If you haven’t already read this article from Education Week, I suggest that you do so. It was concerning to us here at Campus Bound, and we wanted to take this opportunity, in this blog, to respond to it.
The take-away from the article, and from this recent study from the National Association of College Admission Counselors, is that only a third of the public high schools in the United States have a college counselor, or designated counselor, to help them with post-high school educational goals. Even more concerning is that the likeliness of a school having a college counselor goes down as the poverty rate of the high school students goes up. So even fewer middle to lower class students are getting this kind of support.
It’s counter-intuitive, but parents who take a step back from their child’s college admissions process may actually hear more. It can be very hard advice to follow; we get it, but stick with us on this.
When I’ve asked groups of juniors and seniors what their parents can do to help them with the college process, their response is almost always… stop asking me about the college process. A student once told me, “I just want to have one dinner with my family where college isn’t brought up.”
Unfortunately, this happens quite a bit: we’ll have our first meeting with student and then they say the words we dislike hearing, “I wish I had known that…”
We wish the college process wasn’t confusing or difficult, but the truth is, it can be. Here are some of the most common scenarios, by school year, in which we hear students say “I wish I knew that!” Pay attention… don’t let it be you!
While the majority of the college admission world is focused on seniors right now, and understandably so, we don’t want juniors to feel that we forgot about them. There are important items on their to-do list right now as well. Below are 5 things juniors can be doing now to get a head start on the college application and admission process.
There is no such thing as two students who go through the college process in exactly the same way. Some students apply Early, and some do not. Some students apply to local schools, while other students apply to schools on the other side of the country.
However, the majority of students are going to follow a common trajectory in the college admissions timeline. They will research schools, visit, interview, apply, wait, etc. But, there are a handful of special populations who will likely go through a very unique college process. Campus Bound Counselors are knowledgeable and skilled to help any special students navigate the process. Below are some of the special populations we serve and how we help them.
I catch myself saying it often to the students I work with, “Early is better!” And, for the most part, it’s true. Admission rates are generally higher for students who apply Early Decision or Early Action, and there are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is because colleges like students who can show genuine interest in their school by either making a commitment or submitting their materials earlier.
However, early isn’t always better. In this blog, we will go over a few key times when applying Regular is probably the better way to go.
Visiting and touring colleges can be strenuous and tedious enough on its own, but for students with a disability, it’s important to take the necessary steps to make college tours fit your needs. Doing the legwork up front helps ensure you find a college where you will be happy and successful. Here are our tips for students with disabilities when it comes to visiting colleges.
The majority of selective four-year colleges are going to ask applicants to provide teacher recommendations. It’s smart for students to think about these in advance and not wait until the last minute to ask for them. In this blog, we outline the 5W’s of college recommendations.
It’s January, which means it’s officially kick-off season for juniors to begin the college process. If you start now, you can break the process down into manageable steps and it will all feel much less overwhelming! In this blog, we outline the typical winter timeline for juniors. If you get these things done over the winter and spring, your summer and fall of senior year will be much easier.
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