Counselor situation?

Parents Forum
1

<p>My 11th grade daughter attends a very large suburban public high school (class size is a little over 1200). There are three counselors to handle her class. When I e-mailed her counselor to learn when she would be meeting with my daughter, I found out that the counselor would be out for surgery on that date and my daughter would be meeting with a substitute. I asked for a change of date so daughter could meet with her specifically, but was turned down.</p>

<p>This is a problem - daughter intends to apply to very selective schools where they really look at the counselor recommendation. At this point, it doesn't look like the counselor will even meet my daughter before writing the recommendation. </p>

<p>Any advice? I hate to feed into the "pushy mom" syndrome and complain to a school principal. I'm trying to persuade daughter to talk to the college counselor at the school about the situation and get her viewpoint.</p>

2

<p>I suggest that you find out how much the regular counselor will share with the substitute counselor.
However, since your child is in 11th grade, there should not be real urgency. Presumably, the GC recommendation letter will not be written until fall of her senior year?</p>

3

<p>A paper trail may be useful. For example, your daughter could list her concerns, activities, etc. and write or email the substitute and regular GC. After the conference, she could followup with a thank-you, recap, to the substitute and cc the regular GC. The rec will be written using the information in her folder. You and your D can do something about this. Good luck!</p>