Even though high school students are often eager to enter college, they can benefit from enrolling in a postgraduate year. Here are five reasons why you and your child should consider a postgraduate program.

College counseling resources: Students enrolled in a postgraduate program receive extra support for college counseling. Postgraduate athletes at St. Andrew’s work with Director of Athletics Mike Hart through the recruiting process, and all postgraduates work directly with Eric Hill, the Director of College Counseling. In his additional year, St. Andrew’s postgraduate student Jack Manning ’18 has “had the opportunity to explore colleges and universities that I didn’t know existed as a senior in high school.”

Introduction to independence: Postgraduate students have the opportunity to live away from home before college. For Manning, being able to experience a year away from home has been the greatest part of his time at St. Andrew’s. He says, “I’ve learned how to hold myself accountable to my school work without my parents around telling me to do so.” Postgraduate instructor Amy Tinagero points out that the year is much more than just the practice of living away from home. She adds, “We design programming and experiences that prepare them not only for the intensive workload of university but for the social and psychological growth that happens during the first year of college.”  

Time: Postgraduate students have the benefit of time. They have more time to mature and to prepare for their next step. Aside from time to sharpen athletic and academic skills, students have time to mature as individuals, so that they can have a smoother transition into college. As an older member of the student body, Manning has embraced his leadership role as the school’s mascot, Pal.

Better academic/athletic profile: Whether it is a year focused on athletics or academics, postgraduate students are able to spend a concentrated year building their athletic profile or furthering their academic skills. Ryan Alescio, the Director of the Postgraduate Program, said that “St. Andrew’s tailors its postgraduate program to meet the individual needs of all the postgrads and focuses on developing the skills they each need to be better prepared for their success in college.”

Individualized curriculum: With the program’s individualized curriculum, postgraduates students can take more intensive classes. “The unique curriculum allows for a school year similar to a freshman year at college,” Manning says. Tinagero adds that the extra year is “additional and purposeful time for growth and maturity. Our curriculum emphasizes the balance between heart and mind with an emphasis on the transition from adolescence to young adulthood.”