Rich Borsch has been Fenwick’s lead college counselor for 47 years. What changes has he seen over five decades?
By Mark Vruno
Let the matriculation process commence for the Class of 2019! Now is the frenetic season for Fenwick’s college-counseling duo of Rich Borsch and Laura Docherty. Busy is an under-statement. Between early application and essay preparations leading up to January 1st, the two guidance gurus are up to their elbows in paper and student e-documentation.
It’s an annual rite at Fenwick and at high schools across the country, but few counselors have been immersed in the process as long as Mr. Borsch, who wouldn’t want it any other way. This school year marks his 51st at Fenwick, and he has been a college counselor for all but the first four.
In a typical, six-week period this fall – comprising 30 school days – representatives from 77 different colleges and universities, including the University of Chicago, Northwestern and Yale, came to Fenwick. A representative sampling of 11 other visiting schools (by date) during that time frame:
- Lafayette College (Easton, PA)
- Central Michigan University
- Butler University
- University of Notre Dame
- Vanderbilt University
- Tulane University
- Juniata College (Huntingdon, PA)
- Villanova University
- Providence College
- Boston College
- University of Cincinnati
“These schools came from all areas of the country,” Borsch reports. “Ten of the top 50 colleges and universities were here; seven from the Big Ten came. We try to give our students exposure to all kinds of college options: from huge schools like Indiana University, with 43,000 students enrolled in the Bloomington campus, to tiny King’s College in Manhattan, New York, which has only 500 students.”
For Borsch, who says he loves working with the kids, it’s all about the right fit for each student. “We try to pick schools based on their individual needs,” he explains, which can be time-consuming. Graduates from the Friars’ Class of 2018 are attending 109 different colleges or universities in 32 states, Washington, DC and overseas in Scotland.
“When I started doing this in the early 1970s, that number was 60 [schools],” Borsch notes. “We’ve had kids go away to Canada, Ireland and Italy, too.” Such international institutions as Trinity College Dublin and the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) “weren’t even a thought a generation ago,” he says.
TOP FIVE COLLEGES FOR THE CLASS OF ’18
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37 Friars are studying at the University of Illinois (Urbana)
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16 Friars are at Loyola University Chicago
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15 are at Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
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12 are at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN)
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11 are at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana)
Besides the expanded geographic range of college choice, what other changes has Borsch seen during his 47 years of student-college matchmaking? “It certainly has evolved,” he observes. One big difference is the number of Fenwick students going out of state for school. “In 1975, about 70% of our students stayed within Illinois. By 2016, that number had dropped to 22%,” he reports. Thirty-two percent of the Class of ’18 (98 students) stayed in state.
Lately, there has been a trend toward test-optional college admissions — and not judging prospective students based on a three-hour exam. “The University of Chicago is one of hundreds of schools doing this now,” Borsch confirms. “But the fact remains that 75% [of schools] still require either the ACT or SAT, so our students will continue to be prepared. Fenwick is the only school I know of where freshmen take the PSAT exam,” Borsch adds.
Snapshot of Rich Borsch
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Graduate of Leo High School, Chicago.
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B.A. in English and history from DePaul University, Chicago
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M.A. in counseling and psychological services, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota
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Fenwick High School, Oak Park, IL, 1968 – Present (started as English Teacher)
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Head Coach of the Friars’ freshman football team for 41 years (through 2015)
Continue reading “Nearly 50 Years of Imparting Wisdom and Collegiate Advice”