The Journey to the Right “Fit”: LuHi’s Comprehensive Approach to College & Beyond
LuHi has served over 5,500 students in more than 60 years of providing college preparatory middle and high school education. While the college seeking, application, acceptance, and decision process has seen incredible shifts over the years of LuHi’s operation, one thing has remained consistent: LuHi’s School Counselors, from grades 6 through 12, work alongside students and families, meeting them where they are in order to support present and future decision-making as students become who God intends them to be.
Our Counselors & Philosophy
LuHi’s team supports students and families in identifying each student’s God-given talents and gifts, selecting courses that challenge and support their post-high school goals and seeking the best “fit” for their post-LuHi journey. Walking side-by-side throughout the experience, LuHi’s School Counselors learn about each student and family, guiding them with compassion and transparency through the process. While the formalized college process accelerates in students’ junior year, it begins even before they enroll at LuHi.
A recent NAIS blog post by President Debra P. Wilson noted, “…as admission decisions continue to get more haphazard, it becomes more crucial to help parents and students understand…—that the success of college or university placement is not where a student goes, but what they do when they get there, and beyond.” This aligns with LuHi’s focus: each student is a unique child of God, created in the image of God, with unique God-given talents and gifts. From enrollment to graduation, our fervent prayer is that each student finds the best possible fit for their unique goals, values, passions, and skills.
Course Offerings
Each year our team of teachers, counselors, and administrators evaluates the course offerings at each level. Each 6th and 7th grader has access to a Focus course, designed to support growth in executive function and communication skills, as well as provide acceleration or skill support, especially as they acclimate to middle school. New in 2024-25, all students in grades 7, 8, and 9 can explore computer science and hands-on engineering skills through newly offered general STEM courses.
In high school, students have access to College Prep, Honors, and Advanced Placement (AP) level courses. Freshman Seminar offers 9th graders an opportunity to build skills and mindsets necessary for success in high school. Elective courses are added and revised each year to fit the needs of our current student body, with electives available in nearly every academic department. We are poised to offer 20 AP course offerings this coming school year. Starting this year, all seniors will be required to take a semester-long Financial Literacy course, recognizing the critical importance of the development of knowledge and dispositions as they make financial decisions both in high school and beyond.
From 6th through 12th grade, emphasis is placed on the completion of a research-based position paper. With a different focus each year, this long-term process is highly scaffolded early on and gradually becomes more and more independent as students develop the skills necessary to independently take on the rigor of college writing. Regularly, alumni cite their preparation in writing as a strong suit of a LuHi education.
Annual Course Selection
Each Spring, counselors meet with each student to facilitate course selection for the following school year. Based on teacher recommendation, student interest, and family input, a schedule is crafted, supporting students to meet credit requirements and poise themselves to meet future goals. While different in scope, a key component of these conversations is on identifying and pursuing an appropriate degree of challenge for each student. Unlike some other schools our size, LuHi does not require students to choose an honors track or a college prep track. Students may seek increased challenge in some areas, but not others, depending on their unique profile. Throughout the years, families and counselors build relationships and course selections are intentional, focused on both student strengths and aspirations!
6th Grade College Day
Each year, LuHi 6th graders spend a day immersed in learning about colleges and universities, exploring them through online research and perusal of college materials. Our School Counseling team inquires with a variety of colleges and universities and a selection of roughly 6-12 are chosen, representing a variety of regions, sizes, and school identities. Teams of students work together to research their assigned college and prepare for a College Information Fair, visited by students, faculty, and staff.
Beginning in 9th grade, students have access to their own Naviance account, where they are introduced to self-discovery and career planning tools. As students move through high school Naviance becomes a central location for investigating admissions trends by college, requesting recommendation letters, uploading test scores, and more. To ensure students are able to maximize the tool, our school counselors push in to classrooms regularly to engage in training and support within Naviance!
Freshman Family Night
The transition from middle to high school can be a challenge, and our 9th grade family night is designed to support families in their journey! Complete with games and rich discussion, the evening helps families to understand the preparation for the college process beginning in 9th grade.
Inside College Admissions Event
This annual family night for high school students is a highlight of each year. Our school counseling office brings in Admissions Counselors from a variety of colleges and universities, each offering up their own advice and insight as a panelist. With the intention of providing representation from a variety of schools, this evening truly provides a “behind the scenes” view of the college admissions process, from those who live it each day!
Career Day
Following School Counseling Office push-ins involving career inventories, LuHi offers 10th and 11th grade students an opportunity to hear directly from professionals in a variety of fields, both via a panel discussion with the entire group, and then in smaller groups with our 11th graders, who are able to choose which career paths resonate most with them. Beginning in 2024-25, we are looking forward to focusing on bringing LuHi alumni into this informative event.
Junior College Meetings
Often one of the most impactful events of the college process, the junior college meeting is an opportunity for each student, their family, and their counselor to meet and discuss post-LuHi priorities, set clear expectations around the college process, and begin to narrow down and focus in on the best fit for each student. Lasting about an hour, these individually tailored conversations are just one part of the partnership model at LuHi!
Onsite College Visits
Our School Counseling Office is regularly approached by colleges wishing to meet LuHi students, and throughout the fall semester, several colleges visit each week for lunch meetings with groups of students. This year, LuHi hosted three Mini College Fairs, hosting multiple college representatives on campus to meet with students across all grade levels. These are opportunities for our students to interact with an Admissions Counselor as well as to learn more about each college’s unique features and admissions priorities. All students are encouraged to attend a few of these, even if they don’t necessarily have an interest in a particular college.
College Week & Onsite Admissions
In late fall of each school year, the School Counseling office hosts College Week, where students are encouraged to participate in college-related trivia questions. There are daily opportunities for all students, grades 6 through 12, to win college-related prizes! On the last date of College Week, students and faculty are encouraged to wear college t-shirts or non-hooded sweatshirts. During College Week, the School Counseling office invites several local universities, including St. John’s University, Molloy University, and SUNY Old Westbury, for onsite admissions days here at LuHi. With the support of our school counselors, seniors are able to receive on the spot acceptances and often financial aid awards, as their application materials have been vetted before the onsite admission day. This is a wonderful boost for our students, as they can head into the Christmas break with at least one acceptance!
College Commitment Celebration
With many colleges requiring commitment by May 1, the days leading up to May are both an exciting and sometimes nerve-wracking time for our seniors. Our School Counseling Office hosts a celebration of college commitments, during which we ask our students to wear the t-shirt or sweatshirt of their chosen institution, take a group photo, and enjoy some eclairs in the mansion courtyard in celebration of the d’eclair-ation of senior’s college choice. By this time, there is a collective air of excitement and celebration!
On the Horizon
Our School Counseling Office is in the process of arranging one or more college visit day trips for Juniors and Seniors this coming school year.