The college application process can be immensely stressful for both students and their families. A recent survey conducted by educational research firm EAB (eab.com) found that 48% of high school respondents said stress and anxiety overshadowed their college planning, and 52% reported feeling moderately to extremely concerned about their mental health.
Stressors can include disagreement between parents and kids on prospective colleges, essay topics, and extra-curricular activities. Enter Rosy Zhong, founder of local consultancy Mirelle Education. One of Zhong’s roles is to facilitate communication within families to support the common goal of seeking the best education for each individual student. Parents know they can trust Zhong to have their kids’ best interests at heart, and students feel supported and benefit from mentorship as part of integrated college readiness. Just having her shoulder to lean on takes some of the weight off of clients.
Zhong describes a student who struggled academically her junior year while navigating complex relationships with friends, her basketball coach, and a chemistry teacher. Working with Zhong, the client started opening up, initiating conversations with teachers and coaches for advice on how to improve. She grew through the challenges, gaining clarity in her goals and ultimately getting a college recommendation letter from the chemistry teacher emphasizing her initiative and willingness to engage and learn outside of class. She was ultimately accepted into her dream school - Vanderbilt - via Early Decision.
The focus at Mirelle is on the journey - for clients to know themselves well enough to answer the questions of why they want to attend college and what interests and passions they want to pursue. Zhong helps students evaluate their candidacy, assess strengths and gaps, and create a plan. She meets with clients weekly to develop a relationship and serve as a support in a time of transition and uncertainty.
“A lot of students start with that mindset of, ‘I want to go to an Ivy league school.’ Then as we work together and explore and research more colleges and specific programs, they'll realize maybe a Rice University or Vanderbilt University or Emory is a much better fit,” she says.
Zhong steers students to maximizing their natural talents. She says, “Mental health is affected by the decisions that students and parents make throughout high school. If you're not playing to your strengths and genuine passion, you will get burnt out and you could suffer mental health-wise and your college applications could be weaker as a result.”
When it comes to her philosophy, Zhong sums it up like this, “College and career success often follows as a natural result of your growth, if you just focus on growing as much as possible.”
Mental health is affected by the decisions that students and parents make throughout high school.