by Maria Prato-Gaines, The Packet Group
From one of New Jersey’s premiere college prep schools to the World Wide Web, one local guidance counselor is bringing his expertise to the masses as a guest blogger for the New York Times.
Allentown resident Ted de Villafranca carries with him a heavy burden, as hundreds of Peddie School students rest their hopes and dreams, not to mention their collegiate aspirations, squarely on his shoulders. But considering the last five years of graduates are now attending some of the top universities in the country, with Peddie’s highest concentration of alumni attending the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University at present, Mr. de Villafranca must be doing something right.
With his reputation apparently preceding him, New York Times representatives approached Mr. de Villafranca in March, asking the savvy counselor to share his inside knowledge on The Choice, a blog that for the past few weeks has featured rotating topics on college-bound issues.
As for Mr. de Villafranca’s experience with those masses, he said questions ran the gamut, ranging from waiting lists to financial aid.
One of the reasons Mr. de Villafranca said he agreed to write for the blog is that he believes with privilege comes responsibility.
”In the old days it would have been ‘We have the secret and you can’t know it,’” he said. “But Peddie has never really been that way. I think we have a responsibility to share what we know so that others can use the results of our experience.”
Although Mr. de Villafranca’s blogging experience had a shelf life beginning a little more than 10 days ago and ending last Friday, he said the experience was invaluable.
”It was great to get a cross-section of what’s concerning people across the country,” he said. “It was really a terrific experience.”
Even though Mr. de Villafranca’s guest appearances with the New York Times has expired, Peddie’s tapped-into resource still has a few morsels of wisdom for the droves of future college applicants.
Some general tips are to make sure students visit potential schools as critical consumers; ensure that a student’s academic profile fits a college; and avoid limiting inquiries solely to colleges that they have heard of.
”There are so many unbelievable college choices out there,” he said. “Do yourself a favor and do some research. See if these are places you could see yourself at.”
To view Mr. de Villafranca latest and last blog entry log onto http:// thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/ 08/guidance-office-seeking-questions-about-waiting-lists/.
Maria Prato-Gaines can be reached at [email protected].

