The college counseling team begins working with students and their families in the ninth grade. Freshmen and sophomores at Trinity-Pawling are consistently exposed to a college preparatory atmosphere, and also complete a Winter Project during Wintersession — collaborating with peers and faculty members on an interdisciplinary topic.

Throughout freshman and sophomore year, students are also encouraged to:

• Maintain good academic and effort grades
• Meet with their advisors to plan a challenging, yet appropriate class schedule
• Participate in extracurricular school activities
• Visit college campuses

The college process jumps into high gear in junior year. Juniors typically take the PSAT in October. Each December, juniors and their parents also attend College Launch Day before Christmas Break. Upon returning in the winter, they meet individually with their college counselor to begin focusing on individual college objectives. At the same time, juniors begin preparing for the SAT, SAT Subject, and/or ACT exams — all of which are administered numerous times throughout the year on campus. They also participate in the Global Collaborative Challenge, in which they work in groups to tackle global issues, find insightful solutions, and present those solutions to a faculty panel.

The college counseling team works throughout the summer communicating with rising seniors and postgraduates about their college essays. During the summer, students often begin brainstorming for their Senior Independent Projects, which are incorporated into the college process either as the topic of their Common Application essay or a talking point with visiting college representatives throughout the fall. Seniors also have the opportunity throughout the fall to meet with numerous college representatives for group sessions or one-on-one interviews. Applications are polished and completed in October and electronically filed before each individual college deadline.