Some of the advice I discovered as I was making my way through the Ivy League admissions process with average test scores and an average GPA.
Some of this advice I didn’t find out until later - when working as an admissions officer for 3 years at a Top 20 university.
This advice falls into the second group - I simply discovered it way too late for it to be helpful during the application process. I ended up being lucky - but I see examples all the time of:
1) Strong students who have crappy high school counselors who give misinformed and sometimes outright wrong advice about the Ivy League admissions process
2) Strong students who haven’t built a strong relationship with their class counselor (after all, you rarely see them right?) and as a result, those counselors write very generic recommendation letters and generic evaluations in the secondary school report, the midyear report, and so forth
That last one is extremely damaging. Because you can fix point 1 by finding out the truth by yourself. But it’s tough to fix point 2 until its too late.
That said, here are some suggestions on how you can manage that relationship and steer away from mistake #2:
1) Meet your guidance counselor on a frequent basis from freshman year. In some schools, guidance counselors follow students from year-to-year. At most schools, you’ll have a different counselor each year. Regardless of the system - make sure you meet with him/her at least 2-3 times a year (once in the middle of a semester, once at the end) to discuss areas like:
-Scheduled course schedule
-College admissions prep
The last point is the most important. The earlier you can get on the guidance counselor’s radar that you’re applying to schools like Harvard and Stanford and really CARE about the process, the more they’ll respect your goals and assist you
2) Schedule a parent-counselor conference. Just like my earlier post about parent-teacher conferences, parent-counselor conferences when done well are a really effective way for parents to discuss pertinent issues, advocate for their child’s interests, and make the guidance counselor know that he/she can’t slack off. Because counselors can be lazy, just like everyone else. Polite but demonstrated parental oversight can be a very effective accountability tool
3) Plan application review meetings with them starting junior year and at the start of senior year. Two objectives: one, get on their radar early regarding college applications and two, give them complete and repeated insight into your academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Many counselors have no clue what’s going on at the school - what clubs you’re involved with, what sports teams you’re a member of, what you did last summer. Holding these 20-30 minute review sessions provides you with that chance
4) Give them materials in the same way you would for teacher recommendations - a polished resume, and a letter explaining your dream schools, your story, and your proudest achievements
Of these 4 steps, Step #3 is probably the most essential. Get on their calendar, and do this at least twice before they need to submit the Common App secondary school report. Do it once more before they fill out the midyear update.
If you’re afraid of doing so, remember: this is the rest of your life here. Go get what you want.
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
