Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of Class of 20xx
3381

<p>No prom for my DS --it’s a senior only thing at his school. Well, I guess unless he gets asked but that’s unlikely since most seniors go with other seniors or just go as a group.</p>

<p>Our public school has 8 counselors spread out across approximately 1800 kids so they have a fairly hefty load, but nothing like having 400 kids!</p>

<p>I just checked their webpage and it’s ok. But they do a great job communicating in other ways (e.g., emails, podcast, group and individual meetings, facebook, and even twitter).</p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-I510 using CC</p>

3382

<p>Wow Nova,</p>

<p>They email, facebook, twitter? podcasts? group meetings? </p>

<p>DD had to email her gc to ask when they will be selecting classes for next year. It took her 5 days to get back to dd. :(</p>

<p>They typically start in January with juniors, February for Soph’s and March for frosh… she finally got a reply from the gc today and she said they MIGHT start picking the classes on March 4th. MIGHT? hmmm… doesn’t sound too solid to me. I am itching to email her to inquire about the late start, ask about the start of Powerschool(which should have started in August) and Naviance(which should have started in October) but I am trying to give dd the reins and let her form a relationship with this new gc…we will see how it works itself out… I see the old gc from time to time… I wave/smile as usual and she always has such an embarassed/sheepish look on her face.
I wonder why…</p>

3383

<p>This sounds naive but I hoped/expected DD’s otherwise excellent school to do more in the college process as it IS a college prep school. We’ve consulted with a private college counselor ($75) and are using CC. I shouldn’t complain as the local h.s. counseling/football coaching squad is a nightmare. They miss deadlines, don’t send transcripts until badgered, don’t understand accommodations, etc.</p>

<p>Now begins the spreadsheet formation and the scholarship search…</p>

3384

<p>Oh, the prom. Oh wait- they canceled it at our school because some kids got drunk last year and vandalized the school.
I do wish guidance counselors were readily available, but the only private ones in my city are ones that charge six or seven thousand for all admissions, which is just too pricey. The school counselors might suffice, if there weren’t 7 counselors to cover 2800 kids. Yay public school.
If it wasn’t for cc, I wouldn’t know what to do.</p>

3385

<p>DD’s school has 9 GCs for approx. 2400 kids. She met with her to go over her schedule for next year and also to discuss colleges. She asked DD what she was interested in and then printed her out schools in NJ that list those majors. End of college meeting. If I hadn’t started my own search for answers her freshman year I would know nothing. At one point GC even said “I don’t have time to worry about freshman, I have seniors I’m trying to help with college.” I told her I didn’t care about anyone but my DD and if she would give me 10 minutes I would be out of her hair. She realized I wasn’t going away and talked with me. Tonight is Parent/Teacher night and, as I always do, I stop by to have a 15-30 minute meeting w/GC to find out what I need to know (is she on track for JNHS? who should she be requesting LORs from, etc.) When DD meets with her she’s always rushed and doesn’t have time. I make sure she finds time when I’m there. LOL</p>

3386

<p>Duke - stick with us! We’re a lot cheaper than those pricey college counselors! haha</p>

<p>Seems like 300-400 students per GC is about the norm! Our school has around 1500 students with 4 counselors. Again, mostly there to make sure the kid graduates and that is it!</p>

3387

<p>Duke – What is the private counselor doing for a student that could remotely justify a $6k or $7k bill? Your DC’s school decided to punish everyone for one idiot’s behavior? Amazing leadership.<insert sarcasm=""></insert></p>

<p>MomFullofQs – Sometimes you just have to be THAT parent. Squeaky wheel, grease, results.</p>

<p>DD says she and BF and group of BFF’s are planning to attend prom so I guess dress shopping is in our future. We will most likely invite SIL who has all boys and enjoys girls’ day out.</p>

3388

<p>Agentninetynine – glad I can make you laugh!</p>

<p>I have now looked up most of S’s schools on the Naviance scattergrams. Some of the ones the GC mentioned show pretty clearly that S wouldn’t stand a chance, so they’re off my list. It’s easy to say “how about Bucknell?” which for S is like saying “how about Yale?”</p>

<p>I am kind of rethinking visiting schools this Feb break. Between the airfare, hotel, rental car, plus meals for the boy who is always hungry, I think I’m better off using that $$$ for some more SAT prep.</p>

3389

<p>agentninetynine… My DS and I fell for Oxy as well. We live in San Diego area so it was his first college visit. My DS12 decided early on that he was not going to college in CA so I had actually never been to Oxy. I was stunned at how beautiful and alive the campus was. My DS wants to double major in theater and science and it seems to be easy to do there. We met with the science profs and toured the theater facilities( although the walk up the hill to the theater almost killed me as I tried to keep up with my overly enthusiastic S.) He came away definitely wanting to apply…so YAY, first visit was a success.</p>

<p>Now I am on the fence as is classof15… hmm. Do I really want to spend all that $$$ to fly to OH over spring break??( DS wants to see Oberlin, Wooster and Kenyon). I am kind of hoping it will give him motivation to keep up his grades this year, but golly, it’s expensive.</p>

<p>Oh… and anxiously waiting Thursdays SAT scores!!</p>

3390

<p>^it really adds up, doesn’t it? Plus the cost of time. None of his schools are right next to each other so even if we got up at 7 and drove like a maniac to the first info session at 8:30, we’d never make it to the next one at 12.</p>

<p>I might do a few that are a drive away – I figure I can do up to 3 hours one way, do a 2 hour info session/tour, then come back home. Part of the challenge doing these visits is getting your tired teenager up, fed, and checked out of the hotel in time. Maybe staying local and just doing 1 day trips is the way to go.</p>

3391

<p>We had planned a trip to Boston, Rhode Island and NY this spring. And then DD says she most likely wouldn’t attend a school that far away, so no trip.</p>

<p>Spring break will be spent touring Seattle Pacific, Seattle University, Gonzaga and maybe UW & Washington State. At some point we need to get down to Eugene, but we can do that anytime.</p>

3392

<p>@ everyone: What are the policies in your schools about reading the rec’s by the guidance/college counselor? Are you allowed to look at them before they are sent out? Seems like a case could be made for reading them, proofing them, as a sort of quality control. Especially in those areas where the counselors are inundated.</p>

3393

<p>Anjin: I’ve often wondered about this. What if the letters get mixed up somehow and it all goes horribly wrong? No idea what the kids’ high school policy is as DD is our first, or as she’s fond of saying “Our Guinea Pig.”</p>

3394

<p>Agent99, maybe you and DD already have seen these, but other schools you may want to check out in Oregon and Washington are Reed in Portland, Willamette in Salem, University Puget Sound in Tacoma, and Whitman in Walla Walla. All four are listed in “Colleges that Change Lives.” </p>

<p>A friend’s son went to UPS for applied math and is being actively recruited by big name grad schools. My nephew loves Willamette … just the right size, with plenty of one-on-one with profs and smaller classes, good campus life, too. You probably already know Reed is one of the most rigorous schools in the country (I know your DD is a high-achiever!) Just thought I’d throw these out there in case you hadn’t thought of them.</p>

3395

<p>Agentninetynine: We are using a private guidance counseling service. I posted this a few weeks ago when someone asked why use one:</p>

<p>Re: private college counselors. This was actually a fairly easy decision for us. We know that our D outwardly values the opinions, advice, direction from others WAY more than what we have to say…"Mom, please stop nagging me about…(insert word here…grades, practice, college, cleaning room, etc.).</p>

<p>Back in the dawn of time…both husband and I had awful experiences in HS with the lack of real guidance from our counselors. My HS counselor told me to check the box for business school in the U. of Ill.'s application. Horrid advice, considering you couldn’t apply to the business school until your junior year. Of course I was rejected from my “in-state dream school”. Fortunately, I went to another in-state school where I was offered a scholarship, met my husband (30 years this Sept.), and went on to a successful career, life, etc.</p>

<p>We wanted D to have a different experience. We know her HS guidance counselor is overwhelmed with way too many students. Not her fault–just the way it is today. In fact, she hasn’t even met once with her since she started at the school 18 months ago.</p>

<p>When D was in 9th grade we attended an after-school info meeting from a private counseling service that had ties to my daughter’s middle school. The company had many positive reviews and was currently working with children of 5 of the 9 billionaires in our state (WA–so you can guess who some of the families are…).</p>

<p>They offered three different programs ranging from $5K - 9K. The number of counseling sessions vary depending on the package you go with. They work with kids beginning in 7th grade but our D was just finishing 9th grade when we started. In hindsight, wish we had started in 8th grade so she would have had a better feel for how important 9th grade grades really were. Well…that’s water under the bridge now.</p>

<p>Initially, our D took a custom proprietary 400-question personality profile to help the service understand our daughters interests, dreams, goals, etc. She was assigned a private counselor who met with our her about ever 60 days for an hour. They talked about what classes to take in 10th grade, ECs, summer programs, etc. Her counselor gave her goals to shoot for (GPA, activities, etc.). They also discussed differences and pros/cons between private, public, large, small, secular, etc. colleges.</p>

<p>In the fall of 11th grade they gave her a list of about 50 schools and a matrix for her to fill out to help HER narrow the list down to about 20 best fit schools based on 11 different criteria including: location, cost, # of students, graduation rate, %men vs. women, professors with PhDs, average SAT acceptance scores, class size, etc. Our D was able to score each of the 50 schools and was pretty easily able to narrow down the list to 20+/-.</p>

<p>Two months ago, they asked her to research on her own, those 20 schools and narrow down the list to 10 or so leading candidates. They told her that this list may change depending on actual SAT/ACT scores, not probable scores. What’s great is the list has a variety of schools, some “safety”, some likely, and some reach schools. Their goal is to have kids apply to 8- 10 schools with an 80% acceptance rate.</p>

<p>In the Aug. before Sr. year, kids go to their offices every morning and work on their essays. Her counselors will offer suggestions, and proofing. Their goal is to have the kids’ essays completed so they can “relax” unlike many of their peers who are uber stressed and in denial once school starts. The counselors will help our D decide if she wants apply in the early fall ED or wait for regular decision.</p>

<p>They also help with financial aid questions and forms, scholarships, etc. This was VERY important in our decision to hire a private service. We felt they could help our D get more money for aid/merit, than we could on our own. Parents can sit in on meetings with the kids and counselors, but we’ve chosen to keep most of them private for now. I suspect that will change as we’re getting down to the big decisions including $$$ for college.</p>

<p>Our experience has been fantastic so far. The process has been so helpful and motivating for D. When we first met with them, we asked if D was a good fit for them, because we all knew that she’s not going to HYPMS, and many of their clients might. Our D is a good student (3.6 UW GPA). She will probably score around 1850+/- on the SAT. Our goal was not for her to go to an Ivy school, but find one that was a great fit for her.</p>

<p>Her private counselors have helped our D really think about schools outside of Oregon and WA that we would have never considered–Syracuse, Ithaca, Boston Univ., Univ. of Colorado, U of Denver, etc. D wants to go AWAY to school (4+ hours) and we’re totally fine with that. She wants to double major in Marketing plus Communications or Fashion Merchandising.</p>

<p>Private counseling has been a great fit for our family and our child. She’s gotten better grades, pushed herself to do additional activities (Business Week Camp, NHS), and get excited about college and a future career. A win-win for us.</p>

3396

<p>Kees4Me - I know this was a couple pages ago, but I thought I saw that D took an AP final already? I was wondering if AP’s are taught as semester courses in her high school? </p>

<p>Naviance - our school has had it for 7 years, so some of the data can be very helpful. We use weighted GPA on a scale of 100, so there can be a lot of variation in GPA’s (as opposed to a 4.0 scale, where most kids will end up ranging from 3-4?? or a bit higher with weighting?) They never used PSAT estimates to SAT, so until you student takes SAT, they don’t have a red circle on the scatter plots. I found it very useful in determining target, reach, and safety schools. Naming safety schools can be tricky. When my older son was traveling with a friend, the friend’s mom asked him about colleges, and specifically about safeties. When he named a school as a safety (because his stats were higher than any accepted student in the past 7 years), she got offended. Apparently she went there! And for the state flagship, it’s hard to get a good read, because there are so many overlapping acceptances that you can’t even see your own red circle! Then there are the Ivies, Mit, Stanford, where most of the marks are red X’s, meaning denied acceptance.</p>

<p>Our GC, however, are not very good. At least ours isn’t. My junior is going to ask ours about taking a college course at Princeton next year, and I said I didn’t think she’d be much help. He said, “Well if they don’t know the answer to that, then they’re useless.” He’s just learning this now… ;)</p>

3397

<p>My3…The AP final she had was for first semester, not end of course final. Sorry for the confusion. D took the SAT 1/26 and the ACT 2/9. Expecting results of SAT early Thursday morning. Will have plenty of chocolate on hand for results (good or bad). D starts mid-winter break Thurs, Fri and Monday. Good thing if SAT scores aren’t as high as hoped…</p>

3398

<p>On the GC thing, my kids’ high school is private. There are approx 2 college counselors for 70 students. I know we have it good compared to many schools, but really there is SO much they miss: recommending the same schools for VERY different kids, not knowing that certain foreign language SAT subject tests must be taken in November, etc. Unfortunately they spend most of their time dealing with parents who suffer from HYPSM blindness, and tailor a lot of their info to that group despite the fact that no more than 5 kids will go to those schools.</p>

<p>S is going on the school-sponsored East Coast college tour in April (to be with his friends) and seeing a whole bunch of schools he won’t and/or can’t attend. I wish they had made a more practical list.</p>

3399

<p>My counselor has something close to 300 students however I’m very impressed that he can remember all our names (like in the halls and everything). Names are something I’m terrible at and I appreciate it. Yet I don’t know if this makes him a good counselor.</p>

3400

<p>We don’t have college GCs at my school. We have people trained in the actual sort of mental counseling/making arrangements for different types of students but there’s not much emphasis on post-secondary education advising. Mostly everyone goes to a large public Canadian university; a few find LACs (which, with all due respect, aren’t that great relative to the universities). Scholarships are on your own, too. Apps don’t require GC LoRs, either.</p>

<p>I know one counselor well enough. He’s advised me on nonacademic things and is a pretty good guy. I haven’t had much time to see him this year, though.</p>

<p>My former HS had junior year teachers give feedback on each student to the counselor; he or she would then use this info to write the LoR. They did a little course advising and whatnot, but I think most college admissions stuff was done in a mandatory “seminar” class.</p>