<p>After reading the some threads about the Naviance and Scattergrams and then the thread about the school counselor messing up recently, I decided to email our high schools Career Center Counselor and ask some questions.</p>
<p>I asked if they had Naviance or a Scattergram and she wrote back that she had seen Naviance online and it looked useful but that they did not have it She said that she thought they had the same information in other programs that they use though. She asked me what kind of information I was looking for. I told her and NEVER heard back. </p>
<p>This school does not send many students out of state. We did send one to Yale a couple of years back. Our school has 3 regular counselors that the kids are assigned by last name and this Career Center counselor. The school likes to brag where they are in comparison to other schools in the state, regarding test scores etc. I find it strange that I cannot get an answer to what would appear to a few relatively simple questions which most schools sound like they can provide. </p>
<p>I am so glad that I found CC because it is looking like it will prove to be VERY valuable over the next year.</p>
<p>Some schools don't have Naviance but do keep records [with the actual names hidden] of the applicants to each college, whether they were accepted, and what their gpa and SAT were. That can work just as well, but Naviance is more fun. The good thing is that you and your child are taking the initiative to become informed about possibilities beyond what your GC is aware of.</p>
<p>That is exactly what I asked for when she told me that they didn't have Naviance. We would be perfectly happy to have at least that information.
Unfortunately, I recieved no reply when I told her that is the information that we would like to see.</p>
<p>I think I have my daughter go into her assigned counselor and see if she is more helpful. The career center counselor that I wrote to is the one that is supposed to help with the kids' college searches and the regular counselors do the rec's etc. </p>
<p>I have talked to a couple of parents now and they were not even familiar with the terms safety, match and reach...neither was I until I found CC !!</p>
<p>In my experience, HS counselors mean well, but there's just not enough of them to get to everyone. Think about the fact that the counselor you talked to probably has to answer questions like these for EVERYONE, not just you. How long ago did you send the email?</p>
<p>The counselors at my school are very nice, but most of them only know the really stellar students (my counselor loves me because I do very well and have lots of ECs) or the realllllly bad students who need lots of disciplinary action.</p>
<p>HisGraceFillsMe,
I realize that counselors are busy. I spoke with her 2 weeks ago and still no reply. My D is ranked 1st in her class with all AP and Honors classes, so she is a pretty stellar student but has yet to meet either the counselor that is assigned to her or the career center counselor. We had to go to the school web site to see who her assigned counselor was.</p>
<p>I think this is a situation where we will have to be proactive and my D will have to go into get the information. In speaking to a parent of a student that graduated this past year, she told me that they do not call the kids down to meet with them..it is up to the kids to go down themselves and get the information that they want. At least having the valuable information that we get from CC, we will know what to look for and to ask for.</p>
<p>See, at my school, the counselors periodically call you in to do what we call "grad checks"...they tell you how many credits you have, how many more you need, and what requirements you still need to graduate...they also give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have.</p>
<p>If it was that long ago, you're probably right and need to be proactive. I'm sorry if I offended you, btw...that wasn't my intention at all. </p>
<p>I agree with you, CC has been WONDERFUL for me...my parents didn't really go to college (although my dad did get his BS in Business Management from Univ. of Phoenix), and neither of my siblings went straight to a 4-year like I'm doing, so we were pretty clueless through the whole app. process.</p>
<p>Also, if you go to mychances.net and search on the colleges you're applying to, it shows you members who applied, their stats, and whether or not they were accepted/rejected/waitlisted/etc.</p>
<p>Is your kid an junior? My school only give juniors the access to the Naviance and Scattergrams. It's better to schedule a meeting with counselor assigned to your kid. They tend to be more nick face to face.</p>
<p>No I was not offended at all. I understood what you were saying. I will check out the web site you mentioned. Sounds like it could be helpful.
Thanks for your input.</p>
<p>"How has she registered for classes each year??"</p>
<p>hops_scout,
The students are given a catalog to look at their choices by their homeroom teacher. They then go to the media center/library and enter their own classes. They are only called to talk to a counselor if they choose a class that is already full or it does not work with their other choices schedule wise.</p>
<p>uml1958,
Yes she is a Jr. I will definitely tell my daughter to go and visit her assigned counselor. I only contact the career center counselor because I was told by a friend who happens to work in the school that that is the counselor that helps with the college choices and planning. The regular counselors are only there for issue/problems and the recs etc. This friend of mine had a son who graduated last year...he was never called down by any counselor, he brought them his recs to mail and that was about all they did.</p>
<p>It does sound like you will need to be more proactive. In our school the counselors start getting involved with the juniors in January or February. They have some group meetings that they set up with English classes where they go over the basics. They'll send some questionnaires home for parents and students to fill out and in the late spring they have a college fair and college night with admissions staff from various colleges present talking on different subjects. They set up individual meetings with parent and child in the spring of junior year and then again in the fall of senior year. If your school doesn't do this automatically I suggest your daughter or you and your daughter make an appointment. You want to get an idea from the GC what the results have been for kids like your daughter and what the time table is that they'll need from you so that they can do their part to help your child get into the schools she wants.</p>
<p>mathmom,
Thanks for your thoughts and input. I will take your advice and set up a meeting with the counselor. It appears that is the only way we will learn what we need to learn. The only function that is a planned thing here is a financial aid night that is held every March, which I am very greatful for it is just that I don't want any suprises next year in regards to admissions and applications.
I will make a list of questions that we want answers for and set up a meeting with the counselor.
Thanks again.</p>
<p>Flutemom, it sounds like your high school does not have enough data to support Naviance -- if it is rare for students to go out of state and the school only sent "one to Yale a couple of years back" -- then there aren't going to be enough data points to make a scattergram meaningful. </p>
<p>I'd also note that my kids were in public schools where it is also typical for most kids to stay in state, and I had very little contact with my kids g.c.'s. I never met my son's gc until after he was accepted at colleges -- and then just to call her to thank her for her help and offer some no-longer-needed college books & catalogs. (No, she didn't do all that much to help -- I was thanking her simply to be nice. She didn't mess up in any way and paperwork was done on time). </p>
<p>I'm saying this because if 90% of the kids at a school who go to college choose to attend public schools or less-selective private schools in state, --- then the reality is that the g.c. probably doesn't know. If it is rare for the g.c. to get calls from parents, esp. about colleges, then you may be coming off like a pushy parent talking about pie-in-the-sky -- you are asking questions she can't answer about things the school doesn't have, doesn't need, and can't afford. Worse, you are the parent of a high school junior calling in February to ask about stuff at a time when the office has to worry about getting mid-year transcripts out to colleges for their graduating seniors. You are asking them to produce data they don't have readily at hand at a time when there is no urgent need for you to know, and they are up against other deadlines.</p>
<p>Here's my advice: forget Naviance. You don't need it. That applies to schools where there are many students applying to very competitive colleges, so the students are in essence competing among themselves. Use public resources like GreatSchools.net to pull up data about how your daughter's school compares to others in the area. If your daughter is going to be applying to highly selective colleges out of state, then those schools are going to be where the "competition" is coming from. Your d. is #1 at her high school, and her transcript will reflect that -- so that's great. Her test scores will be looked at in context of the school she attends, so that will help as well. You can help by using internet resources and college guidebooks to find colleges that are a good fit for your d.</p>
<p>If the school g.c. does not have much personal experience with kids going to private, competitive colleges it really is not reasonable for you to expect much useful advice from her; she simply does not have the experience to draw from. I think if you meet with her, you should focus on learning what they typically do for kids and what procedures they follow, so you will be clear on what to expect and what not to expect. For example, some schools want all college application materials submitted via the gc's office, whereas at others the students simply apply directly to the college, arrange for teacher recs directly with the teachers, and the g.c. is only involved with sending the counselor recommendation & transcript.</p>
<p>calmom,
You make a lot of excellent points that I had not considered and that is very helpful to us. Thanks for your thoughts and experience in dealing with this situation. I will bookmarked this thread so I can refer back to it when needed.
Thanks so much for your help</p>
<p>Calmom's advice is on target and quite wise.</p>
<p>We cannot change the experiences the GCs bring with them. So we should determine what it is they can do for our kids, enlist their help in doing that accurately and on time, and get busy closing any knowledge gaps that exist.</p>
<p>Well, said, Calmom.</p>
<p>(edit: Didn't notice that the thread had gone to a second page; hadn't seen Flutemom's comment, above. But still want to second Calmom's observations.)</p>
<p>flutemom - I think CalMom's right, your school's placement history at elite private universities probably won't be helpful.</p>
<p>Regarding GCs, since you don't know how helpful the assigned GC will be, prudence dictates that you assume the GC will be of limited assistance. If the GC is capable, consider it a plus!</p>
<p>NewHope33, I agree completely. I will do as calmom suggested and find out exactly what the GC does do and let that be my starting point.
Thanks for the advice</p>
<p>Our large public HS sends most students to our state U's or midwest LAC's. GC's have 400+ students assigned; they discourage parent-initiated interaction in college searches/applications. DS had GC with 30+ years experience who retired before DD's turn. New crop of GC's seem less impressive; e-mailed DD's during her junior year as DD was starting search but GC didn't want to meet with DD 1-on-1 at that point. </p>
<p>Went on grand college tour this summer; at Tufts, presenting admissions rep responded to question about GC not knowing student due to turnover with answer that trying to understand school and student in perspective to school from GC rec, so not a problem if school known to Tufts (because many apps) but if not get GC to give them some perspective in letter (used example "if NHS is a big deal in your HS, have GC let us know"--struck chord with DD because only 21 of 375 seniors accepted into NHS and then comunity service fundraising events expected.) Very organized DD thought through things heard on trip and made a list of points for GC to consider including, telling GC about what she'd heard at Tufts as her reason for doing so. DD also had material to GC well before deadlines; GC said at time it was her "first big order." I still have never met or corresponded with the GC.</p>
<p>School demands high level of confidentiality on GC and teacher recs, so we don't know what was actually said, but DD's acceptances/honors acceptances/scholarships so far are exceeding expectations.</p>
<p>Bottomline: If going a different direction from most at public HS, be prepared to do own research and work within HS culture (as long as not too disfunctional), but respectfully let GC know what's needed to support student application with plenty of lead time, and there's a good chance you'll get co-operation and a good outcome.</p>