College Admission Help

WORKING WITH YOUR COLLEGE COUNSELOR

In case you thought you were out of the woods, your parents aren’t the only adults you have to help stay organized. Another one is your counselor.
Go ahead. I’ll wait.
“Dog, not only do I have my own mess to keep straight, but now I have to put my parents and my counselor on my back? I don’t even know who my counselor is, and they sure don’t know me.”
Right—and that’s the problem. If you look at most college applications, there’s a part your counselor has to fill out, about the classes you’ve taken, your grades, and your class rank. There’s also a spot where your counselor can make comments about you—the space may be small, but it’s still there. One of three things will happen with this space: It stays blank; your counselor scribbles something in it that could describe anybody; your counselor has so many helpful things to say about you, they have to write “continued on attached sheet.”
Two questions here. First, if you gave your counselor that form today, which option would they choose? Second, which one are you rooting for?
Sounds like you have work to do.
This isn’t hard. For the first two years of high school, see your counselor only when you need to—to change a schedule, discuss a personal problem, apply for a summer program-- whatever. Like it or not, your counselor is way overworked—schedule changes, college counseling, career plans, and personal guidance for 500 students keeps them busy—so odds are the only way they’d spend heavy time with you individually in 9th or 10th grade is if you invented world peace, or if you were in really rough shape. Chances are you’ve done neither, so let them tend to those in need, and get the most out of the great group counseling programs they run.
The time to ramp things up is February of junior year. If your school is like most, your counselor will see you, if only for five minutes, in March to put your senior schedule together. By the end of February (right—February), you want to type up your community service work and extra curricular activities from your notebook (remember your notebook?), along with awards and recognitions you’ve received. You also want to have your senior year schedule together before you have your scheduling meeting—read that again—and you want to put everything in an inexpensive pocket folder that has your name on it.
I hope you see where this is going. When it’s time for your scheduling meeting, you hand over the folder, and start talking first.
“Hi Mrs. Jones. I know you’re really busy, so I got a copy of my transcript from your secretary and planned out my schedule already. I also wanted you to know I’m registered for the April SAT and ACT, and I’m visiting three colleges over Spring Break. I don’t know if I’ll see you before it’s time to apply for colleges, so I’ve enclosed a list of my extra curriculars and community service projects, and I’ve highlighted the ones I’m most proud of. I’ve also put my cell phone number at the top of the page, so you can call me when you’re filling out my applications if you have any questions. Thanks for helping me with this—if I have any questions, what’s the best way to contact you?”
I promise you—if you do this, your counselor will remember you, and look for excuses to see you from now on.
Counselor on track, counselor off back.
Nice work, dog.

WORKING WITH YOUR COLLEGE COUNSELOR