I am very frustrated dealing with my D’s HS counselor. Here is my major concerns about this woman:
DELAY and irresponsible:
She does not respond to my questions OR delay answering my questions (takes 2-3 weeks to respond)
It took 3 weeks to set up an appointment to meet her (I had to emailed multiple times to get a day and time)
incompetence:
I sent up an online course for her to review and approve. I included ALL necessary information in March. She said she viewed and would sent up to the principal to review. I told her approval is time sensitive since D should start asap to complete the heave loaded course in a permitted time frame. She agreed; however, I did not hear anything two weeks later. With past bad experience, I asked her what’s going on, and she said she can’t find the course info that I sent her and asked me to send again. I sent it again to her and followed up one week later. She did not reply ( as always). A few weeks later, she finally told me the principal is reviewing. It already took more than one month to get the form sent up to the principal.!!
Upon receiving the approval from the principal, we finally paid and registered the course and began to study. All in a sudden, this woman told me to hold off the course since she has not got a chance to review the accreditation of the course! Shouldn’t it be done before being sent up to the principal?! She asked me to send the course info for the 3RD time. The principal apologized the delay and confusion of the whole entire process.
D is only in 8th grade. Thinking about this woman will handle all important college application materials for D, I am sweating. Should I use this incident to approve her incompetence and ask for a new counselor? I am kind of hesitating - will D get affected if the principal does not approve the change and the counselor. What if she knows I am trying to replace her. She is the one writing recommendation eventually.
If it is a private school, you should ask for a different counselor. However, the new one might not be better. Public schools often don’t allow a change to counselors, and you just need to learn to deal with her.
I didn’t like my daughters’ counselor, but GCs were assigned by alphabet and there was no changing. Each counselor had about 400 students to advise. Their first responsibility was to get their assigned students out of high school, make sure each student had the minimum requirements, but they also had a lot of discipline, family, and special issues (new family registrations, IEPs) to deal with. College admissions were second priority. The GC did know the state colleges and universities pretty well, and knew what was required for admission and financial aid. If you wanted something else, you were pretty much on your own to research it and make the request for transcripts. Of course my kids wanted something else.
I think you should have researched whether the online class was accredited. You are asking the school to review curriculum and that’s a lot of work. Again, if a private school you have a right to expect them to go the extra mile. If a public school, you can ask but they just don’t have the time to give every student a custom schedule.
wait, what??
your D is in 8th grade? Not in HS?
And this woman is the HS counselor? Am I missing something here?
I think you are asking a LOT of someone whose prime focus is, and should be, on the students who currently ARE in HS, not in 8TH grade. Even if the school is a private one.
My advise is to calm down and not make an enemy of this person by making too many demands on her time for a student who is not even in HS yet!!!
Our strategy when we needed signatures like this was to also bring baskets of muffins or cookies, a huge smile, and a grateful attitude. Whether this counselor or someone else will be helping your daughter four years from now, you have to have a cooperative working relationship.
You are on CC already, you are an organized parent, and you can manage most parts of the process independently. Do not aggravate someone four years in advance-just be polite and persistent.
It’s absolutely and entirely inappropriate for you to “expect” that the high school guidance counselor – at a high school your child isn’t even yet a student at – should respond to ANYTHING you have to say. Much less jump through whatever hoops you want her to.
It sounds as though you approach her with a very entitled attitude. Was there a please and thank you anywhere in your communication, or just an imperious demand that she do things for you?
I’m not following here… is this an online course being offered by your D’s present school? Or is it an external course by offered by some other school, and if so, is this external course a graduation/progression requirement by your D’s present middle school?
Agree that I was with you feeling frustrated at the slow response times until I saw your child is in middle school. Unless the reason for involving the HS counselor was because the class would be credited towards HS, it’s hard to understand why the counselor didn’t simply refer you to the middle school counselor. The HS counselor’s priorities are to his/her current students, especially those actively going through the admissions process. This does not sound like an “incompetence” (sic) counselor, but perhaps one with clearer priorities. If you were awaiting feedback from the principal, maybe an email to the principal would have been the appropriate direction to pursue.
Why should the HS counselor spend one iota of energy on your daughter? She isn’t even a student! She’s probably loaded with work trying to make sure a group of students transitions out of school into college and she has to make sure students are beginning the application process. The least of her concerns is someone who isn’t even a student in her school who has the next 5 YEARS to figure out whatever she was complaining about. She has real priorities and your problems are hardly urgent. You just didn’t want to wait for a reply.
What kind of school is this that allows parents to find outside credit courses? Does your daughter need the credit to pass 8th grade or is this in addition to her regular classes? Middle school records aren’t normally used on college apps, so I don’t understand why this is such a barn burner. If it were truly that time sensitive, you should have included the accreditation information, found out what the school’s turnaround time is for this type of task, and made sure to get them all the info. they needed to complete the review by the date you needed it. If you send incomplete records when applying to colleges or for financial aid, they won’t care. They just won’t process the forms.
If I felt the course held value for my daughter and she wanted to take it, I’d let her do it whether or not the school granted credit for it. If she needs the credits, you should find out the process for getting courses approved (and include enough lead time so your daughter has time to complete the class). Sending in an incomplete request ~12 weeks before the end of the school year is pushing it, especially if the school has year end tests to think about on top of tying up loose ends for their college bound seniors.
Please clarify. Why would the HS counselor be doing any work with your MS student…especially in March when that person really should be still dealing with HS seniors in the midst of college acceptances or not…and HS juniors who are beginning the college search.
ETA…i just read all of your other threads. It seems your goal is to package your daughter for college applications. Sure, you should be an advocate for her…but honestly, things you have suggested or done…ACT in 7th grade to test the waters, possibly taking an additional science course instead of band in 9th grade and your kid loves band. I won’t go on. Others can read for themselves.
maybe I’m misreading all of this…but you sound like you are really helicoptering.
For the record…I wasn’t thrilled with my son’s GC. She was not a good advocate for students…another whole story. But it never crossed my mind to,ask for someone else. And in the end, the kid got accepted to the colleges of his choice.
Maybe when the time comes for your child to schedule her HS classes you could have a meeting with the counselor in person? And please let your child pick some activities they enjoy and not just push academics. My daughter’s university doesn’t even accept credit for online courses, so unless your D enjoys doing them for enrichment, I’d save my money.
Hi OP! Looks like you are a new member to CC!! Welcome!
Is this GC the assigned GC for freshmen only or will she be your d’s GC for all 4 years of high school? Is she the one assisting with picking a 9th grade schedule?
As far as some of your other questions (other thread) such as PE at the CC, does the high school offer summer school classes? Or another local high school? I only ask that most of the other students in the PE at the college will be much, much older and that in itself my pose problems since it is PE. Now if she takes a PE that is a sport she practices with a club, then she might have no problems, ie swimming, running, golf, tennis.
(Other thread) Is the honors chem a pre-req for the AP chem at the high school? or a pre-req for physics? Is there a co-req with the Honors Chem/AP Chem that is a certain level math? And what ss class would she be sacrificing? Is there no room for band even with the summer PE and skipping ss? Band is a great EC that has so many benefits both academically, and socially.
As far as the GC, have you met with her personally? Along with your daughter? Being pleasant and assertive will go along way vs. aggressive and frustrated. Even if you are frustrated. Four years can be a VERY long time.
Is she in public or private school? Is it a magnet?