All But 5 Percent of FHS Seniors Headed To College

As the senior class at Farmington High School prepares for its commencement on June 20, there is one question graduates will be asked again and again: What are your plans after high school?

For 95 percent of the graduates, the answer is they are headed to college. According to David Berrill, chairman of the guidance department at FHS, 80 percent plan to attend a four-year college; 13 percent are going to a two-year college; and two percent will engage in a post-graduate year of study or attend a vocational-technical program.

“This year’s statistics are about the same as last year,” said Berrill. Last year, 94 percent of FHS graduates said they would enroll in a post-secondary school.

Interestingly, while the University of Connecticut is still the most popular school for FHS students, about 70 percent of this year’s class will go out of state for college and 30 percent will stay in state, noted Berrill.

Toward which schools are students gravitating?

“It changes from year to year,” noted Berrill, who said this year, the mid-Atlantic colleges seem to be popular. For example, schools in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have attracted Farmington students. Berrill said perhaps it is due to the more temperate climate or because state schools in that region may be less expensive than schools in the north.

“Families are concerned about the financial aid package, so there is more interest in public universities. Some out-of-state public universities’ tuitions — especially in the Southwest — are commensurate with our in-state tuitions,” said Berrill.

In Farmington, more students will attend private schools than public universities, Berrill said. This year, there is only a five percent increase in the number of students selecting a public versus a private college.

Like last year, this year's college selection process was very competitive. Ten years ago it was a buyer’s market, but it’s now a seller’s market and still highly competitive, Berrill added. But he and his colleagues are pleased approximately 55 out of the 331 graduates were accepted to top-tier schools.

“We feel pretty good about that,” said Berrill, who estimated eight students will be attending an Ivy League school, but cautioned he is not sure that is an exact number.

Farmington High School’s seven guidance counselors have developed a comprehensive program to guide students through the college process. The process begins with parent and student conferences as early as sophomore year. Counselors have knowledge of the college selection criteria and spend hours meeting with college representatives and attending workshops. Once or twice a year the entire department visits schools to learn more about what each school offers, Berrill said. They also visit area schools such as Trinity, Quinnipiac, CCSU, SCSU and UNH.

Counselors work carefully with students to ensure they select a wide range of schools—in categories such as reach, probable, and quality safety schools, said Berrill.

In the final analysis, “we did well this year,” concluded Berrill.