<p>A counselor (or academic advisor) isn’t going to steer you into a situation where you’re in over your head and will sink. So that should remove some of the stress at whatever school you’re at. But I don’t know what things make you feel stressed. And I’m kind of stressed that you seem to be stressed about being too stressed, so let me be clear about what I was saying before you rely too heavily on it.</p>
<p>Counselors can spare you some stresses with scheduling; they may be unable to spare you from others – particularly if you’ve gotten yourself into an academic environment where the kinds of stresses you wish to avoid are part and parcel of the overall experience. For example…</p>
<ul>
<li><p>For some people stress might be having a weekly exam. For others, it might be having everything ride on a single project or exam at the end of a semester. </p></li>
<li><p>For some people stress might come from doing analytical tasks. For others, it might come from having to write poetry. </p></li>
<li><p>For some, stress might be a function of working hard and not having enough time playing video games or watching “Dancing With the Stars.” For others, stress might be having very little assignments outside the classroom that would provide needed reinforcement for what’s covered during the classes.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Please don’t interpret what I posted to mean that guidance counselors will be your safety net. It’s quite possible that your particular view of stress is incompatible with a boarding school or a college prep environment…and if that’s the case your safety net would be to avoid that kind of environment. Once you’re in that environment, there’s only so much your guidance counselor or academic advisor can do for you.</p>