College Admissions Process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great if those two schools are the only ones you want and you are at the top of the donor list so you make the quota from your private.

we did want one of them, yes, but where near the top of the donor list. Only 70 kids in the graduating class and 4 counsellors. I really do feel this is one of the main reasons for going private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great if those two schools are the only ones you want and you are at the top of the donor list so you make the quota from your private.

we did want one of them, yes, but where near the top of the donor list. Only 70 kids in the graduating class and 4 counsellors. I really do feel this is one of the main reasons for going private.

nowhere near

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:kinda disagree. I know for a fact DC’s private school counsellors have an “in” with two particular schools, highly rated SLACs won’t name, but this school is almost like a pipeline for those colleges. I do feel the efforts of the counsellors are one of the main reasons we pay the big bucks for tuition. Unlike the local public, they actually know the kid as an individual and can help guide them to schools that are the best fit.

Name the "highly rated" SLACs that the school is a "pipeline" for. Until then, I call BS.

My kids had no problem getting into "highly rated" SLACs on their own, and from a public high school. So much for what your "big bucks" will do for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:kinda disagree. I know for a fact DC’s private school counsellors have an “in” with two particular schools, highly rated SLACs won’t name, but this school is almost like a pipeline for those colleges. I do feel the efforts of the counsellors are one of the main reasons we pay the big bucks for tuition. Unlike the local public, they actually know the kid as an individual and can help guide them to schools that are the best fit.

Name the "highly rated" SLACs that the school is a "pipeline" for. Until then, I call BS.

My kids had no problem getting into "highly rated" SLACs on their own, and from a public high school. So much for what your "big bucks" will do for you.

Congrats. I do feel the counsellors helped my kid a lot though - doesn’t bother me you call BS.

[Anonymous]

Our FCPS high school had their own timing re: college applications (probably tied to the Va Colleges) which did not coincide with DD & DS. Our kids were not applying to Va publics. Both kids had out-of-state publics on their list with rolling admissions - the longer you wait, the harder it is to get in. Kids were ready to submit applications in Sept/Oct. In some cases the universities had been accepting applications beginning the end of August) The guidance department was just not up and running re:college applications at the start of school. They had plenty else to do, I'm sure, at the very beginning of the school year. I guess what was the most frustrating was we had met w/the counselor before Summer. She had all the specifics, she didn't raise any questions, but when Fall came it just wasn't getting done. DD & DS ended up sending in their apps without a guidance counselor recommendation and were admitted (luckily) the transcripts were sent by the school. I felt we got a lot of push-back at every turn. I kept thinking they should be happy to try to make this happen. Kept thinking, "one less student vying for a spot at the same few Va colleges everyone is battling to get into" But the point was the high school was use to their own schedule of when to do things, and they weren't going to deviate.

At times the thought crossed my mind if maybe the feet-dragging on the part of the Guidance Department was a deliberate approach. Maybe to combate senioritis. Maybe their only leverage to keep students working at full throttle for as long into the school year as possible. I have no idea really. It just felt like the school was working against us re: timing, and uninterested once DS & DD had acceptances to schools of which they weren't too familiar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What help do you need from a guidance counselor, beyond transcripts? Help writing essays? Teacher recommendations?

Highly performing public school students, and even lesser performing students can complete these tasks with no issue, and do not need hand-holding guidance every step of the way. Something to consider.

Have you had a kid go through this process recently? It's a lot different from when we were teens.

I'm sure it is, and I will help my kids in any way that I can. However, I will absolutely NOT contribute to increasing the hordes of young adults who do not know their butts from a hole in the ground. My kids will have my help and guidance, but will have to grow up and fend for themselves at some point.

I remember asking my father to help me write college essays, and I remember him telling me that I was a capable writer, and that I needed to write them myself.

good for you but some others don’t feel this way. They’ll pay top dollar to have someone write the essay for the kid - that’s who you’re up against these days.

That is just ridiculous. College essays are not difficult, and if your kid can't write a cogent, engaging essay - than there are issues.

I have to do a lot of writing for work - I have no one else to do it for me. I can look at examples, and used my past work as a base for many projects, but at the end of the day, I have to get it done myself.

[Anonymous]

If you people don't have a student who went through high school VERY RECENTLY, please don't respond. We don't need to hear your experience/speculation re: the process from 10+ years ago.

[Anonymous]

Our DD is a college freshman who went to a fcps. Her school did a really good job handling the college admissions process for the kids. The counselors, career center office, and transcript office provided frequent and clear communication and information to the parents and kids. There were endless emails and information sessions about the process, deadlines, scholarship opportunities, etc.

[Anonymous]

If you are not a top donor than your child had better be superior because they may fudge to package the donor's kid over yours. Your kid may get in but won't get the phone call from the counselor that predetermines the outcome. Nor will your child get the easy A everyday in every class.

[Anonymous]

Op it's helpful to know this: all guidance counselors have to report to a head of guidance. This person's role is not always mentioned to parents, but this is an important person. Counselors need to get their "OK" on all kinds of issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What help do you need from a guidance counselor, beyond transcripts? Help writing essays? Teacher recommendations?

Highly performing public school students, and even lesser performing students can complete these tasks with no issue, and do not need hand-holding guidance every step of the way. Something to consider.

Have you had a kid go through this process recently? It's a lot different from when we were teens.

I'm sure it is, and I will help my kids in any way that I can. However, I will absolutely NOT contribute to increasing the hordes of young adults who do not know their butts from a hole in the ground. My kids will have my help and guidance, but will have to grow up and fend for themselves at some point.

I remember asking my father to help me write college essays, and I remember him telling me that I was a capable writer, and that I needed to write them myself.

Yes, well, unlike you, even at the tender age of 17 I didn't need my father to tell me that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What help do you need from a guidance counselor, beyond transcripts? Help writing essays? Teacher recommendations?

Highly performing public school students, and even lesser performing students can complete these tasks with no issue, and do not need hand-holding guidance every step of the way. Something to consider.

Have you had a kid go through this process recently? It's a lot different from when we were teens.

I'm sure it is, and I will help my kids in any way that I can. However, I will absolutely NOT contribute to increasing the hordes of young adults who do not know their butts from a hole in the ground. My kids will have my help and guidance, but will have to grow up and fend for themselves at some point.

I remember asking my father to help me write college essays, and I remember him telling me that I was a capable writer, and that I needed to write them myself.

good for you but some others don’t feel this way. They’ll pay top dollar to have someone write the essay for the kid - that’s who you’re up against these days.

I think this is bullshit, but even if it's not, I refuse to engage in this behavior. I would consider it a moral failing to tacitly or overtly condone this behavior, and a parenting failure as well. My DS is in the process of writing his own essays.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the input. Parents of older kids at our school rave about the college application process. The guidance counselors meet regularly with kids and have really helped a number of friends' kids identify some out of the ordinary good fits. They have been really good at working with kids to get some amazing merit aid packages for several years running. More than half the class was accepted to one public university in Virginia. Several kids have been accepted into some pretty competitive schools since we have been there. Obviously, the kids do the coursework and, yes, their families are involved in the process with their kids as I expect to be. However, the guidance office certainly has demonstrated that the counselors have a heck of a lot more info than I could ever learn and I feel like they are a good counterpoint to parents. Sometimes your kid will listen to someone else's advice more than yours. I'd like to have some confidence in that advice and I'd like to have some sense that my counterpart knows our family a bit. That is probably way too much to expect in public school is what my gut feeling is.

One of the things I have valued the most at the school is its college guidance process. Part of our decision to stay or go will be deciding if we can handle the college app process as a family and do as thorough a job.

[Anonymous]

OP, was the purpose of your post to brag about your private school?

That over half of the applicants to U-Va got in isn't all that impressive. Yes, it's higher than most public schools but here's the thing: unlike public schools, private schools limit the number of schools they let their students apply to, so they're only letting students apply who have a reasonable shot of getting in. Public schools let you apply anywhere you want, and many VA public school kids throw their hat into the U-Va applicant pool for the hell of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DD is a college freshman who went to a fcps. Her school did a really good job handling the college admissions process for the kids. The counselors, career center office, and transcript office provided frequent and clear communication and information to the parents and kids. There were endless emails and information sessions about the process, deadlines, scholarship opportunities, etc.

Same here. Our DS is a college freshman, graduated from McLean HS in June. In addition to the above, there were quarterly parent coffees done by the Career center that had advertised topics. There was a series of night sessions for parents that described the admissions process and financial aid, among other things. We were very pleased with the process and the outcome.