<p>Ive been reading how its required a counselor rec. etc. And some of the accepted students seem to mention that their counselors' recs were a helping hand in that. The problem is...is that in my two years in high school i have talked to my guidance counselor once. Each year (9th and 10th) i had a new guidance counselor, even though we are only supposed to have one that sticks with us...to build a relationship etc. But my 9th grade counselor retired, and so did my 10th grade one. Now entering 11th grade, our new guidance counselor is young and this is her first year on the job. Are counselor recs really important in the application process?</p>
<p>Instead of moping about it, take this opportunity to build a relationship with your new counselor. Take the initiative to email her now, over the summer, and introduce yourself. Then go in every so often during the school year and check in with her. Yes, counselor recs are important, so get to know your counselor. It's not hard to do, but initiative counts.</p>
<p>I was really close to my guidance counselor freshman and sophomore year, but then she retired. I was worried at first, but then I realized that it only presented a new opportunity to build a strong relationship with my new counselor. I made sure to get to know her throughout my junior year, so when senior year rolled around, she was geared up to help me with my application process. She wrote me a fantastic recommendation and told me what a pleasure it was to have had me as a student. </p>
<p>So in other words, this is not a big deal--look at it as a golden opportunity.</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about it too much. A lot of kids come from big schools where guidance counselors have so many kids that they don't have time to get to know them all. While it would definitely help to have a stellar gc rec, most universities understand that this is not always possible, so they mostly use it for statistical info about how you're doing in relation to the rest of your grade.</p>