High School Counselors & College Admissions

As more families turn to private counselors for advice on application strategies and essays, we often hear students asking us if they still need to develop a relationship with their high school counselor at school for the purpose of college admissions. The unequivocal answer to this question is YES! College and high school counselors not only write your recommendation to college, but they also communicate with college admissions officers, and they hold institutional knowledge about your school and alumni performance over time at different colleges and universities.

GET TO KNOW YOUR HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELOR

Recommendation Letters

The most obvious reason to get to know your college or high school counselor is that they write your letter of recommendation. While not every college or university requires a letter of recommendation, almost all of the top-ranked institutions will ask for this document. The counselor letter is different from a teacher recommendation, which is focused on academic performance. Instead, the counselor’s job is to highlight your overall role within the school community. Are you a leader in the classroom and on the athletic field? Are you on the quieter side, but show great insight in discussion and have great artistic or musical talent? The counselor uses their own observations from conversations with you, along with teachers’ comments to produce a recommendation that captures “who you are” within your school community. Their letter will discuss your role in the classroom, extracurriculars, and personality. If your counselor doesn’t know you, then they will be writing your recommendation based on what other people say about you, and second hand-knowledge is never as compelling.

TTA Top Tip for Parents: When you are asked to complete the “Parent Questionnaire,” which helps guide your student’s counselor in writing their recommendation letter, remember: You have insider knowledge on your child that will help the letter come alive. So, offer honest input and clear evidence of your child’s academic and (unique) personal qualities that stand out! And, as we tell our Private Counseling students, SHOW, DON’T TELL.

Communication with College Admissions Officers

Many high schools welcome college admissions officers onto campus throughout the year to visit with students or take part in college fairs. While this is a fantastic opportunity for students, you may not realize that the admissions officers also take time to converse with the counselors at your school. Counselors may highlight certain new programs that are offered or even mention particular students that they know are applying. Counselors also have the admission officers’ ears throughout the application process. If you have a question, a high school counselor can easily email or call your regional admissions officer and find the answer quickly. There is a general collegiality between the “two sides of the desk.” Many counselors also call the admissions officers near decision time to ask about the application season. While these used to be “advocacy” calls (opportunities for a counselor to make a final push for a student), they now serve more as information gathering calls. Counselors gain insight into trends within specific colleges and universities, and they may learn particular details like “we plan to use the waitlist” that are not yet published. Speaking of waitlists, counselors often have an inside scoop on if or when waitlist offers will be made by a school because they are in connection with other counselors and admissions officers around the world.

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Institutional Memory

Finally, college and high school counselors have years of data from your particular high school for you to look at through programs like Naviance and SCOIR. They can help you interpret data from different colleges and understand why someone may have been accepted with a lower GPA (likely a hook). Counselors also have anecdotal evidence from alumni that have been happy at particular schools and are usually willing to connect you with current students that graduated from your high school. A counselor could also have information about particular schools where alumni thrive. For example, they may recommend a “likely” school where many former students have been happy and that usually admits students from your high school. Additionally, counselors may know teachers who write stronger recommendations than others and can make suggestions when you are deciding who to ask.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It may seem more efficient to bypass your school or college counselor, but these educators do so much more than just send your documents. Their knowledge of your teachers and community make them a valuable resource during your application process. Beyond your school, they have connections with college admissions officers and can find information for you straight from the college or university. Counselors may seem overwhelmed in the wake of COVID regulations, and many public school counselors, in particular, are trying to address mental health issues among students. However, they are in their position because they enjoy working with students. Set up an appointment to help them get to know you better!

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Nellie Brennan Hall

Senior Private Counselor at Top Tier Admissions

Nellie has spent her entire career in teaching, admissions, and counseling. As Associate Director of Admission at Brown University, she spent nearly a decade recruiting and evaluating applicants. In her role as chair of selection committees, Nellie made executive decisions on applicants and also served as a central member of the athletics committee. Armed with a nuanced view of the review process in highly selective institutions, Nellie moved into college counseling at independent schools, helping students craft essays and guiding them through every stage of the college search and application processNellie’s students have gained admission to the top schools in the country, among them Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, UPenn, Northwestern, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Amherst, and Middlebury. Nellie graduated from Harvard and holds an M.Ed. from Notre Dame in Secondary Education and an Ed.M. from Harvard in Higher Education, where she was awarded the Pforzheimer Fellowship.

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