College and Career Counseling

The college admissions process for students is very different from the experience of their parents; deadlines are much earlier, costs are higher and the admissions pool is more competitive. College-bound students fare better with a college planning program that starts earlier in upper school and walks them through the process from choosing a major to choosing colleges and applying for scholarships and financial aid. There are more decisions for students to make and parents should be in on the process so that they can benefit from school resources as well. WCA students begin to get practice in college admission testing as freshmen, complete career assessment as sophomores to identify their college major, and participate in advising throughout grade 11 to develop a college list and continue to add to their qualifications and begin essay writing.

As their senior year begins, WCA students are ready to hit send on their college applications and move on to the scholarship application process. Williamsburg Christian Academy’s dedicated College Counselor provides individual student and parent counseling early to encourage academic choices and extracurricular involvement for the desired college track. Coordinated on-campus college admissions testing and on-campus college visits add to the ease of the college process for WCA families and success for college-bound students.

Upper School Career Program

Customized Career Planning

Motivating students to develop a customized plan for life after high school graduation is the objective of the Upper School Career Planning Program. An important foundation of developing that plan is establishing an understanding of the unique gifts and talents of each student and building a plan upon that knowledge. A key element of the Upper School Career Program is testing to help students begin to see their future and realize it is closer than it appears. Our experience working with students is that their future success depends on them seeing the relationship between their gifts and their options. To further facilitate their plan, students engage in advanced career assessment testing and participate in school and community resume-building activities and internships to gain experience in leadership, team skills and communication. Career advising provided at WCA goes beyond planning alone. Assistance is also provided with choice of career direction, related testing, and applications.

Postsecondary College and Career Education

WCA student preparation for the best employment outcomes can involve college or technical school, apprenticeship, or military training. The path to each of these options is unique and costs vary. Support provided by WCA to help students access their chosen path include identification of education or training requirements, assessment of qualifications, and direction to opportunities to gain admission and sources of funding. WCA staff are experienced in college admissions, financial aid and scholarships, military and apprenticeship prerequisites, and required testing and administers the full range of college testing on campus. WCA works with military recruiters to assist students interested in military post-secondary testing, application, and training.