<p>How much or how little do they help with the application process? I had asked for the sealed transcripts so that I could along with my daughter send out everything and guidance insisted on doing it. Well its been one thing after another. What could have been a very costly mistake was discovered yesterday. Anapplication was being sent out with a page missing from an essay. She had stapled two page twos together. The problem was the early apps were already sent out and my daughter thought if guidance did that now it could have happened to the early apps. I immediately called admissions and surely one had two of the same page. The admissions person was very accomodating and I faxed the page. Are these types of mistakes common?</p>
<p>It depends on the school.</p>
<p>The sad truth is that you'll have to follow up on just about everything.</p>
<p>4 apps for my kid. Assured that packages were sent. None received after 3 weeks. Emailed and called both schools and GC. Schools said nope, don't have. GC says mailed. Wrong. Never happened--sure the USPS is a mess but losing four packages? I don't think so.</p>
<p>Offer to pay for overnighting so that you get a tracking number and a receipt.</p>
<p>Most school guidance offices will insist on sending transcripts to colleges directly. This is not incompetence; it's an attempt to prevent tampering and may be required both by school system policy and by the colleges.</p>
<p>A lot of the other problems can be avoided if kids apply online, which is what both of mine did. With online applications, the actual application, including essays, never falls into the hands of the HS guidance department.</p>
<p>My daughter's HS seems quite efficient in terms of sending out paperwork. Actual guidance, however, is nonexistent.</p>
<p>Our guidance office did a great job in getting everything out! I am amazed at how well it goes, considering that many students have 10+ apps. I checked on everything myself. Only one transcript got lost. This I am sure was an error at the college. I know that the GC sent it out. When I discovered that they did not have the transcript the GC faxed out a second. It was not a problem, but it was a delay at a rolling school. My only complaint is that they don't get started in mailing out apps until October 1. I think that for rolling schools paperwork should begin in September.</p>
<p>GCs seem to vary widely. My son's is wonderful, has spent a lot of time getting to know him and advising him. I had the time to help S with a very thorough cross-country college search. I would not have expected this of a GC, because I think their caseloads are usually too large for that.</p>
<p>The basic paperwork they should be expected to do. I wouldn't assume the HS is always at fault. We've had a few experiences of mis-filed, mis-placed documents on the colleges' end. You have to check up on everything to be sure. My nephew applied to 3 schools on-line with CA. One of those schools either didn't get it or lost it. He didn't know he needed to check. So he got in nowhere. They scrambled and found him an opening somewhere else, but it was an unpleasant 2 months for them.</p>
<p>They are not perfect. They tend to be underfunded and have too many kids per person. </p>
<p>I have never heard of an office that would allow kids to send out their own transcripts. (Except after they have graduated.) I suppose there's concerns about altering them. </p>
<p>As online applications have become the norm, our guidance office seems to be flailing a bit. I think they're concerned about "losing control." (Actually sort of a valid concern in some ways.)</p>
<p>Our office uses the self-addressed post card thing. So we know when a college has received the transcripts and guidance counselor recommendation.</p>
<p>It is always wise to have a wall calendar out and track your important stuff. Checking up on a schedule for progress is much smarter than waiting till disaster strikes and having to blow up. </p>
<p>Polite, consistent follow ups help keep you ontrack without being overbearing.</p>
<p>"I have never heard of an office that would allow kids to send out their own transcripts"</p>
<p>Ours did. The 1st 5 were free. After that they supplied as many sealed transcrips as needed for $2.00 per copy. We also received sealed recs (although the teachers and GC showed us copies) and all other pertinent info. so we could mail everything in one FedEx package.</p>
<p>Competence and efficiency really seem to vary from school to school. in most schools, the clerical staff gathers the documents contained in the application package. Remember, they are paid next to nothing!! And, they have very little training! As has been mentioned, parents/students--somebody--should always followup to make sure the necessary documentation gets where it needs to go! Many schools are doing an online check list as documents are received, which I'm sure saves EVERYONE time and energy. </p>
<p>I know of one h.s. where the secretary must know the date the 'submit' button is pushed. They say if she sent the rec/transcript packet before the online app is submitted, the admissions office will just throw it away because they don't have a file to put it in! I'm thinking that's not exactly the way it works at admissions offices! </p>
<p>I'm wondering if there are other schools that won't process a transcript request until after the application has been submitted online?...</p>
<p>The GC is ultimately responsible, but the clerical staff holds a pretty important piece of the puzzle! Hmmm...maybe a nice plate of holiday cookies might not be a bad idea for that hard-working secretary!</p>
<p>I had complaints about our guidance couns. and registrar earlier this year - They did not have the meeting to talk about policies and dates until after October, in this meeting they talked about things you should do sr year like leadership opportunities and what classes should be taken. Well, it's too late to do anything about those types of things in October of sr year!! And, my s, who had finished his apps early, had to wait until after this meeting to have any transcripts sent. So, the day after the meeting, he brought in his form to have the transcript sent. He didn't need any supporting info, so the form should have been processed in 24 hours (as stated in the school's policy). Somehow, the form was filed in the wrong place and 2 weeks later, I went by to check (univ. status page still showed no transcript). After searching for the form, the woman came back and said that somehow it had been misfiled and was waiting for supporting documentation... WELL, there wasn't any!! So, that form would have been sitting there forever. OK rant over. Everything was taken care of. Apologies were proferred and my s has been accepted to the college he wanted to go to. </p>
<p>After much frustration, I now realize that these poor people are overworked, underpaid, and as frustrated as we are. It is easy to get to my state of mind now because everything is done! Good luck to all with guidance/registrars! Stay on top of things, check and recheck, and then breathe a huge sigh of relief when all documentation is confirmed to be received at the college admission office.</p>
<p>roadless:
I think that is a very good idea actually. Somehow it would be reassuring to have a little more control over the whole process. </p>
<p>I find the teacher recs to be particularly worrisome. Seems like they could be sealed and signed too, although maybe some kids would just write their own...</p>
<p>I still like Georgia Tech's system. On their application kids just self-report their entire transcript. Then it isn't verified until acceptance. Seems easier.</p>
<p>“Seems like they could be sealed and signed too, although maybe some kids would just write their own...”</p>
<p>Even if the h/s sends the transcripts students’ can still write their own. It isn’t hard with today’s computer tools to duplicate h/s letterhead and forge a teacher’s sig. If you don't ask a teacher to send a rec to a particular college, whom will ever know?</p>
<p>Now that I’ve supplied directions on how to perpetrate a sham……….:)</p>
<p>Our HS registrar will provide transcripts for $2.00. If they are released to student, they have a sticker over the envelope seal saying, "Official Transcript: not valid if seal is broken". Registrar is a veteran and doesn't seem to make mistakes. I'm a little worried about son's GC, though, dealing with the organizing and collecting the papers for some of his colleges. She insisted that we do it this way, and had DS fill out one form to submit to her for each college - but it seemed a difficult and confusing way to handle things. She is new in her job and has never done college paperwork before. I'm hoping she'll just hand the packets back to DS and let him organize and send them off!!!! Time is running out here - only 9 more days until things need to be in the mail!!! :(</p>
<p>I have, so far, applied to 8 schools - 3 EA. My guidance counselor has been overheard at least twice by two people I know complaining about how much work I've given her, even though she had at least 2 weeks notice for the EA schools and knew months ahead of time for RD.</p>
<p>My son applied to 10, 2 EA. We've had no complaints from the HS (we love them!). They did thank us for getting our requests in early. I think they get a lot of last-minute requests and it's hard for them to deliver.</p>
<p>My guidance was pretty good, they did everything that i wanted and sent out everything on time. I really didn't need any help from them cause I had CC :) so there you go.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Most school guidance offices will insist on sending transcripts to colleges directly.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Actually most colleges insist on receiving these from the schools, not from the applicant.</p>
<p>I feel that students and parents should remember that these guidance counselors are bring paid to do this job ! They should not complain about how many applications they have to process at all. Of course , the small privates and the very small religious school GCs probably do not get paid much but it irks me when public school GCs throw their hands up - -- they have the same benefits as the teachers . This is their job.</p>
<p>Online is easier . We just did our State ones online and H.S. GC confirmed by email that she did transcripts online as well .</p>
<p>my GC is horrible. even if, as the above poster notes, she is a small religious school GC. she basically acts as if the only universitites that exist are Wayne State, U of M Ann Arbor, and Yeshiva University. I think U of M is a great school but it is not for everybody and she has trouble seeing that. She never makes suggestions and nods her head at everythign you say. She really does not have much of a clue about the admissions process. She's been known to be untimely abot sending in transcripts and recs. And she basically wants us to do all the work. My friend who initially thought she wa applying only to Bar Ilan in Israel realized she should broaden her choices. The GC was of no help and just kept suggesting U of M. So she took matters in to her own hands and decided on colleges she thought might be OK for her. Oh, and did I mention our GC does not help you with situations in school either? When I asked her about my EC situation (which I believe is OK but not good enough for the shcool I want to go to, and keeping in mind that our school offers little to no EC's) she just said, you're in a good place right now and - guess what! - nodded her head! CC has been a godsend for this reason and I thank everyone who has posted. I have gleaned tons of info that I never would have if I relied solely on my GC. Thanks to CC, I am also able to answer questions kids in my class ahve about college, or standardized tests, or what not (since my GC does not suply adequate answers). Thank you CC (even if you guys do make me a little neurotic)!</p>
<p>My HS's guidance department is disturbingly bad. The counselors (about 5) themselves do not assist in sending out the paperwork, but their secretaries do (2). Essentially, these two ladies sit behind the desk all day contemplating what to order for lunch, whether or not our hs girls field hockey team won, or any other misc. gossip completely unrelated to their job. I was the first student for my class to try to order a transcript and have my GC fill out a supplemental form, only to find out that they decided to "completely revamp the system" of how they did things last year. Because of that, they had NO forms ready for about two or more weeks. Although the process was easy thereafter, it wasn't due to any intellect they possess. In the process of politely checking up to see if my transcripts were ready (one week later, and I only ordered one), the secretary thought it was necessary to tell me condescendingly -- as if I personally offended her -- that they wouldn't be done for another couple of days (same sec. that specifically said, "come back x and we'll have them ready"). I'm just glad I managed to get everything done when I did, because I now hear complaints from every other senior who is processing their transcripts now. Poor souls.</p>