Academics

College Counseling

At Ellis, the College Counseling Office offers highly personalized support and unlimited hours of guidance to Upper School students seeking counsel in their college search.

College counseling is woven into the curriculum and students take a two-year college counseling seminar during their junior and senior years at Ellis with admission officers from more than 125 colleges and universities visiting each year.

Educators and college counselors focus on the student as a whole—their strengths, both academic and extracurricular, their long-term goals and ambitions, and their vision for the future—to find the right fit for each graduate. In-house ACT/SAT test prep, college application workshops, feedback on college essays, merit-based aid and scholarship guidance, and advising on financial aid packages and appeals is offered to all students.

College Readiness

List of 6 items.

  • 70%

    say that Ellis provided them with greater confidence in their mathematical abilities.
  • 73%

    state that they are better than their peers at conducting research.
  • 79%

    state they are better able than their peers to focus on subjects that are difficult, rather than just those that come easily.
  • 80%

    affirm that, thanks to their Ellis education, they are extremely or well-prepared for college-level history.
  • 88%

    say they are better writers than their college peers.
  • 98%

    indicate that they are extremely or well-prepared for college-level English.
    • What Our Graduates Say

      “Ellis has great, smart teachers who encourage discussion and critical thinking, and care about their students. I’ve had many similar professors in college, and I’ve often found myself referencing things I learned in my classes at Ellis or making notes in the margins of a text that relate to memorable comments that Ellis teachers once made.”

Keith Bryner

Director of College Counseling

By focusing on whole student development, our program imparts transferable skills and positive perspectives to benefit our graduates both during their search and beyond. Each student follows a unique path in her selection process and is celebrated for the uniqueness of their journey and, ultimately, her college selection. The skills developed in this realm are comprehensive and set our graduates up to be both successful in their college goals and to be flexible and resilient people beyond their time at Ellis. Our intention is to convey to selective colleges and universities that Ellis graduates will arrive at their doorsteps not exhausted from their high school work but invigorated by the possibilities of collegiate education.

To request The Ellis School's school profile, please contact Keith Bryner, Director of College Counseling, at brynerk@js-ayds.com.

College Placements

From the “Hidden Ivies” to the “New Ivies” to the plain old Ivy League; from “Colleges that Change Lives” to nationally recognized research institutions to the alma maters of U.S. presidents—the Ellis college matriculation list is impressive, diverse, and ever-changing. The impact of an Ellis education is felt far beyond college.
Trailblazing alumnae have set new standards for success in every sector, including medicine, law, business, and academia. Whichever path a graduate chooses, graduates can rely on the knowledge, skills, and values they learned at Ellis—and on an international network of supportive alumnae who work to change the world, break glass ceilings, and elevate women everywhere.

List of 1 items.

  • 2019–2023 College Matriculation List

    American University (8)
    Amherst College (3)
    Baldwin Wallace University (1)
    Bard College (1)
    Bates College (1)
    Bethune-Cookman University (1)
    Boston College (1)
    Boston University (2)
    Brandeis University (2)
    Brown University (1)
    Bryn Mawr College (4)
    Bucknell University (1)
    Carleton College (1)
    Carnegie Mellon University (2)
    Case Western Reserve University (3)
    Chapman University (1)
    Chatham University (4)
    Colgate University (2)
    College of Charleston (1)
    College of the Atlantic (1)
    Connecticut College (1)
    Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (1)
    Cornell University (3)
    Davidson College (1)
    Duke University (1)
    Duquesne University (4)
    Elon University (1)
    Emory University (3)
    Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School (1)
    Florida Atlantic University (1)
    Geneva College (1)
    George Washington University (1)
    Georgetown University (2)
    Hampton University (2)
    Haverford College (2)
    High Point University (2)
    Juniata College (1)
    Kent State University (1)
    Kenyon College (1)
    Michigan State University (1)
    Middlebury College (3)
    Mount Holyoke College (1)
    Muhlenberg College (1)
    New York University (1)
    North Carolina A & T State University (1)
    North Carolina State University (1)
    Northeastern University (8)
    Northwestern University (1)
    Oberlin College (4)
    Penn State University (Behrend) (1)
    Penn State University (University Park) (1)
    Point Park University (1)
    Pratt Institute (2)
    Purdue University (2) 
    Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1)
    Rochester Institute of Technology (1)
    Scripps College (1)
    Seton Hill University (1)
    Simmons University (1)
    Smith College (1)
    Swarthmore College (1)
    Temple University (3)
    The College of Wooster (2)
    The New School (1)
    The University of Tampa (1)
    Trinity College Dublin (1)
    Tufts University (2)
    University of Central Florida (1)
    University of Delaware (1)
    University of Denver (1)
    University of Iowa (2)
    University of Maryland (Baltimore County) (1)
    University of Maryland (College Park) (1)
    University of Miami (2)
    University of North Carolina Wilmington (1)
    University of Pennsylvania (3)
    University of Pittsburgh (6)
    University of Rochester (4)
    University of Southern California (1)
    University of Vermont (2)
    University of Virginia (1)
    Vassar College (1)
    Washington & Jefferson College (1)
    Washington University in St. Louis (1)
    Wesleyan University (2)
    Wilkes University (2)
    Worcester Polytechnic Institute (1)
    Yale University (3)