POSITION TITLE: K-12 College Counselor
REPORTING TO: Assistant Headmaster
☐ Certificated or ☐ Classified ☐ Exempt or ☐ Non-Exempt
GENERAL SUMMARY: The job of College Counselor was established for the purpose of guiding OCCA students and families through the college search, application, and testing process in a manner consistent with the school's classical mission, and of serving as the school's official point of contact for all college-related records, testing, and institutional relationships.
This position is distinguished from similar jobs by its dual nature as both a mission-driven student mentor and an office of record: the College Counselor combines individualized advising and relationship-building with detailed administrative responsibility for testing, transcripts, and institutional data, in the absence of a separate registrar. Incumbents are expected to work independently within established policies and to exercise sound, unbiased judgment in service of each student and family.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
Student Advising and Mentorship
- Serve as senior adviser; meet individually with every senior on a regular (at minimum weekly) basis to keep the application process on track from start to finish.
- Meet with juniors and their families to begin building a balanced, mission-aligned post-secondary plan.
- Guide students in exploring majors, careers, and vocations — including non-traditional paths such as military service, gap years, trade apprenticeships, and technical certification.
- Offer honest, rigorous feedback on essays and application materials without ever writing on a student's behalf.
- Give families pragmatic, individually tailored guidance and an outside, unbiased perspective that helps preserve the parent-student relationship through a stressful season.
- Advocate for the whole-child/whole-person formation of each student — intellectual, moral, and vocational — in all advising, recommendations, and communications with colleges, rather than reducing students to test scores or credentials.
Standardized Testing
- Manage all high school standardized testing (PSAT, SAT, ACT, CLT, AP), including registration, ordering of materials, and scheduling.
- Serve as the school's Test Center Coordinator, AP Coordinator, and SAT/PSAT Coordinator: communicate directly with the College Board, ACT, and CLT, and recruit and train staff proctors.
- Track how testing policy changes (test-optional admissions, digital/online formats, emerging tests such as the CLT) affect students, and keep faculty informed of testing's impact on instructional schedules.
Records, Transcripts, and Institutional Systems
- Serve as the school's official for every college-related form and document — letters of recommendation, the School Profile, and transcripts.
- Oversee every transcript sent to a college, scholarship program, or other outside institution (OCCA has no separate registrar; transcripts are generated through the school's grading system but issued under the College Counselor's authority).
- Administer Naviance (or the school's designated college-planning platform) to manage student profiles, track applications and deadlines, and transmit transcripts and supporting documents.
- Author thoughtful, narrative counselor letters of recommendation that reflect each student's character and intellectual growth.
- Train classroom faculty in writing effective recommendation letters and manage internal deadlines for teacher letters.
- Maintain a database of applications, decisions, and acceptances, and preserve the school's institutional knowledge of its history with individual colleges and programs.
- Create and annually update the School Profile so admissions offices clearly understand the rigor and distinctives of OCCA's classical curriculum.
College and Scholarship Relations
- Serve as the school's primary point of contact with colleges, universities, and scholarship programs.
- Build and sustain relationships with admissions officers, clearly communicating the rigor and distinctives of OCCA's classical transcript.
- Coordinate college fairs; schedule and host on-campus college visits and admissions-representative meetings with students.
- Follow up with admissions and financial aid offices on behalf of students as needed, and advocate for students in scholarship and financial-aid considerations.
- Guide students in identifying and completing scholarship applications.
Family and Community Communication
- Serve as the primary point of communication with parents and students on the college search, application, and testing process.
- Advise and assist families with FAFSA applications and other financial-aid forms, including the CSS Profile.
- Inform families of summer study, enrichment opportunities, and summer experiences or internships abroad.
- Communicate with high school faculty regarding recommendation-letter deadlines and testing schedules as these affect their teaching.
Programming and Events
- Plan and host Scholarship Night, and assist school administration with Commencement.
- Plan grade-level parent nights and financial-aid workshops.
- Coordinate the Upper School/Lower School Cultural & Beauty Connection, extending classical formation and cultural enrichment across grade levels.
- Organize other educational programming for students and families.
PR and Marketing
- Produce an annual Post-Graduation Newsletter announcing senior matriculation decisions, maintained as a sample resource in Hillsdale's school library of BCSI materials.
- Publish regular Alumni Newsletters to sustain relationships with graduates and to showcase college-counseling outcomes to the school community.
Dual Enrollment and Alumni Relations
- Manage the school's dual-enrollment partnership with colleges that are chosen to partner with the school, including coordinating and supporting student enrollment in college courses.
- Manage alumni relations, maintaining contact with graduates to track outcomes and strengthen the school's ongoing relationships with colleges and the broader community.
Other Duties
- Demonstrate knowledge and support of OCCA's mission, vision, and values, and of Hillsdale's classical education philosophy, as well as school policies, procedures, and standards of confidentiality and ethical conduct.
- Pursue ongoing professional development to stay current on admissions trends such as test-optional policies, digital testing, and shifts in financial aid.
- Perform other related duties as required and assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:
1) Required knowledge, skills & abilities:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write compelling, character-driven letters of recommendation.
- Working knowledge of standardized testing (SAT, ACT, CLT, AP), application platforms (Common App), college-planning software (e.g., Naviance), and financial-aid processes (FAFSA, CSS Profile).
- Demonstrated ability to build warm, trustworthy relationships with students, parents, faculty, and college admissions representatives.
- Strong organizational skills and the ability to independently manage detailed records, deadlines, and databases.
- Sound judgment regarding the psychological and family dynamics that often accompany the college admission process.
- A genuine and demonstrated commitment to the mission and philosophy of classical education.
2) Minimum educational level:
- Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree in counseling, higher education, or the humanities preferred. A California Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) credential with a School Counseling specialization is preferred.
3) Experience required:
- Experience advising students through the college admissions process strongly preferred; background in school counseling, college admissions, or a related field is a plus.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and college-planning or student information platforms.
4) Physical requirements:
- Sitting, walking, or standing for extended periods of time.
- Dexterity of hands and fingers to operate a computer keyboard and standard office equipment.
- See and read a computer screen and printed matter with or without vision aids.
- Hear and understand speech at normal levels and on the telephone.
- Occasional lifting and carrying of event or testing materials up to 20 pounds.
- Ability to travel locally for college visits, fairs, and off-site events.
Work environment:
- Work indoors in a standard office environment, computer lab, and/or classroom environment. Work is performed in indoor and outdoor environments.
- Exposure to dust, oils, and cleaning chemicals.
- Some exposure to childhood and other diseases in a school environment.
- May be required to work outside of normal workdays and office hours to meet operational deadlines.
This position description intends to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities. The order in which duties and responsibilities are listed is not significant.
Pay: $102,000.00 - $144,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
