College and Career Counseling at UCA
With an eye toward empowering Christian disciples prepared for life after high school, UCA’s college and career counseling program seeks to equip students with the necessary information, experiences, and guidance to take their next step with confidence.
Our Director of College & Career Services works with students in both classroom and individual settings to establish what kind of college, trade school, career, or other post-high school plan is right for them.
Since 2022, our college acceptance rate is 95%, with UCA graduates being accepted into nearly 200 schools, including the following:
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY • MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY • ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY • UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO HONORS COLLEGE • BRADLEY UNIVERSITY • NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY • DEPAUL UNIVERSITY • DRAKE UNIVERSITY • LIBERTY UNIVERSITY • OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Timeline of College & Career Preparation AT UCA
Freshman Year
Freshman Seminar (0.25 credits) — The Freshman Seminar course is designed to assist first-year students by teaching skills needed in order to be a successful student. The curriculum focuses on organizational skills, note-taking skills, study skills, test-taking skills, using reference sources, outlining and using graphic organizers, reading graphs and tables, as well as building vocabulary. All study skills learned in this class will be reinforced in all core courses, so freshmen will have the opportunity to transfer the skills learned in the Freshman Seminar course to all of their other courses. Life planning, goal setting, and career exploration are also part of this class.
Junior Year
Junior Seminar (0.25 credits) — The UCA College Counseling Program offers juniors the opportunity to learn about the college admissions process. During this course, students explore college and career opportunities to determine what higher education institutions are the best fit for them. The Junior Seminar prepares students well for the Senior Seminar, which focuses on completing the actual steps toward a post-secondary pathway.
Senior Year
Senior Seminar (0.25 credits) — The UCA College Counseling Program offers seniors the opportunity to take concrete steps in their college and post-secondary admissions process. UCA uses several tools such as the College Board College Search tool, the Common App, and Net Price Calculators to aid students during this process. These tools help UCA students identify and create a list of safety, match, and reach schools. This class focuses on completing the actual steps necessary in order to gain access to a student’s desired post-secondary pathway.
Senior Internship Experience (0.25 credits) — In Quarter 2, seniors will participate in a required Senior Internship Experience. Seniors will attend an internship in a field of their choice and complete reflections and work tasks to maximize their internship experience. This is a unique learning opportunity that is not typically a high school graduation requirement or experience. In alignment with UCA’s desire to graduate students who are prepared for college, career, and calling, UCA has set aside an entire quarter of the senior year dedicated to these three priorities.
ELECTIVE CLASS
Leadership (0.5 credits) — Many of us have been told “you have leadership potential,” but what does this mean? And how does one meet that potential, and lead well? Juniors and seniors may apply to take this semester-long elective course taught by one of UCA’s leaders to discuss, determine, and discover what true Christian leadership looks like, sounds like, and feels like. This rigorous class will guide students through foundational texts on leadership and co-create the standards of excellence we believe leaders should embody, preparing students for future leadership challenges they may face.
Success stories
Read about what our College and Career Counseling looks like in the lives of our students:
