Reply to Just how helpful are High School Guidance/College Counselors supposed to be?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Is this a public or private h.s. OP? A lot of large public schools just don't have enough people to help and that puts the kids at a real disadvantage. I would advise you to do what I did...I bought a bunch of books on Amazon about the process because I didn't care for my child's college counselor's approach either. We worked around her but acted like we were working with her. You don't want to get them on their bad sides.[/quote]

+1. Large public high school counselors are overburdened with helping 4 years' worth of kids get into the right classes, among other counseling duties. At our public high school, the counselors didn't read essays although the English teachers did - maybe it's the same school.

You can do this yourself, OP, if you and your kid are willing to put some time into it.  If you can see it as a bonding opportunity and a fun challenge, that will work best. 
(1) Buy the books. 
(2) [b]Start stalking College Confidential, which has lots of valuable information.[/b] But do discount the more hysterical posts as the site tends to attract the most OCD parents and kids.
(3) Get to know Naviance if your school gives you access. Naviance provides data on how kids from your school did at various colleges with their different SATs and GPAs. No book or private counselor can provide this particular information, tailored to your kid's school.

DC went to a big public high school where the counselor was pushing a certain state school. DC is now at a top 10.

Go with a private counselor in a few circumstances. For example, if you and your kid are at odds about the whole process, a private counselor can help push your kid along on the application process and maybe read the essays. Or, if you just don't have time to roll up your sleeves and read the books, then contract it out.[/quote]I would also add Unigo to the mix.

https://www.unigo.com/[/quote]

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