<p>I mean, they said join clubs...I didn't know why-so I didn't. <em>until junior year</em></p>
<p>Should I have known that EC's were so important in the admissions process, or should the counselors stress the actual importance, instead of saying "get involved, it's fun"?</p>
<p>My counselor told me specifically "getting C's in honors and AP classes won't hurt you too much"...</p>
<p>now I see kids getting rejected because they got one C!</p>
<p>what I'm basically asking is, do you think your counselors are as helpful as they should/could be? <em>I've learned more from this site and college board in a month, than my counselors over the course of 3 1/2 years</em></p>
<p>My high school counselor is worthless. She basically told all of us freshman year that the only thing that matters in college admissions is class rank and GPA. She said don’t bother trying to build up impressive EC’s because colleges don’t look at them. </p>
<p>Thank God I had already bought several college guides by then and I knew what I was doing haha.</p>
<p>Of course it’s not your counselor’s fault that you were too lazy or apathetic to join clubs. The reason to join clubs and participate in ECs isn’t to get into college. Most colleges don’t care about virtually anything except your grades, scores, coursework and --if they are a public school – your state of residence. </p>
<p>One joins clubs and participates in ECs in general to pursue your interests, make friends, and develop skills that will help you for a lifetime in the workplace and in your social life. Once you leave high school, the main way you’ll make friends is through your ECs, including professional and other activities related to your jobs. If you’ve never participated in clubs before, you’ll be at a disadvantage because of being socially awkward compared to people who’ve been involved in clubs and other activities since they were young.</p>
<p>It’s silly to blame your counselor for your own lack of initiative.</p>
<p>“now I see kids getting rejected because they got one C!”</p>
<p>Ridiculous. Colleges don’t tell students why they were rejected. Many highly qualified students are rejected for reasons as disparate as their choice of major, lack of legacy status, residing out of state, or submitting applications so carelessly done that the college assumes they aren’t interested. Many also are rejected because highly selective colleges lack the space to accept all qualified applicants.</p>