School Counseling Education Enhances the College Admissions Process
High school is a stressful time for most students. If the pressure of academics, extra-curricular activities, and social trials and tribulations wasn't enough, there's also the expectation that students should make plans for college education: no small task. The process of college admissions can be long and confusing, and many important decisions must be made. Will the student attend a state school or a private one? Local or out-of-state? Where will the money for tuition come from? If the student is seeking to acquire scholarship funding, what are the requirements for application? A counselor who's gone through a School Counseling Education program can help students find answers to all of these questions. Traditionally, school counselors have worked with students to overcome social and academic issues. But as college admissions become ever more competitive, so too are students becoming emotionally tied to the process. School Counseling Education programs help counselors develop essential skills to meet the demand for college admissions guidance. Counselors can serve as a gateway for students, providing necessary information on colleges, degree programs, funding, and what it will mean to transition to higher education, from lifestyle to course load demands and changes in student-instructor interaction. Preparation is ongoing, and empathy is essential. Even as early as their freshman year of high school, many high-achieving students express anxiety over getting into the best, most affordable colleges, and some develop goal sheets for obtaining scholarships. Having gone through the admissions process themselves, counselors are well-familiar with the expectations of academia. Beyond that, graduate programs in School Counseling Education address issues of family wellness and community engagement, so counselors can speak from experience as they recommend service activities and volunteer work to boost students' confidence and exemplify their commitment to good citizenship: important qualities for making a great impression on the college admissions board. School Counseling Education also teaches counselors the mediation techniques necessary for working with students in tandem with their parents or guardians. There are few people more influential to a young person than a parent, and so students must consider their parents' expectations without inhibiting their own desires. The college admissions process can be a place for counselors to bring students and parents together in understanding, as well as to embark on a positive action plan. When students work with their counselors to decipher the options of college education, they're better prepared to make informed decisions. High schools should express a culture of optimism, and counselors can do their part to ease the student's stress. It's through School Counseling Education that counselors become an essential member of the student's support network.
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