What High School Counselors Wish College Admissions Counselors Knew

Lindsey Abbasy is a Licensed School Counselor who prepares high school students for college success and assists students with the process of choosing a college/university to attend. To all admissions counselors who seek to leverage relationships with high school counselors, read about what you can do to strengthen those relationships:

High school guidance counselors are a huge resource to college admissions counselors if tapped into effectively. Not only do we possess the keys of easy and direct access to large numbers of perspective students, but we also play a significant role in guiding our students toward the best college/university options for them. Here are a few things college admissions counselors could do to make it easier for us to steer our students your way:

1) Aim more of your recruitment at freshmen: We've had countless college reps visit our high school, and most of them understandably want to focus on juniors and seniors. But there is great value in making face-time with freshmen who haven't yet explored their options, and who just might get hooked on your college/university early on. We love to have our students research a couple of colleges very early on, because it makes the elusive concept of "college" more real and tangible. Why not let the name of your school be the one their minds are coming back to for 4 years?

2) Don't just get them "in," get them on a clear path: A very discouraging scene that we counselors see over and over again is doing all the front work to get our students sent off successfully to college, only to see them working the local drive thru a year later, having dropped out with nothing left but a few random credits and a lot of debt. Most of these kids get lost somewhere between "I got in!" and "Now what do I do?" They need more resources allocated toward setting them on a career path, and helping map out the coursework to get them there. This very well could start at the admissions process. Not only would it get them in, but it will keep them there!

3) Give us a gift we actually want: You can trade in your giveaway pens, notepads, and magnets for a more powerful marketing strategy. Come into our high schools and offer seminars to our students. Study skills, tips to succeed in college, help with financial aid, career planning, etc... These are the things our students need, but counselors have to try to squeeze in among a million other responsibilities. Want more face time with large groups of high schoolers (and their parents)? Offer us something that will benefit them, too. Its a win-win.

Enrollment Pros Analysis: Proactively include more high school Freshmen and Sophomores in your high school activity, without decreasing your Junior and Senior activity. Not only will you have a more captive audience among Freshmen and Sophomores, but you’ll have the help of the high school counselors in the process. Instead of just chasing numbers for next fall, build a network geared toward setting high school students up for success, and then fall numbers will happen for you (and perhaps future falls as well). Work like the numbers don’t matter.

In many cases, if an admissions counselor asks the right questions of high school students and their parents, those prospective students/families will often tell you what you need to tell them in order to capture their attention and interest. Similarly, before and during your high school visits, make absolute certain you ask every high school counselor how you can help them and what you can do to better prepare their students for college.