<p>I only have experience of GC’s at our HS. It is a lower to middle income, mostly 1st generation student body. GC’s are busy just trying to get most kids to graduation and maybe local community college. They do try their best to help the college bound kids but I don’t think they have any connections to colleges other than our local CCs. No college fairs, except a large one put on by the school district. They did have a college info night, but I sensed that it was mostly for the 1st gen kids - how to apply, financial aid, FAFSA, etc. That being said, D’s class ended up with about 80% intending to pursue college. Don’t know how many really ended up enrolling, however. And, no, we never saw any recommendations from GC. We did see teacher recs (teachers didn’t care and just gave copies to D).</p>
<p>The GCs at both my kids’ (large, public, highly diverse) schools asked for a questionnaire from the student and the parents. We used it to share a couple of anecdotes that would never get into an essay, and to let the GC know of issues at home (serious ongoing illness of a parent) if she felt that should be in the letter.</p>
<p>S1 saw his HS GC the other day and she told him she had no problem writing his letter three years ago because she had lots of “S1 stories” that really made him stand out. I knew she knew S reasonably well, but that was news to all of us! The admissions officer at one of S2’s top choices wrote a personal note on a letter specifically mentioning one of his activities – and the ONLY place that was mentioned was in the questionnaire I completed for the GC. However, we have never seen the GC or teacher rec letters submitted for either of my kids – with the exception of the one S1’s mentor at UMD wrote and shared with my son.</p>
<p>There is no transparency when it comes to GC recommendation letters. It’s a leap of faith. The GCs may be terribly overworked and underappreciated, but they really do want to do the best they can for the kids. The kids do have some control over other recs in that they can choose which teachers to ask – and can add a supplemental one if they feel it will help show another side of them. (Both my kids did this, and the supplemental rec was probably the strongest letter of all for both of them.) It all works out.</p>
<p>My oldest is only a sophomore, but I can already say that the GC at his HS, as overworked as they are, have only the best of the students in mind. They will always strive to write the best recommendation letter they possibly can. If student is admitted to a great college, GC and HS can take part of the accolades for the achievement.
Cheat sheet only helps. While I can say that my kid’s GC already knows him quite well, she has no clue that he is working towards his Eagle right now or that he is active in a church group.</p>
<p>Just a word of caution, that there are some schools (our local school included) where the guidance counselors are very wrapped up in the idea that the students should completely “own” the college application process, and would react very negatively to the suggestion that a parent might send anything to them in connection with college applications. I think this correlates with their seeing their role as “judging” the students, rather than advocating for them. This is not my preferred view of things, but it is definitely held by some GC’s.</p>
<p>Of course the GCs have the students’ best interests at heart. I don’t dispute that at all. It is unrealistic to expect a counselor with a couple hundred students, who is also dealing with truants, behavior problems, etc. to know any given student at more than a superficial level and to be knowledgeable about schools that only a handful of her kids will concern themselves with. That’s why there’s CC. There’s more knowledge here.</p>
<p>My experience with overworked but committed GCs is that you can make 1 or 2 very specific requests on behalf of your student. I asked that she contact and form a relationship with the admissions counselor at my child’s first choice school, where previously no one from the HS had ever applied and that she explained the tough grading policy so that they understood that a 3.5 GPA was really good and in line with sat scores. She went above and beyond and visited the school, 6 states away, on a vacation and has thanked me for turning her on to some real gems that she would have never have thought of because they were out of her geographic awareness.</p>
<p>No worries about letters from teachers and counselors. They have been trained to write “little Muffy is a high spirited student and it was a pleasure to have her in my class” on event the wildest, most behaviorally challenged little elementary-schooler’s report cards since time immemorial 
Not seeing LOR’s is par for the course. Let it go.</p>
<p>I’ve always assumed that the GC recommendation has a minimal role in the admissions process unless it reveals some extraordinarily positive or negative information (e.g., suspension for cheating or how the student risked his life to save the school from burning down), so I never worried about it one way or the other. But I would like to hear something on this subject from the admissions personnel who occasionally post on CC.</p>