<p>With all the advances in technology, and mechanisms assimple as email and Facebook, I am surprised that our high school makes no effort to get feedback from recent graduates about how they like their colleges. through Naviance, we know a lot about the kids who enroll at schools, but it would be great to know if they then hated it and transferred out or loved it beyond their dreams, despite it being their safety. I am seeking to persuade the school to do so. Does anyone get this sort of information from their high school?</p>
<p>Not on a systematic basis. But kids will come visit GCs, favorite teachers to give their impressions and parents will talk to one another about their kid’s experiences at XXX College or YYY University.</p>
<p>The high school sent a post card to all graduates asking for college e-mail and address so that current students might contact the college students if they want to visit.</p>
<p>Our high school does not solicit feedback in any systematic way. Many alums return and stop by their guidance counselors’ office, or younger siblings keep the GCs abreast of how they are doing. There is a lot of grapevine talk among parents which sporadically reaches the administration’s ear. </p>
<p>A formalized approach is a good idea. I’ll mention it to our high school college counselor.</p>
<p>I think this is a great idea, but am wondering about privacy issues. D’s school newspaper published a list of where the Seniors were planning to attend college, but it was strictly voluntary. The guidance office was not allowed to provide any information, the newspaper staff gave out forms. Over 300 students responded (out of 400). I talked to several parents, they were all eagerly reading it. It’s nice to see which students are attending a school your child might be interested in. I wish I had had this information when D was a sophomore or junior.</p>
<p>Since most college students finish classes before the high school Christmas break, the school invites the recent graduates (usually 12-15 of them attend) to come talk to the seniors at an assembly in the auditorium around that time.</p>
<p>Our school has a program where the current college freshman speak to the current high school seniors as well. Some teachers, especially the more advanced AP science and math teachers, speak to some former students to see how they fared freshman year and how the high school AP class could be improved to help them in college; she then makes some adjustments accordingly.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for the comments and suggestions to date. I agree that no one should be forced to divulge where they are going to school (incidentally, Naviance and similar databases, although anonymous, in cases where only a few students apply or are accepted to a school, make it easy to figure out students’ GPA and SAT scores).
I think that something as simple as postcards or emails asking alumni to grade their college 1-10 on quality of teachers; workload; and social life; with room for comments, would yield much more voluminous information than the small number of students who keep in touch with GC or the parent network.</p>
<p>We have a couple of connectors. Right before winter break there is a junior college fair where students (current freshmen and sophomores in college) come back to talk about where they chose to go to school and how it’s going. Not sure about all the specifics, but it’s mostly for juniors since seniors are in the thick of it. It’s truly voluntary thing but a lot of kids work in admissions and so they’re good at promoting their school regardless for the most part. But every year there’s a kid or two that transferred as well. Th School also hosts an annual Holiday party for all Alumni in town, which is a really fun way to reconnect with teachers and classmates every year. I think they are also starting to do more internet based survey’s both exit (from the school) and transition (to college) to see if they can measure certain intangibles that once a kid graduates you might never hear.</p>
<p>Our HS sends a follow-up questionaire to kids one year after graduation. It is not so much to rate their college of choice but rather asks questions about how well the student felt the HS had prepared them for the realities college academics. They also ask for suggestions to improve the HS’s programs and policies. This is a public school that sends 90%+ to 4 year schools.</p>
<p>Oldest daughters school hosts a luncheon with alumni and seniors- about the time when many colleges are out for the year.</p>
<p>I don’t think the emphasis is on how well the college choice process was handled, but on how well the high school did /did not prepare them for college.</p>
<p>Oftentimes the students report that because of certain classes in high school, the academic transition was fairly smooth.</p>
<p>I think they also appreciate the opportunity to discuss the transition with the soon to graduate students, it helps them process all that they have experienced over their freshmen year , I think.</p>
<p>Not sure what younger D’s school does, as an inner city public they have their hands full just dealing with current students, but there are enough attending her college, that they have clubs formed with the same focus as in high school.
( her global technology club for instance- through which she went to Ghana senior year of high school)</p>
<p>My daughters attended different private high schools. Both ask their HS alumni home for Christmas Break to speak about their colleges. I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to provide first-hand information to HS Seniors. But neither of my daughters chose to do it.</p>
<p>Our school has a giant map of the United States, and each year shows the schools where the prior year’s graduating class has gone. Each student’s name is posted (for example, Notre Dame will have a pin and a tag with the students’ names attending Notre Dame from the 2008-2009 class). The GCs also keep track of who went to schools in prior years. They can immediately tell you if a student from our high school ever went to ABC University in Arkansas. </p>
<p>If the kids are interested in asking questions, they usually have to track down the prior graduate themselves. Facebook makes it surprisingly easy.</p>
<p>No, but it’s a really good idea. We have an informal network so those of us who have kids in both college and HS can “talk up” the schools we like to kids we think may be interested.</p>
<p>Occasionally they will have a specific student who majored in X come back to talk to the students in an AP class about the opportunities in that field.</p>