Getting to Know Your College Counselor

Welcome to high school! In addition to juggling new classes and new responsibilities, you’ll also be meeting lots of new people, including classmates, teachers, and your college counselor.

“Wait, what?! My college counselor? I’m just starting 9th grade!”

Now let’s be clear: we’re not saying you should be starting your college search right now! In fact, we’re firm believers that high school is much more than just pre-college. But there will come a time in the not-too-distant future when you’ll be really wanting some help from that college counselor – and so will pretty much everyone else in your grade. There really just aren’t enough counselors to go around, so you’ll separate yourself from the pack and be in a much better position down the road if you start that relationship now.

Allowing your counselor to get to know you is very important. In addition to writing a recommendation for you when you apply to college, they’ll be helping you choose the colleges to which you might apply. And contrary to popular belief, the best college isn’t the one that sits atop some silly list – it’s the one that’s the best fit for you. Your counselor will be far more equipped to provide help if they actually know something about you!

Starting that relationship now will also allow you to learn what counselors can and can’t do for you. As you’re about to be told by pretty much every freshman teacher you have this year, “You aren’t in 8^th grade anymore. We expect you to take more responsibility for yourself and your work!” That’s equally true in the college search process. So begin that process now by taking the initiative to reach out to your counselor. It’s a small and easy yet important step you can take.

You’ve got lots of resources available to you: your parents, teachers, college counselor, and even us. We’ll be sending you helpful tips throughout your high school career to help guide you along your educational journey. But you’re the one who’s most important here, so it’s important you begin to take more control of the process of planning your future. And that future starts today.