Shorecrest College Counseling Attends, Presents at SACAC

Shorecrest Preparatory School's College Counseling Team attended the 2023 Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) Annual Conference on April 23-25 in Jacksonville. SACAC is a professional organization representing over 2,200 members from secondary schools, colleges and universities, independent educational professionals, and community-based educational organizations. The SACAC region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as the Caribbean.

The Annual Conference is SACAC's largest professional gathering with over 850 attendees, and features a dynamic lineup of speakers and presenters, engaging sessions, opportunities for networking and outreach, access to the latest in products and services, and more. The event also includes opportunities for post-conference college tours, the networking college fair, and post conference sessions.

The College Counseling Team participated in various ways during the conference.

• Mrs. Schneider and Mr. Fanning co-presented the following session: First Gen Independent School Families - How can we support them?
• Ms. Simpson, who completed her term of service as a SACAC Board Director and Co-Chair of the Board's Finance Committee, served as a faculty member for the SACAC LEADS program
• Ms. Simpson also co-presented the session: The Visual Arts Admissions Process; Advice for Guiding Students
• Mr. Burkett volunteered for the conference in the role of Co-Chair for the Conference Social, which was held at the River Club

Some of the biggest takeaways from this year’s conference were how college admission offices are still navigating a test-optional environment and rethinking how they evaluate applicants, how high schools can support students as they prepare to transition to digital College Board assessments, and ways to prepare for the upcoming FAFSA changes. Armed with the valuable knowledge gained from attending the Annual Conference, the College Counseling Team eagerly looks forward to working with Upper School students to help them prepare for these changes in the upcoming school year.