<p>I've had some problem with my guidance counselor. This year has been kind of tough with personal problems, and I don't think that she has a particularly positive opinion of me. So, really, does it matter what she says about to colleges?</p>
<p>I would add that I'm an active member of my high school in extracurriculars with the hardest course load possible.</p>
<p>Well, let's hope not! I am in the same situation as you =)</p>
<p>EDIT: haha, looked through your posts and stumbled across this one:</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>I, personally, can't say I know. Not an ex-adcom or anything, just another student. Though I'd think that that Guidance Counselor recommendations are likely to be looked upon quite highly (as students and guidance counselors are supposed to interact somewhat often in high school) I would think that Guidance counselors are seen more as administrators than as someone who knows you personally. As such, unless you practically live in the guidence office like some people, they're not supposed to know you as well as, say, a teacher. If you have many teacher recs in your favor and an angry guidance counselor they may not put too much weight on the GC's rec.</p>
<p>However, for safety's sake, you should probably try to repair whatever bad image of you they have, or (if there isn't enough time) see if you can find another counselor, someone you may have spoken to in a previous year, and fill them in and ask them. If it's someone who doesn't know you at all, try and breifly explain the situation and give them some info like some teacher recs, a cover letter/resume or something so they can get to know you faster. With a rigorous course load, often they'll make assumptions about you that will work out to your favor.</p>
<p>If that doesn't work don't include it if it's not explicitely asked for.</p>
<p>BUMP! If any wise, college admissions savvy person would answer? -hint parents-</p>
<p>Because my GC doesn't know much more about me besides my name. Our GCs basically just handle scheduling and transcript issues, so I've only talked to mine once or twice, and not on anything personal. I may have come off as extremely confused... </p>
<p>We also filled out this sheet about our goals for after school and how school's going for us, but they were short and couldn't support a rec. </p>
<p>So impersonal, standard "she's a good kid and a good student" recs-- do they have an effect?</p>
<p>An impersonal rec will probably be neutral -- neither harmful nor particularly helpful. If your case with the GC is just that she doesn't know you very well, you're probably overestimating any negative impact your few encounters with her have had. Her rec will probably be very objective, matter-of-fact, and based on your records.</p>
<p>If you can get a good personal rec from a teacher who knows you well, that will be very useful. But don't worry about the GC's rec. Keep in mind that your success is the school's success too; she's on your side, if you're one of the school's better students.</p>
<p>That's good :) I was concerned colleges would expect/assume most students to have developed a relationship with their GCs, which isn't common at my school.</p>
<p>You could make an appointment and ask her to advise you on how she handles letters of recommendation and see how she reacts.</p>
<p>If you are not a senior, why not use the time you have to form a relationship with the gc. Let him/her know what your plans are, ask for advise and let him/her get to know you and your interests. Then when it is time for a recommendation, s/he will be able to say more than the standard bland items about you. Also, you will probably get some good advice.</p>
<p>My GC is super busy. She wouldn't appreciate anyone hanging around just to talk, and hopefully that'll be understandable to colleges.</p>
<p>I'm not a senior. My GC's been switched once--she might be again by senior year. </p>
<p>I think I'll just not worry about this :) Thanks for the advice, and sorry for hijacking.</p>
<p>I think you misunderstood my suggestion. Of course, you don't hang around just to talk. But, you can ask advice about class choice, while explaining what your interests are and why you are considering various courses. You can ask for advice for volunteer work in your areas of interest. This is not a waste of the gc's time, it is what their job is about.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I attend a large public school where my counselor doesn't know me well. Will I be at a disadvantage because this person couldn't possibly write anything insightful about me? Gary Ripple, now director of admissions at Pennsylvania's Lafayette College, was asked this question when he was admissions dean at Virginia's College of William and Mary. He said to the student questioner: "I wonder why your counselor doesn't know you. Your counselor probably has over 300 students he or she is responsible for. You should take the initiative to get to know your counselor. At William and Mary, we look for students who take charge of their lives." The student sank slowly into his seat, Ripple recalls.
US</a> News and World Report
[/quote]
I think this is unfair; at private schools and publics in affluent areas the counselors see it as their responsibility to get to know the kids and to actually provide guidance. In most of the other publics, the guidance counselor has 700+ kids and spends most of her/his time working with the ones about to drop out or with serious issues; the kids bound for colleges are seen as success stories and pretty much left to their own devices. </p>
<p>Institutionally, policies like this work to allow colleges to select wealthier kids without having to admit to giving them a preference. "Evaluating counselor letters" sounds like a neutral criteria, but where do you think most kids who have counselors that get to know them come from?</p>
<p>Do college like it if the paper is specific?</p>
<p>Like talk about actual occurances instead of the general "he does well in these ECs, has won these awards"</p>
<p>Mike, I agree with you -- I will remember the arrogance of Gary Ripple. What I would have like to have heard in response to that question, is we evaluate the entire you. The people who come from schools with 300 kids per GC are likely from less advantegous areas. If you come from a private school or an affluant public, we expect your GC will know you.</p>
<p>^thats always true (my parents make like 200,000+, so we are more than advantaged), and our school has like 400 kids per GC...but maybe thats because a 2500+ kid school is too big.</p>
<p>My D goes to a public school in an affluent, but not rich rich rich area. Lot of laywers, business people, but everyone works. No sport stars. There are about 125 kids in each grade. They divide up the GCs so that each child stays with the same one for at least 10-12.</p>
<p>Yes, I could ask for advice on class choice. But the problem is, I don't need that kind of advice from her; I can get it easily on websites like CC and from friends. And hanging around so that she can "get to know me" on a pretense is sucking up, and I would be wasting her time and mine, and I'd feel terrible. </p>
<p>I guess I just won't apply to Lafayette ^.^</p>
<p>Keshira, I totally agree with you. My guidance counselor gives me bad advice, I really don't think she knows what colleges are looking for. A lot of things I've seen people talk about on here, like self-studying APs, I tell her. She responds that these things are crazy and I shouldn't even attempt doing them. I'm just not going to listen to her anymore. We don't really get along that well because we have different personalities, so I don't want really get to know her or get her to know me.</p>