College Counseling


Mission

The college counseling program is committed to assisting Woodward students in reaching their full potential by helping them recognize their strengths and identifying colleges that will match their needs. Believing that students are more successful when they are happy with their college choice, the goal of the college counseling program is to help students make a good match between themselves and colleges.

The Process

Woodward students have several opportunities to meet with representatives from colleges across the nation. Beginning in September with the Woodward Academy College Fair, Woodward juniors and seniors are invited to meet with 200+ colleges and universities from all over the United States. Additionally, 9-12 students are encouraged to attend the Atlanta National College Fair in January or February. 

Each fall college representatives from over 100 institutions visit the Woodward campus. The college counseling office hosts these visits and supports rapport between the colleges and Woodward students. 9-12 students are encouraged to attend these opportunities. Parents are also welcome, but we ask parents to keep a low profile until the students return to class. Students and parents should check their Naviance account for Colleges Visiting Woodward on a regular basis as during the fall, the list can be updated as often as several times a week . In addition to checking on Naviance, the list of Colleges Visiting Woodward is announced on daily Morning Annoucements AND runs on the message boards all over campus throughout the day. 

For parents of freshmen and sophomores, we provide an evening program in late October or early November to discuss factors in the college process including activities, grades, curriculum, etc. Our purpose is to make parents aware of steps they may need to take early in the high school years.

For parents of juniors: Beginning with the fall of 2010, the detailed information regarding the college process previously provided in the Junior Seminar for Parents will now be broken into two separate parts:

Part 1: Fall College Counseling Seminar for Junior Parents offered either at 8:30am or 7pm college counseling is offered in early September. 

Part 2: January College Counseling Seminar for Junior Parents is offered at an evening only 7pm meeting in late January to complete the two part in-depth series on the updated specifics of what Junior Parents need to know about the college selection process.  This session follows the Junior Seminar, a full day workshop for the entire junior class presented by the college counselors and grade level counselors.  Following Part 2, college counselors begin meeting individually with juniors and their parents. During this meeting, the student, his/her family, and the college counselor review the transcript, the junior's record thus far, family expectations, goals,etc. One result of that meeting is an initial list of colleges for the individual junior to consider.

In February of every even year, we hold a Mock Admissions Workshop. For maximum results, parents and students will want to become familiar with the case studies prior to the meeting. We are led by Admissions professionals from the colleges as we take an in-depth look at applications, essays, activities and the decision making. We think this is a very valuable workshop for sophomores and juniors as well as for the parents. Once again interested freshmen and their parents are welcome. Please be aware you must pre-register and read the case studies BEFORE the workshop.

During the first semester of the senior year, our primary concern is to help seniors decide on which colleges to apply to and then to apply to those colleges. The majority of our work done at this time is with the individual senior and his/her parents.

It is our privilege to work with these wonderful, talented, and pleasant young people who really are the hope of the future. We also thoroughly enjoy working with such an involved and supportive parent group.

Contact Us

Main Number: 404.765.4465
Fax Number: 404.765.4469

Dr. Mary Ann Parker
Director of College Counseling
  • Auburn University Advisory Board, 2007-2009
  • Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions
  • Member and presenter at NACAC, SACAC, College Board and GASC
  • SOAR Coordinator
  • J.D. Woodrow Wilson College of Law, M.Ed. University of Georgia,
    B.A. Woman’s College of Georgia
  • maryann.parker@woodward.edu / 404.765.4468
  • At Woodward since 1991
Jodi Hester
College Counselor
  • FastWeb Advisory Board 2007-present
  • Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges (GFIC), Board of Advisors 2010-present
  • Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century, College Board, 2007-present
  • Georgia State University Counselor Advisory Board, 2010-present
  • UGA Advisory Board, 2007-2008 Miami University Ohio Advisory Board, 2004-2006
  • Member of NACAC, SACAC and College Board
  • Director of College Counseling, Gonzaga College High School, Washington, DC 1995-2008
  • Assistant Director of Admissions, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 1991-1995
  • Assistant Director of Admissions, Grinnell College, 1989-1991
  • B.A. Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA
  • jodi.hester@woodward.edu / 404.765.4464
  • At Woodward since 2008
Michele Davis
College Counselor
  • Representative - Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools, 2007-2011 
  • Co-Chair, Potomac Area ACAC Counselors College Fair Committee, 2010-2011
  • Harvard Summer Institute on College Admission
  • Faculty Member, College Summit, 2007-2008
  • Assistant Director of College Guidance, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Rockfield, MD, 2006-2011
  • Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admission, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 2004-2006
  • Assistant Director of Admission, Emory University, Goizueta Business School, Atlanta, GA, 2002-2004
  • Assistant Director of Admission - System Support, Emory University, Oxford College, Oxford, GA, 2000-2002
  • Member of NACAC, PCACAC and SACAC
  • B.A. The University of Maryland, College Park, MD
    M.A. The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
  • michele.davis@woodward.edu / 404.765.4466
  • At Woodward since 2011
Pam Allen Ambler '99
College Counselor
  • Member of NACAC, SACAC and ASCA
  • Senior Admission Counselor, Emory University, Atlanta, GA  2006-2011
  • Member of Capitol Hill staff of U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss and U.S. Representative John Linder, 2003-2006
  • Current Candidate for M.S. in School Counseling, Mercer University, Atlanta GA
  • B.BA. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
  • pam.ambler@woodward.edu  / 404.765.4467
  • At Woodward since 2012
 
Meg Jordan
Administrative Coordinator for College Counseling
  • B.S. in Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi 
  • Owner/CEO of an employment agency and a transcription service for 25 years
  • meg.jordan@woodward.edu /404.765.4465 
  • At Woodward since 2010 

College Counseling

Resources

Forms

  • Parent Information Form and Teacher Recommendation Forms are available through Edline or the College Counseling Office
  • To register for the SAT or ACT test, please go to the test information page.
  • For other counseling related forms, please check with the Upper School counseling office.