Getting the most out of sessions with your counselor

Reposted from: http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/205362/getting-the-most-out-of-sessions-with-your-counselor#.VBryvb3F-Ah

High school counselors have an important job, but it’s one that I don’t envy.

First, there’s the sheer number of students who depend on them. In large public school districts, the average counselor has a caseload of 455 students, according to the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Department of Education.

Second, there’s the very scope of their job. In an average day, a counselor might be working on student schedules, arranging testing, stepping in to solve discipline problems and helping students work through serious issues, such as bullying, depression or drug abuse.

Although counselors are an important resource for students as they prepare for college applications, their time is very precious.

On average, public school guidance counselors can squeeze in only 38 minutes of college admissions advice per student, according to a survey by the Department of Education.

These increasing demands may help explain why in 2013, more than 1 in 4 college applicants hired a private admissions consultant to help them through the application process, a number that has tripled in the last decade.

But every counselor I’ve met sees college advising as a very important and rewarding part of their job. For students to get the most out of this relationship, they should keep a few things in mind.

Don’t wait until the last minute. Don’t approach your counselor three days before an application deadline closes and ask them to send your transcript or perform some other task. In many schools, counselors are responsible for sending official transcripts for every application; multiply several hundred students by several applications apiece, all needed in a few short months, and you can see how daunting a job this can be. Try to give them at least three weeks’ notice for every request you make — more if you can.

Keep your counselor informed. By the same token, it’s your responsibility to communicate with your counselor. If you change your mind about an application, let them know right away so they don’t waste time working on it.

Be prepared before appointments. Counselors are a wealth of information about scholarship opportunities, campus requirements, and standardized testing rules. Go into every appointment with a clear list of what you’d like to ask and what you need. Take the lead and be proactive. With so many students, a counselor may not know every student as well as he or she would like.

Use school resources. Find out how your counselors share information about SAT prep courses, scholarship announcements and other tools such as sample resumes. Then check back regularly for new information.

Say thank you. It should go without saying, but be appreciative of the work your counselor does on your behalf. And when you get that letter of acceptance in the spring, make sure you let your counselor know you made it — and that you are grateful for the work he or she did to help you get there.