<p>Just wondering here....we receive NO communication whatsoever from our school counselor as to any contact whatsoever that they have had with college adcoms. We know as a fact that there is communication, but never receive any feedaback
From reading some posts on cc I see that this is not always the case. It appears students are not infrequently told when there is communication with adcoms and the content of the communication.
What is your experience?</p>
<p>We received NO information at all that the school GC had been in contact with the adcoms…likely they were NOT.</p>
<p>Does the GC staff really make contact with the adcoms? I thought this might be done in only certain cases such as when a student is deferred ED and the GC wants to know what to do to help the student…or if there is some other extenuating circumstance that might necessitate the contact.</p>
<p>Perhaps this is also more prevalent at private high schools…</p>
<p>Did the GC contact a college on behalf of your child? If so, your child can inquire about it…but don’t be surprised if the GC can’t say much…per the COLLEGE’s instructions.</p>
<p>My D’s GC has been great and D visits her constantly to just chat. I have not heard of any back-and-forth between GC and adcoms and it has generally been D telling the GC where she’s been accepted. Maybe if there was a specific school or need D was really hoping for it would be different?</p>
<p>My S’ GC has let me know when a college wants to see interim/mid-semester grades, because My s or I have to approve her giving anything other than semester and final transcript. One of S’ colleges has asked 3 times this year so he must be on the edge there, they are following him so closely…</p>
<p>Other than that, not really. She responds to emails and calls, but doesn’t initiate any unless S is missing something.</p>
<p>My D and I had a 15 minute meeting with her GC last year (her junior year). We haven’t had any communication with him since, other than to nag (er, politely ask) him in late September to send transcripts D had requested be sent in August. I am totally confident that he has not had any contact with adcoms from any of D’s schools. D applied to 2 matches and 3 safeties (all of which she was accepted to before Christmas) and there was really no need for her GC to do anything. I do know that a friend of mine got a call from the guidance secretary seeking permission to send her daughter’s AP scores that one of her schools had called to request, so it sounds like the school doesn’t send things off to colleges without permission.</p>
<p>Um, two D’s, two different private schools … one GC had communications with AdComs for sure, and one had no communication with anyone except her friends and family. We got no feedback, though I’m sure the former helped D#1’s cause … and the latter probably hurt the applications of D#2. (There were a couple of particularly odd wait-listings.)</p>
<p>When read thread title, thought you might have concerns about Guidance Counselors keeping your own student information private. Serious lack of privacy at my kid’s school, kids were even told their class rank by a peer student who was a Guidance groupie , not the Guidance office. No privacy at all, it was really appalling.</p>
<p>That is truly appalling 2bornot…our entire guidance counselor has been horrendous…he does not return phone calls or emails…been a very stressful year.
I was just curious about other’s experience when it comes to getting any feedback during this waiting period. I understand that some students/families are able to get at least some hints as to how things are going with apps which would be much appreciated during this stressful time. It just is not clear to me why it cannot be so. Of course I do not expect an answer as such; that can only get them into trouble if it does not come to pass, but some “thumbs up” that “your in good shape” even in general terms surely could not be a bad thing…maybe I’m just being such a Mom;)</p>
<p>There is no upside to a GC telling a student that additional information was requested. If the student is ultimately declined, then false hopes were ignited for the student. Furthermore, I’m sure some parents would blame the GC. It’s just a slippery slope for the GC.</p>
<p>At our school, the regular GC would call for you if deferred so they could see if there was a way to strengthen your app. The Head GC was often contacted by colleges and would let it out into the rumor mill so "everyone would know of how important Head GC was to “the process”; part of the privacy issue problem.</p>
<p>Any breech in privacy of class rank or even schools to which a particular student applied is unacceptable IMO.</p>
<p>Our GC’s are very good about helping the kid formulate a balanced list (likely, match, reach) and in our case, D’s schools were very close to 2,3,2 respectively for a total of 7 schools. She has had a great deal of issue in getting emails from some of her schools, one in particular and GC was very good at helping D with contacting schools to make sure her application is complete. As for talking about specific components of an application, I know they will and have contacted schools when kids are deferred and wait listed to see where the holes might be and what might be most helpful. They respond to parents to calm their fears, especially when when they have independent children who tell them little to nothing (read: me). Our GC’s are pretty amazing but they would never hint or otherwise indicate what another specific student has done. In fact, they encourage the kids to not even share to where students have applied (or at least don’t rank your choices to others), and seem to really have a good handle in the theory that it’s about a match, not a prize.</p>
<p>Our local public, from where our oldest graduated, there is no breech of privacy (or at least there wasn’t 10 years ago), but they were over worked and over loaded and basically didn’t know much about any schools beyond those with a numbers crunch. The school in general counts on self-motivated students and those with motivated parents to do most of the advising. Very limited knowledge overall. I imagine I could do her job, EXCEPT, one has to remember she does not just work with kids headed to college.</p>
<p>Good point MaterS. I am just very frustrated by the ungoing lack of common courtesy by our GC. My S sent an email updating 4 admissions already received, as requested by GC…how long does it take to send a “congrats” email?</p>
<p>Just met with DD2 and GC for mandatory 15 minute Jr. conference. GC had printed out transcript to date and added classes registered for next year and completed the “will you meet graduation requirements?” checklist.</p>
<p>GC did not know DD2’s ACT or SAT scores (both had been sent to HS), couldn’t remember her PSAT score (NMSF probable), didn’t know how DD2 had participated in school (Student body VP, NHS advisory board, math and science teams, tennis team conference champ, etc.). DD had to clue this GC in.</p>
<p>She asked if DD planned to visit any colleges. Asked if we knew about Fafsa. Handed us a book covering in state school info and the Midwest exchange list. Gave us a twelve page questionnaire A STUDENT had developed for campus visits. Also offered to teach DD the Georgia Tech fight song when she heard she would be visiting in April. Had to tell her that DH is a GT alum and the girls could sing the fight song as toddlers.</p>
<p>A collosal waste of time. I did verify that they are not able to handle submitting common app electronically (arghh, nothing has changed in 4 years!) and warned her that up to 20 college apps would be passing through her office the first week of September for DD.</p>
<p>Boy, can I relate to that MereMom…S2 will be a Junior next year and I have already decided that if we are stuck with this GC (hoping to be able to make a switch…our expectations at this point are very low, but hoping to get someone who at least shows common courtesy- returns emails etc) I will not attend any meeting, but will use my time more productively.</p>
<p>Do you think families need to consider being guarded in what they tell the GC about obscure colleges or precollege programs, inasmuch as it will become part of the GC’s stores of professional knowledge and be shared with classmates’ families? I don’t like to be stingy with knowledge. But if my kid and I are digging and visiting on our own time and money, uncovering opportunities that have escaped the attention of the guidance department and would never have been suggested to us, I am doing that for my kid first.</p>
<p>We have a very accessible guidance department, with a lot of ongoing dialogue and contact, and I have some reluctance to educate the GC about obscure findings in 10th or 11th grade, only to have it become part of her suggestions to other families in my child’s graduating class. I do believe that the kids at one HS are competing with each other for that HS’s possible “seats” at any given college. The college wants to compose a class with some variety, and will not admit too many kids from any one HS. Clearly the GC will find out where you’re applying in the fall of 12th, but classmates will have mostly put their lists together by then.</p>
<p>Has anybody had experience with this?</p>
<p>In general, “you’re in good shape” is tricky. It’s one thing to tell a kid all paperwork has been submitted, another to give out encouraging messages when nothing is certain until the admissions decisions are made. When we had issues getting communications back from the GC, btw, either we or our kids stopped by the GC office. In some cases, we got the info we needed from the assistant.</p>
<p>There is zero sense of “how things are going,” re: admissions chances, until those letters come out. (Maybe a rare exception for a recruited athlete.) Even if there were communications with an adcom, nothing is certain. And, our GC did not send congrats messages. (There was a concerted effort not to single out kids who had wins, not to make others feel like losers.) Instead, she made a point of saying something privately, when she saw our kids.</p>
<p>"(there was a concerted effort not to single out kids who had wins, not to make others feel like loses)"
this is a hot topic…do we not reward achievement just because it may offend others or may make someone else feel bad?..in any case, a personal email is private unless kids are hacking each others acounts
I can appreciate your point about not making a “your in good shape” comment.</p>
<p>^ I know GC problems are real. We had a great relationship, but even other families in D1’s small senior class did not. At this stage, even a top kid who doesn’t get into some school tends to see things as wins and losses. CC is full of kids who think they deserve a spot; reality is that lots of factors apply. To me, the idea isn’t that the C+ kid who doesn’t get into his dream school should be coddled. But, there are plenty of A kids, who worked hard and did all the right things, who won’t get admits from all the schools they supposedly match. So, rather than make a recorded (email) fuss over the winners, our GC handles it privately.</p>