6th Annual Counselor Symposium

Parents in the College Selection Process: Allies or Adversaries?

April 22-24, 2017   --   Worcester, Massachusetts

Join us this spring for a symposium on the changing role of parents in the college search process. We'll explore common questions around best practices for working with parents: how to educate parents about balancing academics, prestige, affordability, and fit when making a college choice; how to support students when parent behavior becomes a challenge; and how to prepare students and parents for the coming change in their relationship.

The Clark Counselor Symposium is a professional development workshop that each year examines a current issue in college admissions from the perspective of counselors at both the secondary and higher education levels. The program also includes an opportunity for you to learn more about Clark University and its pioneering approach to Liberal Education and Effective Practice (LEEP): explore campus through a personalized tour with a student ambassador, find out more about current undergraduate research and experiential learning, and enjoy lunch with students and faculty in the Higgins Café.

Registration is now open. If you have questions about this year's symposium, please contact Shaun Holt, Associate Director of Admissions, at sholt@clarku.edu.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Dr. Wendy Grolnick

Dr. Wendy Grolnick is Professor of Psychology in the Frances L. Hiatt School of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. She has been conducting research on the roles that parents play in students' motivation and accomplishments for more than 25 years. Her work focuses on how parents can encourage students' achievement while also supporting their experience of autonomy and agency. She is interested in factors that help or hinder parents' ability to provide motivation-facilitating parenting to their teenagers.

Dr. Grolnick is the author of more than 60 scholarly articles as well as two books: The Psychology of Parental Control: How Well-Meant Parenting Backfires and Pressured Parents, Stressed-Out Kids: Dealing with Competition while Raising a Successful Child. Her work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation. She is frequently quoted in newspapers and magazines including Parents, Family Circle, and Newsday, and she has appeared on various shows on radio, TV, and the web, including "The Parents' Journal," "Body, Mind and Child", NPR's The Public Eye, and Huffpost Live.
 

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, APRIL 22

• 2:00 - 7:00pm Arrival in Worcester
• 7:00 - 8:30pm Welcome Dinner

SUNDAY,  APRIL 23

• 8:00 - 9:00am Breakfast
• 9:00 - 12:00pm Keynote Speaker: Dr. Wendy Grolnick 
• 12:00 - 1:30pm Lunch and Break
• 1:30 - 4:30pm Symposium Dialogue Sessions
• 5:00 - 6:00pm Worcester Bus Tours
• 6:30 - 8:30pm Dinner with Clark Students and Admissions Staff, Worcester Restaurants

MONDAY, APRIL 24

• 8:00 - 9:00am Breakfast on campus; Meet the Clark Admissions Staff
• 9:30 - 11:00am The Clark Experience
  • Clark President David Angel
  • Dean of Admissions Don Honeman
  • Clark University Faculty
  • Clark University Students
• 11:00 - 12:30pm Campus Tours
• 12:30 - 1:30pm Lunch with Clark Students
• 1:30 - 2:00 Departure from campus