Welcome to the College Counseling office
St. Pius X has a legacy of college preparatory excellence, with nearly 100% of graduates the past seven years attending college. All StPX graduates the past 25 years and more also continued their education after high school, be it two-year, four-year or technical universities and colleges, along with military service.
Access to college and career counseling begins during freshman year and continues through graduation. Along the way, students have opportunities to speak with colleges that visit campus (over 60 such visits per year) as well as tour college campuses as part of the 583 Program.
Mr. Halter, who had previously been in public education for 31 years as a teacher and guidance counselor before joining the St. Pius X staff, has office hours available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays for individual student meetings during school days. He is also available for meetings with parents by appointment. Please contact Mr. Ken Halter with any questions by phone (636) 931-7487 ext. 143 or email khalter@stpius.com.
583 College Visit Program
Unique to the St. Louis area, the St. Pius X 583 Program sees students take FIVE trips to EIGHT colleges in their first THREE years of high school. These trips, led by Mr. Halter, expose students to several different types of colleges—junior colleges, regionally ranked private universities, a pair of land-grant state institutions, and in SLU a US News & World Report Top 100 school. Many St. Pius X graduates have found their eventual college or university through these trips, while others use the tours to determine which types of schools are most appealing to them.
The St. Pius X Parent Club, along with several host schools, pays nearly all of the expenses associated with these trips. Typically the only out-of-pocket cost for students is lunch of three of the trips.
Scoir - digital college guidance assistance
St. Pius X High School is pleased to announce that we have implemented a new college guidance management system called Scoir (pronounced "score"). This new, modern online system will streamline the process of requesting, processing, sending and tracking the electronic delivery of all application-related documents. More importantly, it's much more helpful for students and parents during the college search and selection process. On Scoir, colleges come to life through pictures, videos and links that highlight active student clubs and organizations. This better enables students to identify colleges that are a good fit for their personal and academic interests, which increases college retention. Scoir also provides parents with useful financial calculators so you can determine the likely cost of attendance at different colleges and consider the affordability when deciding where to apply. These features, along with more convenient scheduling and communication tools, will help keep everyone informed and engaged throughout the college application process. Scoir exists to help more students achieve more positive outcomes, and we're excited that our students have access to this system and the opportunities it provides.
