<p>Shaking my head as I read these posts. Our big public school which sends kids to every type of college from community colleges to Ivy league really do a very good job. They organize a college night with presentations given by college reps, have three informational nights - one for financial aid, one for course selection advice and general info about SATs etc, and one for athletes. I've never heard any misinformation or important ommissions. I can't help if there is some way you could fix this situation. At the very least a note to them (if you didn't correct them on the spot which I would have) about some inaccuracies like the one about the SAT subject tests. But perhaps the PTA could invite a speaker that puts on a more accurate presentation? Other ideas?</p>
<p>^Agree, mathmom. We have similar good advice and communication at our high school. I'm involved with PTA in junior high, and the last couple of years we've had the HS GC come to info sessions for our 7-9th graders. Because, of course, if you wait for this information until Junior year, it's much, much too late. </p>
<p>He hands out the high school testing timeline and course requirements for students desiring admission to selective schools, and also the financial reality. The jaws drop (I've seen tears!), but parents leave with a more accurate picture of what's ahead, take a deep breath, and make a plan.</p>
<p>Our HHS has a relatively new group calling itself the Academic Booster Club. </p>
<p>There will be a panel of "active" parents of students who recently went through the process and a FA administrator from a LAC at the next meeting. I will be one of the parents, and I will be knowingly contradicting some of the advice dispensed by the counseling staff at their annual "this is what your student needs to know about college" presentation.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the number of parents who choose to attend these meetings is rather small, especially compared to the auditorium full of parents who attend the aforementioned meeting with the GCs, where they receive information of limited usefulness and, IMO, less than the full story.</p>
<p>~mafool, one subversive parent who is trying to pay it forward!</p>
<p>p.s. I come across sounding pretty arrogant here. I think it is my impatience showing.</p>
<p>I have found the same thing missypie. When I suggested that the GCs here where I teach may want to check out this site one assured me that he already knew all about it. The other poo-pooed it saying something to the effect of "you can't believe everything you read on the internet." They do know a lot about the state schools, a bit about some PNW privates and next to nothing about anywhere else. Our HS has sent kids to Santa Clara, Gonzaga, Lewis and Clark and Tulane but you can bet those parents and kids are the ones that did the legwork.</p>
<p>I will add though that they do a FAFSA night where parents come to the computer lab and do the whole thing on-line with their help so that is very cool.</p>
<p>I can't even get a list of WHERE we send our kids. Several people in the counseling office have told me that the admission stats do exist but they can't imagine why I'd be interested in them. I have this feeling that the district isn't proud of where its students end up.</p>
<p>Not that this makes the situation any better for anyone, but I'm relieved it's not just me that questions my the guidance dept. at D's school. </p>
<p>About a month ago I called her GC regarding another issue. I mentioned that I had missed the college night in the fall (and politely stated it was because it wasn't on the school website until that day) and had a couple of college questions. I asked about SAT II's for D, told him she was in a few AP classes, physics, pre-calc, etc. He said she could wait until next year to take the SAT II"s because not many schools require them. What!!! I knew better due to CC. The question was more of a test for him. Unfortunately he failed.</p>
<p>Our district is similar - the GC starts all her talks with the line "your child does not have to take any honors or AP classes to get into college". Well, yeah, but it depends on what college you are looking at! When I asked about higher level language classes, she replied that most kids just take the minimum they need for college, higher levels are only for language majors. They really try to discourage kids from taking difficult courses, and no on mentioned SAT II's, luckily I found out about those on my own. Most kids go to state schools or small local ones, a couple in recent years have gone to Cornell and Duke, and I fear unfamiliarity with our school hurts the kids' chances.</p>
<p>We just saw my daughter's customized Naviance chart from the high school; it is incredibly helpful; several surprises....schools that look very much alike in terms of who they accept in USNWR or Fiske can be dramatically different when applied to students in a particular high school with a particular GPA/SAT range.</p>
<p>".schools that look very much alike in terms of who they accept in USNWR or Fiske can be dramatically different when applied to students in a particular high school with a particular GPA/SAT range."</p>
<p>Yes, the difference between Stanford and Harvard were amazing at our school. At Harvard it was clear they accepted half (!) the kids with SAT scores and GPAs above a certain threshhold. At Stanford they had accepted two kids in four years both with much lower scores and grades than the ones they rejected. Found out later one was a legacy and URM, the other a recruited athlete.</p>
<p>What frustrates me is guidance counselors who wave their arms and say, "But there's plenty of scholarship money out there!" Students believe in it, parents believe their kids have worked hard and deserve it, and then come April, financial reality sets in and there are tears all around.</p>
<p>OK, now I'm off to Google Naviance, never heard of it, but it sounds interesting.</p>
<p>Our GC's are getting better with more competitive schools, but I truly believe it's only because of several parents who pushed them to learn, taught them all we knew, pointed them toward online information (and CC), and supported them by being available to answer their questions. We graduate 500 students a year, (over 2,000 in the school), with students ranging from those graduating with 10+ AP's to those attending vocational school half of each day. A good number end up dropping out. It's a challenge for 4 counselors to deal with all of these students. </p>
<p>In addition to the once-a-year meeting with junior parents, the PTA has a twice-yearly meeting for college information. Parents and students of all grades are invited - unfortunately only 30-40 show up. We invite an admission person from our local state university and a local, competitive LAC, in addition to our GC's. We also have a financial aid counselor from the state university. (I know her and we've talked privately about aid and scholarships, so I know she knows what she's doing.) </p>
<p>And I have no compunction about correcting misinformation. I just do it very nicely. :D</p>
<p>Our principal mentioned at the last PTA meeting that she wants to buy Naviance, it's a software program. The first piece she wants to buy would help guidance get all the applications, transcripts, and recommendations together. There's another piece that would allow underclassmen to enter their course selections online, instead of guidance spending hundreds of hours entering it manually.</p>
<p>Our GC's college info sessions sound better than some of the ones on this thread, but my fear is that much of the info is given too late. The first "college" parents' night is in the Spring of Junior year. That's when the head of guidance tells parents colleges want to see RIGOR in the course selection. A little late....</p>
<p>Our senior GC did wake people up though. He said when he started 25 years ago, if you could raise fog on a mirror you could get into State U, but not any more. He gave statistics to show that it's harder to get in everywhere, State schools, private, etc, and a few parents gasped. Good info, but again telling people this at the end of Jr year or at the 2nd info session the beginning of Sr year is too late.</p>
<p>At one school that one of my kids' attended, I organized the school-wide college night, and I was the main person who presented.</p>
<p>Care to PM me your materials, northstarmom???? : )</p>
<p>Re post #31 -Naviance is amazing; unfortunately I think the school has to buy it. It is more useful with colleges where a lot of kids from the hs apply. My D put in her official GPA and SAT scores and got a list of all schools in the last 2 years where 2 or more kids with similar scores got in. You can also see charts of all kids who applied to a school and who got in/out/waitlsted/deferred. She was thinking of applying to Syracuse. 17 people from her hs with her stats have applied to Syracuse and zero got in. I thought Boston University was similar to Syracuse, but ten people in her range applied and seven got in.</p>
<p>Some schools let anyone use their Naviance data and have a guest password, so you might try that with a school similar to yours.</p>
<p>Boy, I guess I should be thankful for our local high school's guidance folks. Right in the course selection guide that each kid gets for the following year, beginning in 9th grade on, difficulty of curriculum is mentioned. Following the description of various honors or AP classes is the statement "Students are expected to take the SAT II in this subject following the course" (or something like that). Despite that statement, my d's guidance counselor at the time knew that the biology course she had taken didn't match up with the SAT II, so advised her not to take it - not only knowing the fact of the tests, but the content.</p>
<p>Of course, it doesn't hurt that this school sends quite a few kids to Ivies and other top schools every year.</p>
<p>Yes, Chevda, you and the other families at your school are, indeed, fortunate.</p>
<p>GCs at our suburban Detroit high school have one goal - to get as many of their students admitted to U of M and MSU as possible. If you are looking out of state, particulary at "elite" schools, you are on your own.</p>
<p>However, they do a good job of getting the materials out to the schools on a timely basis.</p>
<p>UMDad: Over here, U of M is the Prize. If it will get you into U of M, 'nuff said. (And this is nothing against the school; I am an alum.) Other than that, Central and Hope college are the other reference points. So, the GC's have very limited knowledge of any other systems and options.</p>