Generally, school counselors have access to information regarding your grades, your classes, and usually, your extracurricular activities. It means that they can help you see the bigger picture in terms of planning your future. However, it is entirely up to you to ensure that you acquire the career and college guidance you need.
You might be wondering, “what can your high school help you do? ” Your high school counselor is the person who sends essential parts of your application, for example, your high school transcripts. And that is not the only role your high school counselor plays in the overall college application process. When it comes to college planning, s/he can help you do all of these things:
Finding Colleges
Your high school counselor can help you come up with a list of colleges to check out – this is depending on your interests and each college’s characteristics. Once it comes down to narrowing down your particular list, your high school counselor may help you classify schools into the match, reach, and safety colleges.
Sending Your Transcript
In most cases, your counselor deals with sending your high school transcripts to the specific colleges you apply to. You will find some college applications accompanied with transcript-request forms which you should issue to your counselor. Perhaps, you might simply have to request your counselor to send the transcripts.
Understanding Requirements
Generally speaking, colleges have various application requirements. Many colleges ask applicants to submit an essay. Most request applicants to send scores from their admission test, for example, the ACT or the SAT. Your counselor should explain each college’s requirements and help you register for your admission tests if need be.
Getting Recommendations
In certain colleges, they request a recommendation letter issued by the high school counselor. It doesn’t matter whether the college does not specify, it would be prudent to ask your counselor for a letter of recommendation provided s/he knows you well enough to talk about your character and strengths.
Make the Most of Your Time with Your High School Counselor
- Stay organized. Find out an effective system for keeping track of all application parts and deadlines yourself.
- Be early. If you would start doing tasks – such as gathering ideas for application essays, researching colleges, and making requests for your recommendation letters – much ahead of time, you will make it much easier for your counselor to provide you with timely answers whenever you need assistance.
- Be prepared. If you do meet with your high school counselor, ensure that you have prepared a list of questions, and know what you need to talk about.
- Be responsible. Although your counselor can help you in numerous ways, you ought to remember that this is your project and responsibility! In short, it is up to you to request your counselor for the assistance you require. Schedule appointments when you want to speak to him or her.
Bottom Line
Hopefully, you’ve learned some of the many ways high school counselors can help you. Make an appointment to visit a counselor for the first time during your freshman year. Look forward to building a relationship with the counselor during your four years in high school and ensure that you speak about your particular goals and interests when you meet. In the end, your counselor will play a significant role when it comes to filling out college applications.