How good are your HS college counseling teams

[Anonymous]

What is normal to expect in sophomore year?

[Anonymous]

I’ve had boys at two different schools. Gonzaga and GC. Gonzaga was absolutely amazing. GC isn’t bad, but Gonzaga blows them out of the water.

[Anonymous]

At DC’s school, the CCO advisor is assigned (alphabetically) to entering freshman, and helps students with course selection for all 4 years. This means they really get to know the students, their strengths, their interests, etc, *before* the college process even starts. We appreciate that they really focus on helping kids figure out what they want and what the best fit is.

The actual college advising program starts in 10th with a “college night” in the fall for students and parents that kind of gives an overview of the process. Individual family meetings happen late spring of 10th for an initial personalized discussion. In 11th, students get access to SCOIR and can attend visits from college reps, and they fill out a lengthy questionnaire after winter break, before additional family meetings in the spring. And advisors are very hands-on and available throughout the application season for their seniors.

[Anonymous]

At Holton a couple years ago, they pretty much refused to speak with 9th/10th graders which at the time was frustrating. However, the program was very strong for 11th/12th and matriculation was strong so which is what really matters.

Holton was also more transparent/honest than our other child's school in terms of ED chances, etc. Their counselors shared if lots of legacies were applying, where kids fit in terms of stats within the general group applying, etc. which was very helpful to manage expectations and apply appropriately.

In general, from a parent perspective, if your child gets into the college of their/your choice, you will leave thinking counseling and overall the school was great. If not, you'll be meh to waste of $$$$$$ in your opinion of them.

[Anonymous]

My kids have gone to two different privates. We had no contact with college counseling until the middle of junior year. At one school, sophomores can get input on 11th grade course selection, but only if they ask for it. Sophomores certainly aren't meeting with college counseling to discuss specific schools.

[Anonymous]

How early they engage will students -- that is, whether they meet with sophomores -- is more of an indication of philosophy than quality.

[Anonymous]

College counseling is pretty good at Holton. Nothing much happens in sophomore year, apart from several practice SAT/ACT exams.

[Anonymous]

My kids are in publics with crap college counselors, so I certainly hope that you guys have excellent counseling services for college. You're paying for it.

[Anonymous]

The college counselors at Burke are super!

[Anonymous]

Maret starts too late, but the counselors are really great. There’s some of my favorite people at the school and they seem to be doing a great job. Placement has been really good this year, but more importantly it really feels like people are hitting the right fit.

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP who said your opinion of the CC team will vary based on your DCs experience—much of which is not something the counselor can control. We felt the counseling at SR was very solid. CC was candid about chances at various schools and helped map a game plan for applications ED/EA/RD. We were very minimally involved and that was fantastic because DD really felt like she owned the process. They were open to meeting with students in sophomore year (for things like course selection or if you were going to be visiting colleges over the summer), but the process began in January of junior year.

[Anonymous]

3 kids at 3 different highly regarded DMV private school. CC office were all similarly run and strong, and their placement “successes” largely depended on the number of recruited athletes or other “hooked” students in a given class. Across the years, we didn’t see any situations where the counselors were the difference makers in terms of individual outcomes. Most families in the strong private schools still hire outside help to supplement, even though many don’t admit it. No one wants to leave any options or small advantage on the table.

[Anonymous]

Also had 3 kids at 3 highly regarded DMV schools. The college counselors were very competent at each, very smart people who knew what they were doing. I did think that one pushed the “let the kid own it” view too far, which led to a head-scratching initial list of schools. With another DC, we felt the counselor was perhaps pushing the school’s interests ahead of our DC’s (pushing to get as many kids as possible into top schools, at the expense of DC’s positioning).
Due to special circumstances, the counselors’ performances did not ultimately affect where our kids ended up.

[Anonymous]

Agree that Gonzaga did a great job. DS was a good but not great student and ended up at his target school. But the manage the progress very well.
I have a student at another school that I don’t think does very well.

Regarding sophomore year and what to expect- we had our first meeting, large informational session, in this spring of sophomore year. They gave you a full presentation on what to expect over the course of the next two years. They also gave some helpful hints about what we could do now.,(really over the summer)

[Anonymous]

College counseling at Bullis is fantastic and started freshman year and kicked up sophomore year. They also helped DS pick courses throughout his HS experience. Worth every penny right there.