The college your child decides to attend will ultimately shape their entire future. Finding the right college and getting thru the application process can be a complicated process both confusing and frustrating to student and parent. College counseling is a growing field that is designed to help parents and their students thru the difficult process of getting into college. It takes a tremendous amount of planning and preparation to find and be accepted to the college you choose with many students being turned down each year, counseling can help you avoid these disappointments.
Once your child starts high school it is likely that you will start to talk about their future. They may already know what they want to do, what school they would like to attend and what degree they want to obtain. While it will be some time before you have to spend a lot of time on college admission concerns, it is not too early to start thinking about the classes your child is taking. Most colleges have course requirements that need to be met; college counseling can help you decide what will be the best classes to take to get into the college of your choice.
Once your child enters their junior year in high school, the real work begins and this is where college counseling can be a real benefit to your family. During the junior year of high school your child will need to start taking their college admission exams and they should also begin taking a close look at the colleges they might like to attend. This is where college counseling can really benefit your student. Counselors can help you decide what tests your student will need and help them prepare for them.
College counseling can also help you identify your child's strengths and interests and help match them with colleges that might be a good fit for them. A counselor will help you thru the complicated application process from the initial application to any interviews or essays that your child may be asked to complete.
A counselor will review your child's high school transcripts, standardized tests, and extracurricular activities and make recommendations on how they can strengthen their presentation of themselves using these tools. Most colleges these days do not just look at test scores but look at the whole package, things that they will look for include any community service your child may have done, essays they have submitted and personal recommendations from educators, and people they have worked with. College counseling will help you make sure that your child has a complete portfolio ready for their prospective college.
There are also college counseling groups and workshops that can walk the student thru the entire process of testing and college admission. These workshops will help a student and their family understand the way that colleges select students as well as helping the student learn how to make their final selection.
