Getting into college counseling
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Anonymous
| Almost everyone on here fails to understand that a good counselor first and foremost is good at working with students. Reading Reddit posts and working with your kids is great, now you need proof you’re good at working with all the other kids. Low income, low motivation, etc. Start taking classes from the UCLA program and volunteering in public schools if you really want to do this work. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
Requires at least a previous year of reading apps. OP is out. |
Anonymous
OP could email their dean and explain her situation, they could be able to substitute prior experience. |
Anonymous
Not really |
Anonymous
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Being a part time reader isn’t going to teach someone how to help a student with the college search. It isn’t even going to give you much insight unto how that college makes decisions. They’re very low-level workers who aren’t involved in committee decisions. No education about scholarships or financial aid, either.
Knowing how St. Joe’s processes a new application isn’t going to help the kid who is just getting started and needs help building a list. |
Anonymous
No question…but how do you think so many people at so many advising companies says “former AO of fill in the blank/Stanford?” |
Anonymous
I disagree. I don’t think most people in my circle are as sophisticated as the parents on here. This is a highly educated group. And most people on here, I think, wouldn’t hire a counselor. Most of us are here looking for that info for free. However, most people at our private haven’t heard of the podcasts/books or even checked out A2C. They do hire counselors bc other people have - it’s a weird word of mouth thing. |
Anonymous
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OP, I really like your post, your energy and enthusiasm, and your willingness to put yourself out there for advice before this sometimes smart and sometimes rough crowd.
One question or bit of advice. If your goal is to work with families at top independent schools sending lots of kids to top colleges, you may have a tough time breaking in. As others have said, those counselors have generally put in several years in admissions at top colleges and sometimes additional years at other independent schools. Expectations by parents are very high and they want a former Tufts or Penn admissions officer instead of a smart but inexperienced parent. But if you really want to make a difference, then consider the many schools that aren't serving UMC families and where the college counselor may be the guidance counselor and working with kids going to tech schools, military, community colleges, as well as to bigger universities. My big rural public high school had one counselor for 450 seniors, while my kid's Big3 independent has four counselors for 125 seniors. Maybe start out by volunteering to help out in a big high school that doesn't have huge resources. You'll be helping kids figure out enlisting into the military or getting technical training more often than helping a kid weigh brown versus Dartmouth. But you might make a bigger difference in some kid's life to help him or her to see themselves at any college and then get into a GMU or another child get into some tech apprenticeship than to help some umc kid at an independent school et into Penn instead of Cornell. |
Anonymous
I’m a volunteer with SM and have read emails from other coaches on the listserv about finding out that they are working with rich kids. SM does not verify low-income status (so if a kid says their parents make 75K, they are ion and get free counseling) so essentially sometimes the volunteer work we do helps a rich kid get admitted to elite schools OVER the low-income kids we are trying to help. I’ve read emails from other volunteers where they are wondering why rich kids are in this program, and I have not seen anything from SM to clarify what’s going on. So volunteer if you want to, but know that you might be helping a kid take away a spot from a more deserving candidate. |
Anonymous
Lol she doesn’t have nearly the experience that they require. I helped my four kids and a couple of nieces and nephews apply to college. They makes me and OP about even. I don’t think that makes me a qualified reader! |
Anonymous
NP. I disagree. I did the research and helped my kid get into schools that are unheard of for our local public. I volunteered for the heck of it and helped kids get into HYPSM and many prestigious SLACs. You know what I learned? Most kids write shitty essays that seem to be what gets them rejected. I don’t think a good essay can get you in, but an essay that is acceptable will at least not put you in the reject pile. So if you have the stats, you can get in by having an adult who understands what colleges are looking for review your essays and other application components. I am in the UCLA program and having fun. OP - sign up! You might love it. |
Anonymous
Readers for undergraduate colleges aren’t very qualified. Do you have a professional degree? Work experience? I’m a reader this fall for a top ranked law school. |
Anonymous
| PP here, stats and decent LORs needed. The essays and interview skills can be honed with help. |
Anonymous
You do? Honestly and with all due respect I have never seen this happen with anyone in our large family and friend group ever. Lots of parents have kids who are admitted to top colleges who are not inundated like you say you have been. It’s just not typical. If it’s happening the way you describe, it’s because you were taking the lead other parents - not the other way around. I literally know of no one who has ever gotten involved with any of their kids’ friends’ parents over the details of their college applications the way that you have described. Not once. |