For unparalleled insight into the college admissions process
Educational Consultants
More than 60% of students in the U.S. will transfer during their college careers. Why? Sometimes it’s an unfortunate life event – a death in the family or a divorce – that changes their circumstances. In other cases, students find themselves saying, “I didn’t realize UF was so big or UM was so cold.” There are a lot of mismatches because students get caught up in football, where their friends are going, the school’s reputation, the latest media rankings, or the physical appeal of the campus.
In my meetings and presentations, I encourage families to step back and answer questions in five categories that help narrow down the universe of colleges to a subset that will allow them to meet their goals in the setting that is right for them. We will address this issue in more detail in an upcoming question of the month.
How do I know if my counselor isn’t strong?
Like every profession, the talent pool of college counselors in this country varies from the outstanding to the remarkably weak. Sometimes the signs of poor counseling are flagrant; sometimes they’re more subtle. It’s obvious when counselors lose information or aren’t tracking the status of your application. It’s clear when you don’t want religiously affiliated schools, but they’re on your list. And, of course, your list of schools shouldn’t be lackluster in your intended major.
However, there are other red flags. One is when the process feels like an assembly line. Everyone comes in to the counselor – perhaps their information is even entered into a computer program – and 90% come out with the same list of colleges to which to apply.
It’s also a concern when counselors use guidebooks as reference points. Because this information is generally self-reported, unchecked, and manipulated in the college’s interest, stats and rankings from these sources are unreliable. Far more useful is having had numerous students go through the process so the counselor has an accurate picture of the admissions standards at various schools and has relationships with the admissions officers there.
You can also look at your high school’s transcript and profile. If class rank and grade distribution charts are included, it’s a sign that your high school isn’t aware of how this information can hurt its students.
What are some examples of poor advice from counselors?
Taking the wrong tests.
I’ve had students who’ve been told by their counselor, “Be sure you take a math subject test because colleges want that.” Of course, if you’re an engineering student, you generally have to take it, but if you’re a history student who isn’t good at math, you shouldn’t highlight that weakness by taking the math subject test. It’s the perfect way to sabotage your application to a strong school. Take the tests that highlight your strengths.
In other cases, if you’re not a strong test-taker and the schools you’re interested in don’t require them, it’s actually best not to take the subject tests at all. Advice in this area depends on your skill set, test-taking abilities, and the colleges to which you’re applying.
Getting the wrong recommendations.
Likewise, counselors have told students, “You have to get a recommendation from your junior-year teacher.” What if you want to be a math major, and you don’t have a good rapport with your junior-year math teacher but you had a great one with your sophomore teacher? Get the sophomore teacher to write your recommendation. Most colleges don’t specify the junior-year teacher.
Setting expectations too low.
Certainly, there are times when kids and parents have an inflated sense of the schools for which they’re competitive. Unless they have something truly unique to offer, students with a 4.0 and a 1400 (critical reading and math) can’t count on admission to the country’s top 25 schools. That said, I spend far more of my time encouraging students to increase their expectations than I do bringing them down a notch.
I can’t count the number of times each year that high school counselors sell their students short. One example is a student who was told by her counselor that the local junior college might be her only option. We discussed her situation, and of the 9 schools we selected for her, she got into 8 of them. Another example is a student who was told by her counselor that she didn’t have the scores to apply to Cornell. But the student was interested in hotel management. Cornell’s hotel school prizes experience, and she had done a lot of hospitality work. Though she wouldn’t have been accepted as a history major, she got into the hotel school – yet she wouldn’t have even applied if she’d listened to her counselor.
Using computer programs as admissions predictors.
I’ve had a number of students who’ve been misled by counselors using computer programs as their information source for college admissions standards. The typical scenario is that a student is directed to computer program that has a college’s admission history in scattergram format. Students look at the scattergram and assume they don’t have a hope of acceptance into a particular school, when in fact they’re solid applicants. The reason is that these scattergrams may not distinguish by gender, race, major, strength of essay, special talents/experiences, etc. Admissions at certain schools involves so many variables – some of which are subjective and intangible – that computer programs simply cannot substitute for experience and judgment.
If I see these signs at my high school, what can I do?
Families often take two approaches. One is to hire an independent college counselor to serve as their advocate throughout the process.
Another is to encourage their high school to strengthen its college counseling program. We work with high schools across the country to do this – speaking at Parents’ Nights to provide admissions information and set expectations; reviewing the high school’s counseling process and suggesting changes that will bring them to the next level; even serving as a resource throughout the year so counselors can call us to discuss strategies, verify information, and ask questions whenever the need arises.
Parent groups have invited us to make presentations to families and have connected us with the principal, headmaster, or superintendent to discuss how we can help a school or district improve its program.
What should I be looking for in a college?
It’s all about what’s right for you. There is nothing more personal in a student’s high school career than the college admissions process. Everyone takes biology, everyone takes algebra II, everyone takes U.S. history. But not everyone’s going to have the same major, the same interests, the same financial situation, the same desire to go in-state vs. out-of-state, etc. So if we had a student and four of his or her best friends, and everyone had the same academic background, we’d come up with four or five totally different scenarios for them.
Frequently Asked Questions