<p>Thanks Roger and Coarranged!</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a free lunch ---the new job is real work, too!--- but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.</p>
<p>I was a college counselor for many years in a private school on the East Coast. Prior to that, I worked as an admissions officer (assistant director--many high-sounding titles in the admissions world) at an Ivy League university. I also have served as the city-wide head of the alumni network for my own alma mater (a different Ivy). And my son will be a sophomore this year at his Ivy. So you could say I have done all aspects, at some time or other, of college admissions. And yet, it was a mother on the next block who told me about CC, which I find endlessly fascinating.</p>
<p>my high school counselor retired this year too...and i'm going to be a sr. bummer.</p>
<p>I only wish my HS GC used CC, but she was one of the rare people under 40 in this day and age who could barely type and didn't really understand email. I put a nod and link to CC in the school newspaper, so hopefully people caught on.</p>
<p>I felt my son's HS GC was very competent, but I would never have felt ok bugging him night and day with questions as I can do here.</p>
<p>One college admissions person figured out my CC identity and a coach at another school also did and was watching CC to see where my son decided to attend. My son and I both e-mailed him about the decision a day later and he admitted he'd already read it on CC. Some might call this creepy or bizarre (see thread on googling roommates). I thought it showed a high degree of interest.</p>
<p>Hi, Roger, interesting question. I guess a lot of us who are homeschooling parents wear the "counselor" hat for a few students each. I do try to gather lots of sources of information on sound college-seeking decisions, which is why I appreciate these College Confidential forums.</p>
<p>I hope High School counselors indeed use this service. I think it is invaluable to look not just at school stats...but also the "personalities" in this thread and see what kind of people are going to what kind of schools....</p>
<p>I know very smart kids going to second tier schools...some because they got hosed by their first choice, but some also because they wanted to around "normal people", not a bunch of neurotic self obsessed nerds. Now I know that self obsessed people dont all choose Ivy League Schools, or UChicago, Northwestern, WashU, Stanford etc. And that a lot of nice kids go to those schools as well.</p>
<p>But its interesting to see what goes on here and what people say and do.</p>
<p>I am a college counselor presently, and have worked in Ivy League admissions and financial aid in the past. </p>
<p>I suspect most of my peers (especially those over 40) are less likely to monitor CC, but I try to use the widest range of information possible (today I had a rising senior walk in to talk about Naval Architecture as a career, the first student with this interest in my career!)</p>
<p>Shrinkrap -- Last year, Son's GC resigned a week before school started. And a week before a hiring freeze went in. "Counselor" recommendations were written by the Principal. Principal also made phone calls to see if there were any hold-up with the acceptances. (And Maize and Blue cookies were delivered to Principal's office after acceptance arrived!)</p>
<p>Naval Architecture? Try the US Merchant Marine Academy. They offer that major there and its a prestigious service academy in its own right.</p>
<p>She actually came in to talk about Merchant Marine Academy, and then we expanded the conversation to Webb Institute, since they are close and easy to visit on one trip.</p>
<p>Sorry to be so blunt but she needs to go back to working with elementary school kids as a couselor. She doesn't understand the computer nor the program she has to use to make changes to ones schedule. One or two changes take up the 10-15 minutes you have to ask her questions and once your time is up....she calls for the next person to come in whether she has answered your questions or not. She doesn't have the proper forms in her office and she can't answer anything without having to "research it and get back with you later". Can you say "incompetent"????</p>
<p>I am a college counselor at a small private high school and I also spent 19 years in admissions at large and small universities. I list CC as a resource for our students and I often lurk, but this is my first post. Much of the info discussed here is great--especially chats about admissions or financial aid appeals, and the financial aid process in general. I get concerned, however when I read "what are my chances" posts and discussions about who got in where--especially for the highly selective schools. With 10% of the applicants admitted to some of these colleges--we know it is tough out there. There is no magic bullet that guarantees admissions. The admissions process is a human process which makes it so unpredictable, and often frustrating. While it can be comforting to have other folks to chat with, it can also increase anxiety--especially when rumors and misinformation fly.
That being said, I am a cc fan and refer students and families to this site--I just warn them not to believe everything that they read.</p>
<p>ha ha! u should also tell them not to enter the Cafe! ;)</p>
<p>Interesting thread. Too bad many HS consolers are oftentimes normatively narrow-minded (in that they cannot recognize talent - and the need for that talent to be nurtured).</p>
<p>Normatively narrow-minded includes not encouraging highly motivated students to self-study APs and to do research. One can excel in predicting chances while remaining normatively narrow-minded.</p>
<p>bcmeegan,
Naval Architecture is offered at SUNY Maritime:
<a href="http://www.sunymaritime.edu/About%20Maritime/index.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://www.sunymaritime.edu/About%20Maritime/index.aspx</a></p>
<p>Guess it's time for me to go from lurker to poster. I am a public school counselor and have avoided posting on any site for a long time, although I used to parry with Dave Berry on and off the Princeton Review discussion board years ago. I consider myself knowledgeable and interested in all aspects of the college process and have visited hundreds of schools across the U.S. and Canada. I keep a low profile these days because there's a little too much bashing of people in my profession! It's fun to read the posts, though.</p>
<p>My D had a wonderful counselor. She communicated with us(parents) constantly, but what I really liked about her was she always viewed our D as her first priority, not us. When our D was waitlisted at 2 schools, she pushed (letters and phone calls) to get our D off the waitlist. She was very effective. She did that for all of students.</p>
<p>Thanks, oldfort, for the vote of support for school counselors. Your daughter's counselor was correct in making her the priority, but you'd be surprised by the number of parents who expect to BE the priority. It's not pretty. (:</p>
<p>As is the case with eve29, GC's at our public LI NY HS recommend CC as a resource, but I do not believe that they use it much themselves.</p>
<p>FYI: GC's at our school have overwhelming caseloads. Juniors/Rising Seniors are the only ones who get any real attention. They do a fairly thorough job of staying on top of the college app process.</p>