College Counselor

Saint Ignatius College Prep - Chicago, IL
Description: Saint Ignatius College Prep, a Jesuit Catholic school in the heart of Chicago, is a diverse community dedicated to educating young men and women for lives of faith, love, service and leadership. Through outstanding teaching and personal formation, the school challenges its talented student body to intellectual excellence, integrity, and life-long learning and growth.
Saint Ignatius College Prep invites applications for a full-time College Counselor position. The College Counselor is part of a team educating students and families through the college search, admission, and selection process. The college counselor will work closely with students and their families, collaborate with faculty on completion of required forms, and communicate effectively with college admission offices. Working at Saint Ignatius College Prep requires a commitment to the mission and values of the school, as well as an enthusiasm for contributing to its co-curricular activities.
This position reports to the Director of College Counseling.
Job Summary

• Provide comprehensive, timely and individualized college counseling to assigned caseload. This includes discussions regarding course selection, college fit, researching colleges, college list development, brainstorming and editing college essays, the application process, the financial aid process, financial aid packaging and final discernment process in choosing a college.
• Compose an individual Counselor Recommendation for each senior within assigned caseload
• Process transcripts and recommendations to each college through Naviance or portals, as applicable
• Communicate and collaborate with students and parents/guardians in a timely and thorough manner
• Contribute to the planning and implementation of annual events for students and families, including periodic evening programs
• Attend pertinent annual conferences, meetings, workshops and receptions to gather the most current information necessary for professional development and the support of Saint Ignatius students
• Foster strong, positive relationships with students, parents, faculty and college admissions officers
• Visit colleges and universities to enhance awareness of options for Saint Ignatius students and to market Saint Ignatius College Prep to admissions personnel
• Support co-curricular programs and engage in school life
• Assist with class substitution as requested and oversight of student events, as assigned
• Stay current and train/present on Naviance with faculty colleagues and families
• In collaboration with the department, host over 250 college representatives in the fall for individual high school visits and 175 colleges in the spring for our annual college fair
• Participate and serve on school committees
• Collaborate regularly with School Counseling Department
• Assist in Advanced Placement testing and final exam testing administration, as needed
• Support development and implementation of summer programming
• Other duties and/or projects, as assigned
  

Qualifications
To perform this role effectively, an individual must be able to successfully carry out each essential duty, with or without reasonable accommodation. The following qualifications represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for this position:

• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college/university required, Master's preferred
• Three (3) years of experience working in college admissions or high school counseling
• Proficiency to work with Microsoft Office applications, Google Workspace, and other applicable software
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work effectively with students and staff at all levels, displaying a positive attitude and exhibiting motivation and drive
• Self-directed with proven skills to assume responsibility, complete projects with minimal supervision, and work independently
• Ability to prioritize and complete tasks/job responsibilities
• Skilled at managing multiple projects simultaneously
• Strong presentation skills
• Able and willing to engage in air/ground travel, as required, to visit colleges and universities and attend conferences
• Practicing Roman Catholic, preferred
  

(NOTE: This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, the Administration reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed when circumstances change (e.g. emergencies, changes in personnel workload, or technological developments).
Additional Information

• This is a salaried full-time, school-year (10 months plus 2 weeks) in-person staff position, with occasional evening events throughout the year.
• The College Counseling office consists of the Director of College Counseling, Associate Director, three College Counselors and one Administrative Assistant.
• Employees are expected to work as many hours as their job responsibilities require, which includes evenings and weekends at times.
• This position is eligible for Saint Ignatius College Prep's excellent benefits package.
• This is not a telecommuting position.
• Knowledge of standardized testing programs and Advanced Placement testing, along with test-day planning, is an asset.
  

Salary Range: $65,000-$85,000