Senior Year College Counseling: How Parents Can Prepare
The college application period is a tricky time in your student’s life. How do you go about choosing a school? What are the requirements of that school? How do you pick a major? How much do grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities factor in? What are the deadlines? There is a lot to navigate, but thankfully most schools offer some form of college counseling during your student’s senior year. This can be a huge advantage in getting ahead of all the logistics involved in the application process.
Before your student's senior year...
Getting an early start is important. Most students are advised to start assessing their needs and thinking about what they want to study before their senior year even begins. Some of these decisions involve doing a deep dive into what they want in a school. For example:
- Their major and areas of study
- In-state or out-of-state
- The size of the campus
- The student population and social atmosphere (diversity, culture, activities, student life, etc)
- Climate
- Proximity to necessities
What will your student be discussing during senior year college counseling?
Once your student starts meeting with their college counselor, here are some of the topics they will want to address:
- Their major selection
- Schools they are interested in, their admission requirements, and acceptance rates
- Application deadlines including those for early action and early decision
- Financial aid and how to apply
- Scholarships and how to apply
- Transcript and test score review
- Entrance essays
- Resume building
- How to interview and interact with admissions representatives
- Getting letters of recommendation
How can you ensure that college counseling goes smoothly?
Your student should be motivated to do the following:
- Keep open lines of communication between themselves, their parents, and their counselors
- Follow directions to the letter
- Complete and submit their applications by the deadlines
- Write the essays themselves. Admissions reps know when a parent has penned the essay!
- Send in their test scores if applicable
- Prepare for and schedule their college interviews
- Help you understand the financial aid process, and what documents are required
As a parent or guardian, your role in college counseling is to:
- Commit to a weekly day/time to discuss progress and all things college, rather than daily to avoid burnout
- Provide information as necessary (tax forms, personal information, educational background etc.)
- Become familiar with how financial aid, loans, and scholarships works along with the costs associated with your student’s education
- Resist the urge to push your student into applying at schools they have no interest in
- Understand that some factors are out of your student’s control
Interested in BASIS Charter Schools? Learn more about our innovative and in-depth college counseling program by checking out this article, College Bound with BASIS Charter Schools.
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