For many Sixth Formers, the final year of high school is defined by a singular chase: building a legacy, cementing it, and securing their future in college. Higher education is often an unspoken certainty, but the paths students take to get there are rarely identical.
While some spend their fall afternoons workshopping their supplemental essays, others have already locked in their futures on the field.
The journeys of Sixth Formers Caleb Siever and Charlie Neel represent these two distinct tracks: athletic recruitment versus the academic pipeline.
Siever’s trajectory was shaped by a clear ambition: a career in law. He applied to colleges as a political science major with law school as the goal, but it was ultimately his talent in baseball that solidified Washington College as the destination.
“I knew almost my whole life that I’d go to college and eventually law school,” Siever said. “I wanted a small school environment like Haverford where I could build close connections with faculty.”
Neel’s inspiration, by contrast, was rooted in campus culture and childhood memories. His sights were set on Boston College.
“When my older sister was applying to colleges, we visited Boston, and I saw the Boston College campus,” Neel recalled. “I was only in fifth or sixth grade, but I thought it was the coolest place ever.”
Instead of a traditional fraternity system, he was drawn to Boston’s social scene built around clubs like skiing, golf, and theater.
As junior year progressed, their application timelines diverged sharply. For Siever, the recruitment timeline shifted the traditional pressure away from standard deadlines.
“The application process itself was fairly smooth because Washington College didn’t require supplementals, though I still had about ten people review my main essay,” he said. “On the field, it was exposure: meeting the coach at a tournament led to a phone call, then a campus visit, and finally a Division-III roster spot.”
Neel, pursuing the Early Decision II pathway, navigated the academic side of the climb. In particular, he emphasized maintaining his grades.
“Junior year is definitely not the year to slack off, and by the final month of that year, I felt a massive weight on my shoulders trying to pull my grades back up from B-pluses,” he said. “You just have to grind through it.”
Neel credits his college counselor with helping him navigate the final stretch.
“When it came to applications, almost every school on my list came from my counselor, Mr. Long, who was instrumental in helping me get everything buttoned up and ready to submit,” Neel said.
For Siever, fulfillment arrived in the mail as a physical confirmation of his hard work.
“When the acceptance letter arrived, the first thing I saw was that it was on behalf of admissions,” he said.
While it was an official academic acceptance, he noted that his future coach still held a major influence in securing him that spot.
“The most important thing you can do is build relationships with teachers as a senior.”
CALEB SIEVER ’26
For Neel, the verdict came down to an evening email notification.
“It was around 7 p.m. in February when the email notification came through,” he said. “I was actually with my girlfriend when I opened it, and we were ecstatic. The whole process is a weight on your shoulders, and having my top-choice school locked in by February was an incredible relief.”
With their next four years secured—Siever bound for Chestertown, Maryland, and Neel heading to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts—both students offer parting wisdom to the rising Sixth Formers entering the process this summer.
Siever emphasizes the value of community.
“Spend more time in teachers’ rooms,” he said. “The most important thing you can do is build relationships with teachers as a senior.”
Neel, meanwhile, urges Fifth Formers to stay hopeful in a competitive landscape, reminding them that a rejection letter is not a dead end.
“Build up a strong list of schools that appeal to you across all different levels of admission rates, and keep your head up through the rejections or waitlists,” Neel stresses. “Worst-case scenario: the transfer portal is more active than it has ever been.”
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