<p>Hi! I attend a poor inner city high school, in which the counselors last priority is aiding high-achieving students in their college admissions process. My parents are a great help, but they have not done this process for over 20 years. I would appreciate knowing what counselors at private or more well to do schools do for the students, and if you have any recommendations of places I could find support during this process. Thanks!</p>
<p>Large yet well-funded public school here: they write recommendations and you can talk to them about your class schedule if you want. Basically next-to-nothing.we have about 1000 students per counselor or something crazy</p>
<p>I attended a fairly average/under-performing public high school in which the counselors’ main priority was getting as many people to graduate high school as possible. They then tried to get the kids into a college – any college, usually the community college – in order to increase that rate as well. Where we went didn’t matter because the district didn’t tally that into any percentage. So for high-performing kids, the counselors were of little to no help. It’s tough, but you really have to take things into your own hands, research college applications as much as you can, explore as many colleges and topics as you can, and try to navigate the college application process on your own. It will be tough, but it is entirely possibly to do!</p>
<p>Katy: The fact that your parents have some basic knowledge and that you can plug into resources here on CC will cover whatever your GCs can’t do on your behalf. Colleges are fully aware of this and you won’t be penalized. Just be diligent about searching out info, hunches, advice here.</p>
<p>Much has changed since your parents applied – true. FinAid, deadlines, Common App, etc. but you can navigate it if you stay connected here. You’ll find lots of support here. Later, as you narrow down to some target schools, many have individual forums for applicant advice here as well. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Get to your city’s main library and check out the recent books on college admissions advice. That can help replace a weak GC. </p>
<p>I’d also recommend that both you and your parents ask a lot of questions here on College Confidential. We found the kind and knowledgeable adults here to be extremely helpful in filling in the gaps in our knowledge about creating a viable college list and the application process. We had a lot of misconceptions and just plain ignorance about the process, since the school didn’t offer much guidance until midway through senior year (too late) and we hadn’t been through the process ourselves in 30 years.</p>
<p>Are you a junior or a senior? If a senior, start asking those questions NOW. You do not have much time to get this figured out.</p>