I write about a lot of different college admissions topics on this blog.
Some of the advice I discovered as I was navigating through the college admissions process with mediocre test scores and a decent but unspectacular GPA.
Some of the advice I didn’t discover until much later – when working as an admissions reader for several years at a Top 20 school.
This advice falls into the latter group – I simply discovered it way too late for it to be helpful during my process. I ended up being lucky – but I see examples all the time of:
1) Outstanding students who have absolutely terrible high school counselors who give misleading and sometimes plain false advice about Ivy League schools
2) Outstanding students who haven’t built a solid relationship with their counselor (after all, you barely see them right?) and as a result, counselors write very mediocre recommendation letters and VERY mediocre evaluations in the secondary school report, the midyear update, and so forth
That last one is really damaging. Because you can fix #1 by finding out the truth yourself. But it’s tough to fix #2 until its really too late.
Having said that, here’s some advice on how you can properly manage that relationship and avoid mistake #2:
1) Meet with your high school counselor on a regular basis from freshman year. In some schools, counselors follow their classes from year-to-year. At most schools, you’ll have a different counselor each year. No matter the system – make sure you meet with them at least 3-4 times a year (once in the middle of a semester, once at the end) to discuss topics like:
-Potential course schedule
-Extracurricular activities
-College admissions preparation
The last one is particularly important. The earlier you can get on the counselor’s radar that you’re applying to certain schools and really CARE about the process, the more they’ll respect your ambitions and try to help you out
2) Have a parent-counselor conference. Just like my earlier post about parent-teacher conferences, parent-counselor conferences when done well are a really effective way for parents to demonstrate their concern, represent their child’s interests, and make the counselor know that he/she can’t slack off. Because counselors can be lazy, sorry to say. Polite but firm parental oversight can be a powerful accountability tool
3) Set-up application review sessions with them starting late junior year and at the start of senior year. The key here is two-fold: one, get on their radar early regarding college admissions and two, give them a comprehensive insight into your academic and extracurricular record. Many counselors simply don’t know what’s going on at the school – what clubs you’re in, what sports teams you play on, what you did last summer. Having these 30 minute review sessions provides you with that opportunity
4) Prepare materials in the same way you would for teacher recommendations – a brag-sheet/resume, and a letter explaining your target schools, your story, and your proudest achievements
Of these 4 steps, Step #3 is probably the most important. Get on their calendar, and do this at least 2 times before they need to submit the secondary school report. Do it once more before they submit the midyear report.
If you’re afraid/nervous of doing so, just think one thing: this is the rest of your life here. Go get what you want.
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