in his tenure at KUA and chaired the committees that developed the Writing Across the Curriculum and the Senior Capstone Programs. He also served as chair of the past two NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) self-study committees and played an integral role in preparing the Academy for its NEASC re-accreditations.?

Though a House Parent for many years, John now lives on a hilltop in Enfield, where he is a Town Selectman, a member of the Enfield Planning Board, and often volunteers for the Enfield Shaker Museum. He enjoys, reading, writing, walking through his woods, kayaking, cutting firewood, and playing with his tractor, but his greatest passion is for teaching literature at Kimball Union, where his classes are noted for their energy, their student-centered approach, and their emphasis on writing with clarity and depth of thought.
Heather Vogel

College Advising Office Manager and Advancement Assistant

603-469-2170

Resources for Colleges

Colleges looking to visit KUA in Fall 2020:

We will use Zoom as the virtual visit platform.
Visits will last 25-30 minutes in length.
We will give admission representatives screen sharing rights.
Unless requested ahead of time, all visits will be recorded and available to students through the password-protected KUA portal.
KUA will supply the names, year, and KUA email addresses of students in attendance.
If you are unable to find a time and/or date that works, please contact the College Advising Office so we can make other arrangements.