Hello, next week we will meet with the counsellor for S, a rising senior. We were wondering what should to be talked about. Please give me some advices. Thank you
Well, be aware that most GCs are clueless about the FA at various schools.
Do some “homework” before you go…run some net price calculators on some desirable and likely schools’ websites.
If you own a business or the child has a Non Custodial Parent, then the NPC may not be accurate.
edited to add…are you an international? If so, you should have stated that in your post.
This is a good time to develop a time-line for college applications as well as a to-do list for applying. Try to get an idea of where he stands as far as his stats as compared to others and what kinds of schools might be a good fit. Confirm that he will have taken all necessary classes in order to apply to target schools, and that he will have all of his SAT/ACT tests done in time. And like mom said^^^^, be sure you have a good understanding of college costs and financial aid.
If your school has naviance available, learn to use it and start looking at the scattergrams to see what schools might fit your student’s profile.
You should also have an idea of what courses he wants to take senior year.
Did you or the counselor ask for the meeting?
If the counselor asked for the meeting, (s)he may already have his/her agenda for it. Allow him/her to get through it. I’m not saying you can’t ask questions; I’m only saying that if the counselor scheduled the meeting and does so with each senior, you may want to see what (s)he has to say before wading in with your own questions. You may find that a lot of your questions are answered during the counselor’s opening remarks. It could even be that (s)he will schedule a second meeting after you and your S have done your “homework.”
For example, some counselors will ask you to describe your child in writing. Some might ask your S to list the teachers he plans to ask for recommendations. Some might ask your child to come up with a prelimiary list of 15-20 schools of interest. Some counselors may give you an unofficial copy of your S’s transcript, so he can check it for errors–courses not listed, wrong grades listed, AP designation not indicated, etc. You may be asked to return for a second meeting with all this information.
One thing some rare counselors will do is ask you if there are any financial restraints at that first meeting. So be prepared to answer that, just in case. If your S is going with you, discuss this issue with him before seeing a counselor.
Your S should also be prepared to say which classes he wants to take next year.
Remember, this person is going to write a LOR for your S. So, even if (s)he comes across as incredibly uninformed or just not that smart, be extremely polite and courteous.
If you know any parents of graduating seniors at the same school, call one and ask what the counselor did at the first meeting.
At many high schools, registration for next year’s courses occurred months ago.
This meeting is a separate event, with different priorities.
Although you may need to follow the counselor’s lead during the meeting, if there’s anything your student or your family has already decided, you may as well come out and say so. One of my kids had already chosen an Early Decision school by the time of the meeting. She told the counselor this, which saved a lot of time and prevented a lot of unnecessary flailing around.
Some things to discuss…
-If you or your child has done any research into colleges, you can discuss the schools you are considering. You can talk about if there is any particular type of school your child likes, or if you are not familiar with the choices you can ask the GC to discuss options. As noted above the GC may already have come up with recommendations.
-If you have financial constraints talk about it. Do you want your child at a state school? Do you need merit aid for a private college? Is money no object? Let the guidance counselor know.
-Discuss any other limitations you might have for your child’s college (ex. geographic, religious etc.)
-Talk about the timeline for applying to college. Is your child considering any ED/EA schools?
-Discuss standardized testing results and (if any) plans to take additional tests.
-You will also likely talk about the following year's schedule.
In our HS the student had to fill out a pretty detailed form prior to the “college planning” meeting with the GC.
Thank you all for your advices; you help me understand the process. Thanks!
Your “talk” will depend on your decision to either listen to the GC or not. We opted not to listen as he was not familiar closely with the programs that D. was interested in. So, we just politely listen and nodded and left. D. later menion the same tactics for her personal meetings with him as he tried to push her to apply to Ivy / Elite colleges and she had no interest applying there at all.
If you plan on using the advice from GC, just wirite down all of your questions before the meeting. As a paid employee at your kid’s HS, GS is obligated to answer all your questions, none are good or bad or whatever.
We have excellent GCs in our school district, however, they do not know about FA, so do your homework thoroughly and run some NPCs to get a realistic target list of schools that are affordable.
They are not “obligated to answer all your questions”. They give fair and balanced time to all their students and families. They are not slaves. Or at least they shouldn’t be perceived as such.
Unless writing a $60K+ a year check for college is no issue for your family, please run Net Price Calculators at several schools, and don’t choose Ivy League/Stanford selectivity schools for that exercise. Have you and your spouse discussed what you think you can afford per year of college? If you have some clarity on this before meeting with the counselor, it can make the meeting a lot more productive. If there are financial constraints, I’d strongly, strongly encourage you to discuss them with your child prior to the meeting.