Raising Horizons, FEB'13

Raising Horizons: College Counseling for the World of Boys

Wednesday, February 20 to Friday, February 22, 2013
The Haverford School, Haverford, PA


Welcome to the web pages for Raising Horizons: College Counseling for the World of Boys, at The Haverford School, Philadelphia, PA from February 20-22, 2013.

The conference begins at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20 with an opening session and dinner, continues on Thursday, February 21, and concludes on Friday, February 22 by noon.

The cost is $295 per delegate. All meals are included. Registration is live.

As the title vividly suggests, this conference centered on helping boys to optimize and broaden their thinking and decision-making in the college application process, to think “outside the box” (such as a Gap Year program or overseas universities), and to resist the easy way of peers. We also focused on what we might do—at our level of influence and impact—in response to many boys’ narrowing of horizon in transition to and in the early years of college: diminishing motivation and focus, higher dropout rates, delay and uncertainty in program choice, etc.

Some updates:

  • Our dinner speaker on Wednesday evening, February 20 was Daniel Weiss, the current president of Lafayette College and the incoming president of Haverford College. Dan’s address and conversation with us will focus on the “value of a liberal education”. Dan hosted a major conference at Lafayette last Spring on “the Future of the Liberal Arts College”. This is an opportunity to get beyond the rhetoric, sharpen our understanding, and equip us with some cutting-edge ideas for our conversations with boys and their parents.
  • Our workshop leader for Thursday morning was Dr. Michael Reichert, who is the long-standing consulting psychologist at The Haverford School, and a researcher/writer on masculinity and education. He is the co-author of the IBSC’s 2010 report on effective lessons for boys, and of the forthcoming For Whom the Boy Toils: The Primacy of Relationship in Boys’ Learning. Mike brings a wealth of very practical experience with boys’ psychology, and is well-versed in our work. He will explore with us ways to help boys lift their horizons during the college admission process, and probe some of those behaviours in later adolescence, at school as well as at college, that can obstruct or cloud the way.
  • Freshmen Deans and other representatives from local colleges and universities hosted a panel discussion during our working dinner on Thursday evening.

On Thursday afternoon we held coordinated visits to local colleges and universities. On our list were Penn, Drexel, St Joseph’s University, Haverford College, Swarthmore College, and Villanova.

As in our past gatherings, this conference provided an opportunity to focus on the specific needs of boys in the college counseling process, to share effective practices and challenges, and to explore ways to ensure that every boy finds the best college for his potential and ambition. It almost goes without saying that this conference was also a wonderful opportunity for good fellowship and friend-building.