Counsellor's errors

Applying to College
1

<p>My high-school counsellor just wrote me the secondary school report, and I see mistakes rampant everywhere.</p>

<p>He states that my school has 8 AP courses. The reality? 0 AP courses. I was the only grade 11 to take any AP exams this year. In fact, I'm the first one in school history to get a 5 in more than one subject. (got 5's in AP Bio, Psych and Calc AB). What he means, though, is that the school will give "credit" for an AP course if you take the exam. So, I self studied those 3 AP tests, and the school will give me school credit for them which applies to graduation.</p>

<p>But, how can that be stated as 8 AP courses? </p>

<p>Also, my school has 4 honours classes (Math 9, 10, 11, 12) and my counsellor wrote 6. I don't know what he is talking about.</p>

<p>Also, he listed my course-load compared to other students in the class NOT as "most rigorous".</p>

<p>To me, that is an insult. Last year, 4 grade 12 students took AP Calculus and 1 grade 12 student took AP Psychology.</p>

<p>Me, I took AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Psychology as a grade 11. No other grade 11 has taken AP's.</p>

<p>I have taken Math 12 during my grade 10 year. I have the most classes finished in my grade. I don't know how he can say that somebody else has a mor rigorous curriculum.</p>

<p>Besides, am I even supposed to be reading this? If not, I guess that's another mistake for him, as he gave it back to me yesterday for me to mail out to colleges.</p>

<p>What do I do now? Do I go back to him and ask him who in my grade has a more rigorous program than me?</p>

<p>Ugh, I hate Canada..</p>

2

<p>well talk to him. don't yell at him, although that was my first thought. sometimes counselors don't realise how important their positions are... sort of upsetting.</p>

3

<p>Yea... thanks.</p>

<p>I really don't want to have to do go in and tell him, "who in my grade has a more rigorous curriculum than I do?"</p>

<p>I can't find a way to phrase that any better. I don't want to come off as a jerk, although the counsellor knows that I am not.</p>

4

<p>Find a way to have someone contact the school, and ask how many ap CLASSES they have, etc. Just getting information etc. See what the secretary says</p>

<p>Does the school have a website listing courses, etc. My Ds school has all classes in the catalog online so it is easy to verify</p>

<p>Get a little bit of back up information for your self, in case the counselors pride won't allow him to make the corrections</p>

5

<p>Thanks citygirlsmom,</p>

<p>Since 80% of the teachers in my school do not even know what AP is, there is zero chance that a secretary would know how many AP CLASSES my school has, since I'm in Canada.</p>

<p>However, "AP Classes" according to american standards, have teachers in their respective classrooms and are TAUGHT like every other class is taught.</p>

<p>It is not -- "If you go self-study for the test and come back to us and show us your test scores, we'll give you in-school credits."
That's not a course in anybody's definition, so I'm guessing my counsellor was in a hurry or something and just made a mistake.</p>

<p>My school website does not have one mention of the word "AP".</p>

<p>I'm sure the counselor will change it, and same with him not checking the "most rigorous curriculum in the class" box. </p>

<p>If nobody in my class has ever taken AP exams, and only about 10 out of 300 students have advanced classes (meaning that they would take grade 11 courses in grade 10, etc), I cannot see how I do not have the most rigorous curriculum, but I guess that was just a mistake.</p>

<p>Any tips on how I should go about doing this? Again, I have to go in and essentially say that "Nobody in this grade has taken more rigorous courses as I have." I think that could come across as me being an arrogant son of a *****.</p>

6

<p>When you're pointing out errors, try phrasing your complaints in question form. For example, start by telling him you have a few questions about the information he wrote about the school and then ask, "You wrote that the school has six honors classes. I think I'm miscounting because I only know about Math 9-12. What are the other two?" Be as polite as possible so that he doesn't go on the defensive, because if he does then you won't get anywhere. When you approach the issue about your courseload, you can say something along the lines of, "I don't mean to be rude, but I've taken the hardest courseload available to me and I've taken my studies really seriously. I'm wondering whether you could explain to me why you checked () instead of ()?" </p>

<p>I'd talk to him about the fact that you've tried your hardest to get the most out of the educational system at the school and that your college applications are really important to you, etc blah blah blah. As long as you stay polite, even-tempered, and approach it as a discussion rather than an accusation, you should be ok. You might have a couple of other questions prepared about your applications or something so that the whole meeting isn't just to do with his mistakes but rather with your application process. </p>

<p>Also, maybe if you make an appointment for a long-is meeting, you can get him to fill out the form during that time to make sure he doesn't rush it. I don't know whether any of this will help you with your counsellor, but I hope it gives you some ideas...and that it makes sense. :P</p>

7

<p>seole,</p>

<p>Thanks for your advice. While the apparent fact that he did not fill out the form very carefully irritates me a bit, I'm going to stay as polite and even-tempered as possible. So, as you said, it sounds more like a request and an inquiry rather than a challenge or an accusation. Thankfully my teachers' recs are stellar... hopefully it will make up for my counsellor's recommendation letter (which is less than 100 words long...ugh)</p>

8

<p>You sound like you've worked really hard. I'm sure that it'll show. You might ask the teachers who are giving you recommendations to highlight the fact that you've taken advantage of the school's resources to the best of your ability to stay challenged...that's impressive.</p>