Why is Wilson's college counselor out the week applications are due?

[Anonymous]

They aren't critically important. It's not that grades and GPA aren't unimportant, it's that, however impressive standard academic metrics might be on a certain application, they're not nearly enough for admissions to competitive US colleges on their own. Things are different in Canada, Britain, Europe, Australia.

I used to work in admissions, at an Ivy. Other than where applicants we're recruited athletes, the Ivy would almost always take kids who wowed us with extra-curriculars and intellectual curiosity over kids with weak extra-curriculars who didn't come off as bright sparks, even if they were valedictorians.

Applicants need to meet a rough baseline for GPA for their applications to land in the "read in full" pile at an admissions office. But the baseline isn't as high as you might think if you haven't worked in admissions. The Ivy where I worked often used to admit kids who weren't in the top 5, 10, 20, or even 50 in their HS if they came off as intellectually ravenous and committed to making their mark in a certain field. Valedictorians did no better than others whose applications were read in full. Ivies routinely reject up to 90% of valedictorians who apply.

[Anonymous]

The answer to the question-subject of this thread is the same answer to the question of why the chancellor and deputy mayor for education are still working from home, 20 months into the pandemic: Because public education in D.C. is an afterthought. No mayor has been elected or thrown out of office on the issue of education.
So we get teleworkers.

[Anonymous]

Yes, teleworking, along with weak and dramatically under-resourced college counseling across DCPS. Hire outside help if you want good advice, OP.

[Anonymous]

I take it that the counselor is still MIA? Oh boy!
DCPS uses a ratio of 1 counselor for approximately 400 students. Completely ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Outrageous. The ratio is particularly tough on first generation college students. All parents aren't in a great position to help with college applications, or to pay for help.

[Anonymous]

Update...Wilson has formally reassigned all of his students to other counselors for the rest of the year...so he's gone.

[Anonymous]

For all of you that were sympathetic to his possible health or family issues, the fact is he just quit. He left kids hanging in their senior year. I hope no other school ever hires him. Kids have been randomly reassigned to people who don't know the process or the schools,.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all of you that were sympathetic to his possible health or family issues, the fact is he just quit. He left kids hanging in their senior year. I hope no other school ever hires him. Kids have been randomly reassigned to people who don't know the process or the schools,.

Yeah, this sucks. But again, unless you're his supervisor or someone he confided in directly, you never know what's going on in someone's life that would cause this sort of decision. I hope your kid and others find the support they need for this process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is kind of gross. It feels invasive of this person’s privacy. We have no clue why they took leave and it’s none of our business.

+1 I work in academia in a student-facing role and had a medical emergency + emergency surgery that took me out for nearly 2 weeks during a VERY busy time. I would hate to think that people were talking smack because their precious flower child trumps my actual health. Especially because the counselors aren't exactly being paid enough to risk their health for your kids.

[Anonymous]

He quit because he didn’t like the job. This message is coming from the school.

[Anonymous]

On the bright side, the Wilson staff really rallied and came to the rescue for these kids...by all accounts, they got all of the transcripts and letters of rec written by the deadlines and staff have stepped up to take on extra work. They deserve a lot of credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the bright side, the Wilson staff really rallied and came to the rescue for these kids...by all accounts, they got all of the transcripts and letters of rec written by the deadlines and staff have stepped up to take on extra work. They deserve a lot of credit.

That’s great to hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He quit because he didn’t like the job. This message is coming from the school.

Oh well. People quit. It happens. He probably received a better offer for more money in a non education environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On the bright side, the Wilson staff really rallied and came to the rescue for these kids...by all accounts, they got all of the transcripts and letters of rec written by the deadlines and staff have stepped up to take on extra work. They deserve a lot of credit.

That’s great to hear.

It is great. If I were the parent of a senior, I would be “frustrated” so I don’t want to minimize difficulties these seniors face at a critical juncture.

But I am often so impressed by the dedication and energy of Wilson faculty and staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He quit because he didn’t like the job. This message is coming from the school.

Oh well. People quit. It happens. He probably received a better offer for more money in a non education environment.

+1

We can’t have threads that complain about school staff quitting in the same place people spent a year calling people lazy and telling them to quit so someone better could take their job