College Advising at Berkeley High School
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
College essay writing workshop
June 2016
remember Angela Price well. The workshop wasn't offered when we were there, however there were
volunteers who worked with our kids in the College and Career Center. I have the utmost
respect for Ms. Price. If she thinks the workshop is worthwhile, I would certainly take
advantage of it. We spent a few hundred dollars with a private essay writing coach and my
daughter ended up rewriting hers with one of the volunteers at BHS who was recommended by
Angela. My daughter was accepted into 7 schools. Good luck.
Been there
Teacher recommendation letters for college from BHS
April 2015
Hello -- I am writing to ask for any suggestions or perspective on how the teacher recommendation letters work at BHS. My Junior student is in the IB program, and has heard that you can only ask one Math/Science teacher and one Humanities teacher for recommendations. When asking the Science teacher, was told there will be an application process and lottery to determine who gets recommendation letters from this teacher. In general, it seems teachers have been conveying message that there are a lot of students, they'll choose who they'll write letters for, no guarantees, etc. Not entirely the most friendly approach, it seems. I know BHS is huge, and that there are a lot of students and teachers can't write hundreds of letters - but now it seems unclear whether my son's first choice teachers would even agree to write the letters, which are so important for college applications. It's unfortunate that this may be adding another level of stress for students during a process that already has so many elements! Would appreciate perspective of parents who have been through this already. Thank you. anon
My son went through the process this year with no problems. The BHS teachers are very supportive and want to help their students. They do get lots of requests so they need students to ask early so they don't get stuck with lots of letters to do over the winter break. I did not hear of any student not getting the letters they needed. I was really impressed with the college process at BHS. I have other kids who went through the process at private high schools - I thought BHS did a better job of managing things and keeping the stress level down. The college counseling center at BHS is fabulous. Happy BHS Parent
Hi, I teach 9th grade at BHS and most students who take LEAP appreciate it in their schedule. I think LEAP is best for kids who need a break from a large class during the day - who would appreciate a small, close-knit group where they can really get to know their teacher and one another. Besides receiving additional academic support, LEAP students also explore college and career options and take field trips to college campuses. It’s an A-G elective and only offered to 9th graders. The idea is to give 9th graders the strongest start possible to build good habits for the rest of HS.