<p>My school has ~2000 students spread over 7 counselors (we have a different College Advisor though), which translates as close to 285 students per counselor (assuming the load is distributed equally) or ~72 students per counselor in each graduating class.</p>
<p>Anyway my counselor doesn't know me (My IB Coordinator knew me somewhat but she left and we have a new IB Coordinator who's a ***** honestly) and I've been planning on changing that somehow. So yesterday we received a call (I answered the call posing as my dad - my parents don't speak English that well and prefer I pose as them plus they're never around) from the Guidance Department about something and the guidance counselor called me a she and when I corrected her she replied "Sorry...I don't really know this student that well" (confirming my thoughts).</p>
<p>I want to start meeting with her starting next (Sophomore) year so that she knows me somewhat. Now I was wondering what I can talk about.</p>
<p>I can see why you feel the need to plan so far in advance (in most cases, I would say don't worry about it until jr. year but you are clearly up against some imposing numbers). So...</p>
<p>how about you make an appointment to talk about planning out your schedule for the next couple of years. You can then discuss your particular interests, what classes you want to try to get in before you graduate, and seek guidance on how to accomplish what you have in mind. Once that's done, just check back in from time to time.</p>
<p>I'm not sure that your idea will work, smile dog.</p>
<p>When IB students have questions about course selection, they are usually told to talk to the IB Coordinator, rather than the guidance counselor. The GC is usually not responsible for understanding the complexities of the IB program; that's the IB Coordinator's job. (I have a daughter who just graduated from an IB program, so I have seen how this works.)</p>
<p>Prior to the college admissions process, my daughter talked one-on-one with her GC exactly once (she needed a form signed to take a summer course at a community college). There was never any other occasion for them to meet.</p>
<p>Can anybody think of any other general topics that medha could bring up in a general conversation with the GC?</p>
<p>Medha - Gazing into your future I see great success. I think you have the situation beautifully analyzed, and you've done that far enough ahead of time that you can affect the outcome in a very positive manner. Congrats on that.</p>
<p>First, you are organized, you are male, and you will be a first generation college student. These are all very positive. It's JMHO, but I think you might want to start with a couple of teachers you like. They doubtlessly know what the school's guidance load is, and I'm sure they know that teacher evaluations are very helpful in large high schools such as yours. Also, if there is a way to work with the guidance people then teachers will know it. I'm sure there are many other ways to "work around" your guidance situation. But if it were me, I'd start with a couple of sympathetic teachers. Good luck!</p>
<p>Would the guidance counselor at your school be someone to talk to about outside volunteer or internship possibilities, or maybe even summer employment? If you can find out the scope of her responsibilites , you might be able to find a way to communicate and get to know her - or help her get to know you. :)</p>
<p>medha, First, stop STOP impersonating your parents. It is dishonest and will only lead to trouble. Just introduce yourself and explain that since your parents' English is weak you will interpret. Nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>Second, give the IB coordinator a chance. You are fortunate to have an IB program and the odds of getting some personal attention there are greater than from the GC.</p>
<p>Third, take heart! You are headed in the right direction, have a great foundation, and it's still early in the game. Keep up your grades, participate in meaningful extracurriculars and educate yourself on the college admissions process. You'll be fine.</p>
<p>My son caught the eye of his guidance counselor (who was brand new his sophomore year) by having the highest PSAT scores of any of her students, maybe of any of the other sophomores as well. He also had scheduling issues every year which meant he had to sit with her the first day of school to try to figure out what he was going to have to take instead of what he'd signed up for. </p>
<p>The IB program doesn't allow that many options does it? Can you sit with her and ask for advice on electives or extra curricular activities? Or perhaps summer activity suggestions?</p>
<p>
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give the IB coordinator a chance. You are fortunate to have an IB program and the odds of getting some personal attention there are greater than from the GC.
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</p>
<p>This is a good idea, but the OP also needs to meet the GC. The IB coordinator does not write the student's college recommendation.</p>
<p>How about trying something really sneaky. You could pose as a student who is interested in his future! Try telling counselor you wanted to meet so counselor will know you. How about then letting counselor know you hope to distinguish yourself in high school so that you open up more opportunities for college. Adding this first meeting will help counselor write a more personal and accurate reference when the time comes.
Wait a minute, that isn't sneaky, it is an honorable, up-front way of dealing with what is essentially a business meeting. I say give it a try!</p>
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This is a good idea, but the OP also needs to meet the GC. The IB coordinator does not write the student's college recommendation.
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</p>
<p>The OP is just a rising sophomore and won't need a recommendation for two years. The GC sounds as if she's already overworked and understaffed and will have her hands full in the fall with her seniors. That's why I think the OP should back off the GC and concentrate on his/her academic and EC accomplishments.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. NewHope33, thanks for the encouraging comments and the college admissions officers probably understand about large public high schools.</p>
<p>A.S.A.P., that's a good idea. I'll give it a try.</p>
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First, stop STOP impersonating your parents
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<p>I understand what you're saying but my mom actually gave me a call asking me to call the guidance and find out why they were calling her. I've been doing this for the past 3 years, I also deal with the family's finances and stuff so this is really nothing that uncommon for me. Now there are certain times when telling the truth doesn't quite work. Initially I use to tell (anyone that called basically) that my parents' English skills were quite weak and I'll gladly forward messages to them. Usually they used to hang up, so I impersonate my parents.</p>
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How about then letting counselor know you hope to distinguish yourself in high school... I say give it a try!
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<p>I'm quite sure telling her "I hope to distinguish myself for College Admissions" is really going to work. </p>
<p>I understand your concerns about me impersonating my parents but frankly there are moments when this is essential. Frankly my mom's the kind of person that would believe you and give you all her personal information if you tell her she won the lottery or something (this actually happened to us a few times - once someone posing as ATT, we use Verizon; another time someone claiming she got a grant or something).</p>
<p>I'll definitely discuss my future with her, I sense a conflict with my Junior year schedule so that should work.</p>
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The GC sounds as if she's already overworked and understaffed and will have her hands full in the fall with her seniors
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<p>You're right momrath, but imagine how overworked she's going to be when I'm a Senior (2010 - most competitive yet). I don't want to pester her or anything, just introduce myself or tell her a little about myself.</p>
<p>Medha--my D was in the same position as you. She moved into the high school as a sophomore and had the same (basically non-existant) GC for 2 years. Then, they changed the guidance department around, and she was assigned a new one the summer before her senior year. She was quite nervous, as she was planning to apply for several scholarships that would need GC recommendations, as well as from teachers. She basically went in shortly after school started, and made an appointment (this way, the GC wouldn't be in the middle of something), and really did what others above have suggested---just introduced herself, talked about what she was thinking about in terms of school, etc. She also mentioned the names of teachers that knew her best, and we do know that the GC got more info from them. </p>
<p>Later, D had her "official" senior meeting with the GC, but she scored big earlier by just being human and introducing herself. Any time she had to drop some form (all the many transcript requests, for example) off with the guidance secretary, she'd pop her head in if GC wasn't talking to anyone and just say hi. Some of her classmates (who avoided their GC like the plague) were amazed when she would say hi to D (by name) in the hallway.</p>
<p>Yes, in big schools, GC's have a huge load. The majority of their time is dealing with problems, problems, problems. Having a conscientious student come forward, who appears responsible and taking charge of his/her future is so out of the norm, that it will set you apart in a good way. D was in a class of 575--and the student to GC ratio was the same as what you have, or higher.</p>
<p>After a particularly grueling couple of weeks late in the fall, when D needed GC to do some stuff specifically on her behalf, I sent a thank you email to the GC and acknowledged that we really appreciated her help. From that point on, she seemed to go above and beyond on several things. </p>
<p>First off, the GC's at my kids high school would have loved to have only 285 kids to counsel. Currently the number is 450-500. My D's counselor was the most popular and "other" kids who weren't assigned to her regularly came and sought her advice, so her numbers were actually higher. Still, D made time to go in and meet with her periodically and it paid off. Counselor nominated her for a number of scholarships and was able to write great recommendations. Talk about where you want to go and what you may like to study. Give her some personal information too. She may not know you but it sounds like it's reciprocal. Good luck.</p>
<p>Couldn't hurt. The more she gets to know you the more she'll have to write about. The 4 "rules" for seeing a CG are :
Go Early - Go prepared - Go with requests - Go Back</p>
<p>medha, the guidance counselors at your school are there for you. they are trained and educated to provide you with whatever support you need and, if they cannot provide it themselves, they are trained to help you find someone who can get you the support you need. it sounds like the counselors at your school are dealing with a lot of students (although, as someone else pointed out, 285 kids/counselor is not bad...this is all relative, of course, but in some states, the average ratio is 900+ students per counselor!). however, just because they seem not to know you (which seems true from your original post), do not assume anything. this doesn't mean they aren't capable of getting to know you or that they aren't interested in getting to know you! </p>
<p>BE PROACTIVE. make the appointment. let him or her know what your concerns are for the upcoming year(s) and what your aspirations are. ask for advice and other resources. do not expect the counselor to come to you - go to them!!! guidance counselors are there to listen and advise and they usually like the motivated, big-thinking students - but they don't always know who you are! take it upon yourself to start building a relationship with your guidance counselor - you may be surprised at just how receptive they are and how excited they are that you stopped by!</p>
<p>At our hs they asked the kids and the parents to answer a questionnaire about themselves/their kids. Specifically, adjectives to describe yourself, anecdotes about things you've done, etc. </p>
<p>What a great idea, and how much easier it will make the GC's life when he/she has to write a letter about each student.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could get a template "questionnaire" from somewhere (internet?), or make one up with a few basic questions such as...</p>
<ol>
<li>adjectives to describe yourself</li>
<li>anecdotes from your life that help someone to know you better</li>
<li>aspirations</li>
<li>things you're most proud of</li>
<li>anything you'd like brought out about yourself that 1-4 did not cover.</li>
</ol>
<p>I can't imagine a guidance counselor would not love to have something like this about every upcoming senior student.</p>
<p>I don't know that I agree, but nevermind. One of the times when not telling the truth doesn't quite work would be when the guidance counselor whose favor you are courting calls. Can you imagine how angry she'll be when she finds out she was actually speaking to you when she thought she was interacting with a parent? I doubt you'd be on her favorites list then.</p>