<p>Just develop a few questions to begin a relationship such as: a background on the school's general timeline and expectations for: college day requests & how many are allowed, colleges that visit your school, any area college/job fairs,any area summer programs,etc.</p>
<p>Then you might follow up with info for next fall on preferred method for admission recs,transcript requests, local scholarships available,etc.
You may also want to ask her for her preferred method to contact her- such as email,fax,phone,etc. Indicate your desire to take an active role in supporting your student and to take as little of the counselors time as possible by following any established systems. </p>
<p>I suggest developing a timeline utilizing the allowed college days for junior and senior year and any job shadowing opportunities. Senior year is very busy, emotional and stressful at times....the more preparation and planning for the rest of this year, the better.</p>
<p>sarha, you sound like me last month when I found this great site :)</p>
<p>I lurk/read much more than post b/c I am quite new to this whole world myself. One thing I did want to mention is that my S did not do well on the PSAT at all and did much better on the SAT (without any prep courses....just took a couple sample tests at home the week before). My S had simlar scores to jmmom's S: 590v and 740m. Hopefully he can raise the verbal some, but just wanted to let you know his PSAT was not indicative at all.</p>
<p>Well, I just got back from the junior conference and all I can say is I'm glad I've started to do my own research. I stopped at the bookstore on the way home and picked up Harvard Schmarvard and the Loren Pope books, I've already read The Gatekeepers and had my first reality check.</p>
<p>The GC was helpful with info regarding timelines for applications etc., and he gave my D a "brag sheet" to fill out by next Sept. so that he'd be able to write a more personalized recommendation.
I was hoping to have him give us an idea of what schools could be considered safeties but he just kept saying she had a good chance of getting into every college D suggested, and I know that can't be good info because Haverford's averege board scores are way higher than my D's PSAT would lead us to hope for. Not Helpful, in fact could lead to false optimism.</p>
<p>This board is a wonderful resource and I'm grateful to all for the advice that you have given me.</p>
<p>DrDrewsmom, I hope you're right and my D's SAT scores are better than her PSAT's indicate.</p>
<p>No point in making any decisions based on what an SAT score "might" be. And strong GPA + challenging courseload trumps SAT scores every time. So best to have your D cast a wide net using the Fiske and Princeton Review books.</p>
<p>Anyway. . . welcome! Lots of good advice above, and for your D, lots of excellent small and medium-sized LACs out there. Sounds like your bookshelf may be a bit stuffed right now but I highly recommend "The College Admissions Mystique" as the best book for framing the whole process. In the college-application-building category I give the nod to "Acing the College Application" by Michelle Hernandez. . .a better book than her "A is For Admission". . .newer, and less Dartmouth-centric.</p>
<p>I'm certainly glad I've found CC- our counselors are ridiculous. My daughter visited her guidance counselor yesterday to see about a schedule change for next year. I had e-mailed a few general questions to the GC asking advice about which course would be best considering my D's college plans. This school also has a college counselor, but I assumed that the GC would be able to answer basic high school course questions. She asked my daughter what an LAC was, then asked what kind of education you could get at a liberal arts college. Then my daughter had to explain how to work the computer program for changing course schedules. After 30 minutes, she finally got back to class. Amazing.</p>
<p>This can be a good thing. With such guidance you should't have to worry to much about hoards of kids from daughter's school blocking her admission!!
Don't worry....all you need these folks for is to fill out the appropriate forms, send them on time [in the FedEx envelope you will provide] so you can check up on them!! You can do your own research easily, develop a list easily and find out the application process at each school easily. It may take time, you will have a bit of a learning curve.....DON'T allow anyone to control this process for your daughter except #1 The Student #2 The parent. I can tell you that most of it can be done on line......the rules are spelled out....the admissions office at college is there to help you, follow through with you.....not tell you if your kid will get in. They are nice, approachable and use them.</p>