Good news for the Eanes school district came from Westlake High School college and career counselor Jeff Pilchiek last week. Pilchiek told trustees at a monthly board meeting that students in the district are applying to and being accepted at colleges and universities in record numbers.

Pilchiek said 99 percent of students at the high school applied to colleges in 2009.

“We had a stellar, stellar year – the best in my career – last year in college applications,” he said. “We had a student admitted to every Ivy League school. This is an example of the kind student and the caliber of readiness at WHS. Students are ready for higher education if they can get into these schools.”

The top five colleges in popularity with WHS seniors last year were, in order, the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, Baylor University, Texas Tech University and Texas Christian University. UT admitted 91 WHS graduates last year, 45 of those students were guaranteed admittance for graduating in the top 10 percent of their class. A total of 52 WHS graduates eventually attended freshmen classes in the fall.

The breakdown of WHS college acceptances in the spring showed that 81 percent of seniors earned seats in four-year colleges, 18 percent in two-year colleges and 1 percent of students in other organizations, including the military. Two-year college attendance was up this year, likely a byproduct of a weak economy, said Pilchiek.

School board member James Kallison said those statistics compared very favorably to statewide averages. Of the 50 percent of Texas high school graduates who went on to college this year, 45 percent went on to four-year schools and 55 percent attended two-year colleges.

WHS students earned the college admission testing scores to back up those high acceptance rates. The WHS average SAT score this year was 1774, compared to a national average of 1509 and a statewide average of 1467. The average WHS ACT score was 26.3, compared to a national average of 21.1 and the statewide average of 20.8.