The Fine Point: Preparing for College and for Life | October 2025
A Monthly Message from President Robert J. Fine, Jr. | Preparing for College and for Life
As our juniors recently finished their ACT exams, I found myself thinking about what it really means to be ready for college. Around this time each year, there is a certain rhythm to campus life. Students are filling out scholarship forms, polishing essays, and beginning to imagine what comes next. It is an exciting time, full of possibilities.
But behind every acceptance letter is a story that is often unseen. The long hours, the late nights, the quiet moments when a student decides to keep going even when it is hard. Those are the moments that shape them. At St. John’s Northwestern, we see that part of the journey every day.
For us, being college-ready is not just about test scores or transcripts. It is about helping students take ownership of their path. At the end of the day, they are the ones steering the ship. Our teachers, counselors, and even parents can guide and support, but the students are the ones putting in the work and taking responsibility for where they are headed. There is something deeply meaningful in watching them learn that.
That’s also what makes a boarding school environment so different from a traditional school setting. When students live where they learn, accountability becomes part of everyday life. They learn to manage time, balance independence with structure, and support one another along the way. A recent study by The Association of Boarding Schools found that boarding students are nearly 80 percent more likely than nonboarding students to spend at least ten hours per week on academic work outside the classroom. That speaks volumes about what happens when students are given space to focus and take initiative.
This year, we also introduced a no cell phone policy during the academic day. The intention was not about taking something away to punish them. It was about giving something back, the ability to be fully present. Without the constant pull of screens and notifications, students are engaging more with their teachers and each other. We can see that just within a few short months here on campus. They are rediscovering conversation, focus, and even a bit of quiet in between.
When I walk across campus and see students studying in small groups or talking through a project after class, or even having a conversation in the dining hall, I am reminded that success looks different for everyone. It grows out of effort, accountability, and self-discipline, the things that cannot be taught from a textbook alone.
College preparedness is not a finish line. It is a process of becoming. And every student who walks these halls is learning, step by step, what it means to take ownership of their future. That is something worth celebrating.
About SJN:
St. John’s Northwestern is a safe, structured environment that provides each student a foundation for life with specialized programs that are built with future aspirations in mind. SJN is a private co-ed college preparatory boarding and day school and is accepting applications for grades 7-12 and post-graduate. Learn more at www.stjohnsnorthwestern.org