Being a school board member, I usually try to avoid the conflict of selling my services to my school district as a private college admissions counselor. But I will accept business from our school district — and have. And I find myself having concerns about our schools based on my knowledge as someone plugged into college admissions. (We do have two board members who work with students as part of Upward Bound, but it’s free to students, and it’s part of those board members’ regular jobs. I don’t have a problem with it, because it benefits a segment of the student population.) I have to stay up on new developments in the industry. Or my business will dry up. I visit several competitive colleges every year and talk to students, professors, and staff — and, of course, admissions staff. I’m not a salaried school counselor; I have to compete by offering the very best services I can. That means finding out as much as I can.
Are school counselors aware of the desire of colleges and universities to have their applicants be committed to social or environmental justice? Are they aware of all the opportunities for that? Does their school provide such opportunities? Does ours? Are students aware of digital strategies? Do they use SnapChat or Instagram just for fun? Or do they have strategic goals for using social media? Do they use these tools to demonstrate interest in the colleges of their choice? Do they even know why that’s important?
Students don’t know what they don’t know. Parents tend not to know what they don’t know. And the counselors tend not to know what they don’t know. Counselors will say they work on the Common App with students. I know that the Upward Bound and VSAC’s Gear Up counselors do. But how much time per student can they spend? Are they available after hours and at a moment’s notice?
Recently, I had a three-hour remote session with a student, starting at 8 pm, working with him on his Common App activities list. (I wasn’t charging by the hour.) I wasn’t pushing him. He wanted to keep going for that long. School counselors are not able to do that. Some students want more than what their school counselors can provide. This isn’t a criticism of school counselors. It’s the nature of the job. Even at private and independent schools. A three-hour session is unusual, but I have many students that say they feel rushed with their school counselors
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