College Counseling

College Counseling

No matter where Cushing students picture life taking them next, our college counselors are expert guides along the path. The team understands each students’ unique profile, listens carefully to their hopes and dreams, and shares extensive knowledge and research to guide them to their post-Cushing homes.  

Finding the Best Fit for Each Penguin

At Cushing, our college counselors not only have five decades of combined experience, but they also know our students deeply. They serve as dorm parents, share meals together, and coach athletics. Those multiple connections help counselors truly understand each student’s gifts and challenges, motivations and desires. This information, in turn, helps our counselors expertly advise students, helping students identify and win acceptance to a college that is just right for them.

 

 


Experts on Multiple Fronts 

Our counselors know colleges across the country and around the world as well. They see each Penguin as an individual and partner with students and parents to identify right-fit schools. In recent years, our counselors have found options for students looking for offerings as diverse as:

  • Neuroscience at a women’s college, where playing basketball might be an option
  • Strong Russian, Chinese, and Spanish departments
  • Preparation for a career associated with Formula One car racing
  • Division 3 women’s golf opportunities for an international student
  • A fire sciences program that could eventually lead to a bachelor’s degree
  • Hospitality management with a strong learning support program

Cushing’s college counselors are also committed to working with students and parents as a team throughout the process. The office sends regular, detailed communication to parents on topics including standardized testing and financial aid. A member of the staff also writes a biweekly newsletter to share news about admission insights and trends.

 



Super Support From Start to Finish

First Year 

The primary focus for ninth graders is settling in at Cushing. College counseling aims to simply begin  a relationship. Our office becomes an essential pit stop in students’ days by offering a well-stocked candy bowl. We also touch base in Connections class to help students self-identify key personality traits that will later guide good college choices. Younger students also witness Decision Day in the spring — a beloved tradition. Walking through the celebration of current seniors decked out in their college gear, they begin to imagine that same bright future for themselves.

 

Sophomore Year

College counseling touches base again this year in the Connections class. Tenth grade students participate in a mock admissions exercise, reviewing fictional application files and deciding whether to accept, waitlist, or deny. This helps demystify the process and allows students to understand how universities make decisions as they consider how to put their own best foot forward.

 

Junior Year

In November, students are matched with counselors (student requests are considered in making the pairings) and by the winter juniors begin one-on-one and group sessions to identify schools to consider, work on the common application, and begin writing essays.

As they create the list of schools for each student to consider, Cushing counselors pay attention to what students want in a college — including size, location, major, activities. That picture of a “model college” guides counselors as they suggest an initial list to students (cc-ing parents). 

 


Senior Year

In the senior year, counselors work side-by-side with students, honing final school lists, reviewing applications and essays, practicing admissions interviews, and strategizing the best ways to make an impression on each student's schools of choice. After acceptances come out, they guide students and families through the process of making the final decision.

 

This intentional, individualized process means students and their families graduate feeling great about the next step. In surveys, more than 90 percent of Cushing families over the past ten years report that they were extremely satisfied with the college counseling experience.

 


Helping Student-Athletes Achieve Their Goals 

As athletes themselves, Cushing’s college counselors are ready to guide the 25 percent of Penguins  continuing on to play collegiate-level sports. Their support for those who begin their Cushing careers later in high school, especially seniors and post-graduate students, begins upon enrollment. For students who take a gap year or play their sport professionally immediately after Cushing, the counselors will still be a resource when an alum is ready to head to college.

 


Meet Our College Counseling Team

 


Information for College Representatives 

As a private, coeducational secondary school founded in 1865, Cushing Academy continues to uphold traditions and values that stand the test of time. Our beautiful setting, warm community, excellent athletics and arts programs, and well-rounded approach create an enriching academic environment that encourages students (grades 9-12 and PG) to thrive and discover their strengths.


For more information about Cushing, please view our 2023-2024 Academic Profile
 

Matriculation List (Classes of 2019-2023)
  • University of Akron
  • The University of Alabama 
  • Allegheny College
  • The American Musical and Dramatic Academy
  • American University 
  • Amherst College
  • Anna Maria College
  • Arizona State University
  • University of Arizona 
  • Art Center College of Design
  • Assumption University 
  • Babson College 
  • Bard College 
  • Barton College
  • Baylor University
  • Bentley University 
  • Berklee College of Music
  • Boston College 
  • Boston University 
  • Brandeis University 
  • Bridgewater State University
  • Brown University 
  • Bryant University
  • Bryn Mawr College
  • Bucknell University 
  • California Polytechnic State University
  • University of California, Berkeley 
  • University of California, Davis 
  • University of California, Irvine 
  • University of California, Los Angeles 
  • University of California, San Diego 
  • University of California, Santa Barbara 
  • University of California, Santa Cruz 
  • Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts, UK
  • Carnegie Mellon University 
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Chapman University
  • CIS-Endicott International, Spain
  • City College of San Francisco
  • Clark University 
  • Clarkson University 
  • Clemson University
  • Colby College 
  • Colgate University
  • University of Colorado Boulder 
  • Colorado College
  • Colorado Mesa University
  • Columbia College Chicago
  • Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania
  • Concordia University, Canada
  • Connecticut College 
  • University of Connecticut
  • Cornell University 
  • Cumberland University
  • Curry College 
  • Dartmouth College
  • Dean College
  • Denison University
  • University of Denver 
  • DePaul University
  • Dickinson College 
  • Drew University 
  • Drexel University
  • Duke University 
  • Duquesne University
  • Elmira College
  • Elon University
  • Emerson College 
  • Emmanuel College 
  • Emory University
  • Endicott College 
  • Fairfield University 
  • Fashion Institute of Technology
  • Fisher College
  • Florida Southern College
  • Fordham University
  • Franciscan University of Steubenville 
  • Franklin and Marshall College
  • Franklin Pierce University 
  • George Mason University 
  • The George Washington University 
  • Hanover College
  • Harvard University
  • High Point University
  • Hobart William Smith Colleges 
  • Hofstra University 
  • College of the Holy Cross 
  • Huron University College, Canada
  • Hutchinson Community College
  • IE University, Madrid
  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 
  • Imperial College London, UK
  • Indiana University, Bloomington 
  • University of Indianapolis 
  • University of Iowa
  • Ithaca College 
  • Jacksonville University
  • Johnson & Wales University
  • Keene State College 
  • Keio University, Japan
  • King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand
  • Lafayette College
  • Lehigh University 
  • Los Angeles College of Music
  • Loughborough College, UK
  • Loyola Marymount University
  • Loyola University Chicago
  • Loyola University New Orleans
  • Lynn University 
  • Macalester College
  • University of Maine 
  • Marist College 
  • Marquette University
  • Marymount University
  • University of Massachusetts, Amherst 
  • University of Massachusetts, Boston
  • University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
  • University of Massachusetts, Lowell 
  • McGill University, Canada
  • Menlo College
  • Merrimack College 
  • Miami University, Oxford 
  • University of Miami
  • Michigan State University
  • University of Michigan 
  • Middlebury College 
  • Middlesex Community College
  • Midwestern State University
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Mississippi
  • Mitchell College 
  • Monmouth University
  • Montana State University
  • Mount Holyoke College 
  • Mount Wachusett Community College 
  • Muhlenberg College
  • University of New England
  • University of New Hampshire 
  • The New School
  • New York University 
  • Northeastern University 
  • Nova Southeastern University
  • Oberlin College
  • The Ohio State University
  • Pace University 
  • University of the Pacific
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Post University
  • Pratt Institute 
  • Princeton University
  • Providence College 
  • Purdue University 
  • Queen's University, Canada
  • Quinnipiac University 
  • Quinsigamond Community College
  • Regis College
  • Rhode Island College 
  • University of Rhode Island
  • Rice University
  • Ritsumeikan University, Japan 
  • Rochester Institute of Technology 
  • University of Rochester 
  • Roger Williams University 
  • Rutgers University, Camden
  • Rutgers University 
  • Sacred Heart University 
  • Saint Anselm College 
  • Saint Francis University
  • Saint Michael's College 
  • Salem State University 
  • Salve Regina University 
  • University of San Diego 
  • University of San Francisco
  • Savannah College of Art & Design 
  • Scripps College
  • Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Canada
  • Siena College
  • Simmons University
  • Skidmore College 
  • University of Southern California 
  • University of Southern Maine
  • Southern Methodist University
  • Southern New Hampshire University
  • Southern Utah University
  • Springfield College 
  • Springfield Technical Community College
  • St. Lawrence University 
  • St Olaf College
  • Stanford University
  • Stevenson University
  • Stonehill College 
  • Stony Brook University
  • Suffolk University 
  • Susquehanna University
  • Syracuse University 
  • The University of Tampa
  • Temple University
  • Texas Christian University
  • University of Toronto, Canada 
  • Trinity College 
  • Truckee Meadows Community College
  • Tufts University 
  • Tulane University
  • Tyler Junior College
  • Ulster County Community College
  • Union College 
  • University at Albany, SUNY
  • University at Buffalo
  • University of St Andrews, UK
  • University of Stirling, UK
  • University of Utah 
  • Utica University
  • Vanderbilt University
  • University of Vermont 
  • University of Victoria, Canada
  • Villanova University
  • Virginia Military Institute
  • Virginia Tech
  • Washington University in St. Louis
  • University of Washington 
  • University of Waterloo, Canada
  • Wellesley College
  • Wentworth Institute of Technology 
  • Western University, Canada
  • Wheaton College, Massachusetts 
  • Whitman College
  • University of Windsor, Canada
  • University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute 
  • University of Wyoming


We Schedule 100+ College Admissions Visits Each Year 

The College Counseling Office welcomes more than 100 college admission officers each year. Please use Counselor Community to schedule your visit. Our Academic Calendar can guide you as you plan your appointment. Cushing is located in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, approximately one hour west of Boston. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact our office at (978) 827-7025.

 

 

 

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