How badly will this affect my college apps?

Applying to College
1

<p>Apparently my counselor (who I've had and gotten to know for the past 3 years) is being promoted, and I'm being switched to a random different counselor I've never met. The school refuses to officially tell us until school starts (creating all sorts of common app confusion) but it is happening. </p>

<p>I already had a counselor switch after my freshman year, so I've been getting to know my counselor for years now. I can't imagine this new person (who doesn't even know my name) writing my counselor recommendation.</p>

<p>I'm applying to top schools so this makes me pretty nervous. Any advice on anything I can do?</p>

2

<p>Can’t you still get a recommendation from the old one?? Just indicate on your application that he/she has known you from before, and although they may not be your current counselor, it still counts- the fact that they were ever your counselor is enough…</p>

3

<p>How many years are you spending in HS? If you had a counselor switch after frosh year (9th grade) and then you got to know this counselor for 3 years (10th, 11th, 12th), then you are entering 13th grade? </p>

<p>Anyway, you could have your parents contact the school and see if you can keep the old counselor. You can ask the old counselor if they are allowed to write your rec (and if she/he would be willing to do so). You can ask your new counselor to speak with the old one before writing anything.</p>

4

<p>@mikemac‌ Oops, sorry. I had one awesome counselor freshman year but she retired. So I’ve had this new counselor for sophomore and junior year, and I was planning to have her senior year too (which is why I said 3 years). My bad.</p>

<p>Sadly, my public school of about 1,500 doesn’t work that way. Your counselor is decided by your last name. And she currently isn’t taking on any students in her new position. </p>

<p>Yeah, I was hoping to ask if she could write mine even if I indicate a different counselor. Ugh, I never imagined this happening…</p>

5

<p>I’m hoping this is all one incorrect rumor. One student claims to have spoken to her and heard this, but it’s all just speculation. I guess I’ll just wait till the school announces it officially.</p>

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<p>Colleges are completely aware that most counselors don’t know their students at all. You won’t be penalized for that.</p>

7

<p>The counselor letter is far less important than your teacher recs. The main point of the counselor rec is to say how your schedule, grades, etc. fit into your particular school; are you really pushing yourself, etc. Most counselors spend a total of about an hour over the course of 4 years with the kids they write for.</p>

8

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There are other takes on that.

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9

<p>If I were in the audience, I would have stood up and challenged Mr. Ripple’s ridiculous and one dimensional view – given the reality of many HS in this country. If that’s how you want to discriminate against people w/o Choate or Exeter level counselor staff, have at it Mr. Ripple. That’s pompous balderdash and he can shove his Lafayette College speech into his left ear. He’s making it out as some measure of the “initiative” of a potential applicant. He’s full of c r a p.</p>

10

<p>“You should have distracted him from his work and took that time away from the 5 seconds the other kids get”</p>

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<p>@T26E4, I couldn’t agree with you more. Personally I think its a disguised way of preferring kids from private schools or wealthy suburbs with high property tax revenue to pay for top schools. Those kids “know their counselor” because their parents wouldn’t have it any other way. The benefit of Mr. Ripple’s approach is it soothes the conscience of the adcom; for all we know, Mr. Ripple actually believes he is serving the noble purpose of admitting the “best” students rather than blatantly working as an emissary for the bursar’s office in bringing in full-pay kids. </p>

12

<p>Its not going to affect you that badly; in most big schools students barely know their counselors after having them for 4 years straight and they still produce top students.</p>

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<p>If it makes you feel better, my kids spent their first 3 years getting to know the GC (suburban public hs, 300 kids to a counselor) and then she went and had a baby and they got a brand new one. They both are in top schools. Colleges know the counselor recs are often phoned in. I personally think it’s a huge waste of time to reaffirm that some kids go to places with excellent college counseling and others go to big impersonal schools - they know the name of the hs already. </p>