"My Guidance Counselor Said I Wouldn't Get In"

OK Let's talk about perceptions.

As college decisions start to roll in (monitor how we're doing here), articles tend to reach an annual peak focusing on the competitiveness of it all, minimizing the process, or how little school counselors can do to help students.

Yes, it is competitive. No, where you start isn't as important as where you finish. And yes, school counselors' impact is stunted when we have bloated caseloads or limited training and professional development in college planning.

Most aspiring school counselors pursue the career because they want to help children achieve their goals. Teachers do this, but many of the teachers who seek the role change report doing so in order to develop deeper and non-evaluative relationships with their students.

Once we are in our post-graduate master's programs to learn how to be school counselors, we learn that our roles are to break down barriers to student achievement, and to help students grow in their academic, career, and personal/social development. The typical school counseling masters program requires the following courses:

Introduction to Helping Services Human Growth & Development Use of Assessments Career Development

Counseling Theories Intro to counseling skills Multicultural perspectives Preinternship practice/supervision

Research & Statistics Methods Advanced counseling techniques Group Counseling Field placement/internship Ethics

Some programs also offer electives in Special Education, Diagnosis, Substance Abuse Counseling, Pharmacology, and some do offer courses that include college planning, but the fact remains that college planning is not even available at all master's level programs.

So here we have a pre-professional or new school counselor who learns how to actively listen to students and implement a data-driven school counseling program that incorporates individual and group counseling to address students' personal, social, career, and academic development, and have solid skills in relationship-building, because we learn from Carl Rogers in our Theories class that clients experience the most growth with unconditional positive regard and the opportunity to arrive at their own conclusions. He or she secures a position in a school by showing through the interview process with knowledge about data-driven decision making and an awareness of the process to address students who show risk of self-harm. Then, they get into a school. Thankfully, the internships gave the elementary school counselor the necessary practice to conduct lessons. And a new school counselor hopefully has enough energy to withstand the challenges presented by middle schoolers, keeping those tweens aware that there is a world beyond their school years and to keep working toward hypothetical goals.

However, high school counselors arrive at their new positions and are asked daily by students and parents how to strategically plan coursework to maximize postsecondary options and differentiate the nuances between the several state colleges or flagship and brand name universities in neighboring states. The most competitive students and their parents ask for advice in navigating the ivy-league and highly selective college labyrinth. And here is where the bad press comes from. We are taught to close gaps for the lowest-performing students and provide services to as many students as possible, but many of us don't learn until about three or four years (or longer, if we "loop" with student cohorts) about trends and tendencies with college admissions with enough acuity to help the highest-achieving and most-motivated students, the ones who end up writing articles about what a poor job their guidance counselor did.

So let's talk about what school counselors do know. School counselors know how to interpret data. We use Naviance to help students search for colleges and we also use it for transcripts. The college to which we send most of our transcripts is Towson University, which makes that the "mode" college if we were think about colleges in terms of data. The average GPA for the current seniors is about 2.6 and the average SAT score for the seniors is currently about 490 on each test. So let's look at how an "average" senior stacks up against his or her peers who applied to the most popular college in the area:

What would you tell this student? Would you say that this student has a good shot at this college? A qualified school counselor would say something like, "I think that it's a good goal to set for yourself, and you should definitely give it a shot, but let's also talk about some backup plans." A responsible school counselor would have done some reading into admissions trends and established enough of a relationship and rapport with this student to know that this institution is lacking in students whose racial/ethnic/socioeconomic/family educational background are similar to this individual, and that between essays and letters of recommendation, perhaps the "noncognitive" factors can give this person enough of a boost to transcend the data trends - if the college in question actually processes few enough applications to read the essays or monitor noncognitive factors like grit and determination.

Before we had Naviance, we kept track of student admission trends using our own spreadsheets, and could have had the same student ask "what colleges do you think I should look into?" We would have used our spreadsheet, sorted by QPA, and recommended Stevenson, Morgan State, Frostburg, and U of Baltimore, because they are where students with a similar academic background have had recent success.

If that student were to ask about their chances at certain colleges, and the school counselor were to give an opinion based on both observation and data, the student would walk away with any of these thoughts, which are actual comments from recent senior perception surveys:

I recommend my counselor to be more encouraging during the college application process

be more vocal with concerns about a student's career

don't get students hopes up. 

Give clear straight-forward information about college and career plans

Using feedback from students, we should not get students' hopes up but should also be encouraging, yet be more vocal with our concerns. So what we are left with comes back to two major components of our training: establish and cultivate meaningful relationships with the students, and use research, data, and statistics for informed decision-making. When we follow these two principles, we are most likely to provide the support that students most need.
However, what this process lacks is imagination. Without intensive training that gets school counselors exposed to the thousands of colleges that our students overlook, or without funding to provide professional development or trips to support our own exploration of underexplored colleges, school counselors will continue to keep students in the well-traveled path. If school counselors can be provided more intensive relationships with the enrollment management professionals, we would know about the myriad special programs and admissions programs to help students get into their reach schools.
Here is what we at Pikesville do to combat this reputation so that the fewest possible graduates leave us with such a negative perception:
- The #PHSfit messaging in general
- The #PHSfit colleges of the day, through twitter and the morning announcements last year, and next year will also be posted on the blog
- 30-minute meetings with each junior to listen and help them develop college decision making plans
- increased classroom presence
- greater visibility and accessibility for individual appointments than students experienced in previous years

What do you think? If you would like suggest more to help us do a better job providing students post-secondary planning support, please email Mr. Goldman so that you can be on our advisory council next year.

Second-week Check-in

News and notes from the School Counseling Department

We are more than a week into the school year, and it seems like things are going well. There wasn't an overwhelming number of families who waited until (or beyond) the last minute to enroll in school, and thanks to our tripled efforts to give students more support in academic planning for this school year, we have had far fewer-than-usual issues with students second-guessing their electives or core course levels.

Between Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah, this will (hopefully) be a quiet week before we dive into classroom visits:
September 9: Ninth graders - orientation to high school and the role of the school counselor
September 10: Twelfth graders - college applications and resources
September 11: Tenth graders - Hitting your stride in high school and setting goals
September 12: Eleventh graders - Understanding the importance of junior year

During those classroom sessions, we will introduce the students to a new initiative we are establishing this year, based on responses on our needs assessments, which we are calling "Transition Tuesdays." Many students feel the need to talk about things that they are experiencing, but are not always comfortable missing class to do so, and can't find an appropriate way or place to discuss them. Therefore, we will hold an open group every Tuesday during students' lunch periods, to process transitions that they are experiencing (grieving the loss of a loved one, the separation of a family, new arrivals to Pikesville, or preparing for new challenges, etc.) Students just need to come to the conference room during their lunch shift on Tuesdays. If this ends up drawing a larger crowd than anticipated, then we'll make alternative plans.

If you haven't yet, please complete this year's needs assessment survey so we can identify areas of strength and potential at http://tinyurl.com/PHSCounsNeeds13 - anonymity is completely optional.

Between September 20 and October 2, students will activate their accounts at Naviance, a college and career planning portal with which BCPS just began a multi-year contract. Naviance is how we will submit transcripts and recommendation letters to Common App members and other colleges.

Upcoming events, so please mark your calendar:
October 3 at 7:00pm: College Planning Workshop in the PHS Library - this is planned to be facilitated by our admissions representative from Towson University, Ms. Loryn Strauzer. If time permits, parents can also get their personalized Naviance access codes.
November 12-13: NACAC College Fair at the Baltimore Convention Center
December 12 at 7:00pm: Financial Aid information night, with Dr. Benee Edwards from MHEC  (to explain FAFSA) and Jennifer Bauer from Central Scholarship Bureau (to explain scholarships).
February 6 at 5:00pm: #PHSfit College Fair with planning workshops. Expect the cafeteria to be a flurry of activity with college admissions representatives from dozens of colleges in our region, as well as college planning workshops presented by local college admissions consultant Craig Meister from Tactical College Consulting.

One feature in Naviance is the ability for students to sign up for information sessions with college admissions recruiters. Many of our visits that are scheduled for the fall have already been posted to the edline calendar. Students may come see Ms. Billingslea in the school counseling office to sign up for information sessions until their Naviance account is active. After that, we ask that students sign up prior to the day before the visit so that Ms. Billingslea can make a hall pass for teachers to allow the students to leave class.
The following college information sessions are already scheduled:
September 18: Bryant University (10am)
September 19: Dickinson College (8:30am)
September 23: Ithaca College (8:30am)
September 25: Elizabethtown College (9am)
September 26: Washington College (10:45am)
September 27: Stevenson University (9am) and American University (1pm)
September 30: Towson University (8:30am)
October 1: Tufts University (11am) and Muhlenberg College (1pm)
October 2: McDaniel College (9:15am)
October 3: High Point University (8am) (by this point, all students should be signing up in Naviance)
October 7: Goucher College (1pm)
October 8: Washington University of St. Louis (9:30am)
October 15: University of Southern California (12pm)
October 22: George Mason University (1pm)
October 24: Lycoming College (9:30am)
October 30: Albright College (9am)

October 25 will be this year's administration of the ASVAB, an assessment that is used for college planning, and also is required for those who plan to enlist in the military. Students who take the ASVAB are under no obligation to enlist. Sign up on Naviance.

October 16 will be a very big day, and is worthy of its own blog post. Until then, know that ALL PIKESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS will be engaged in college and career readiness activities. The 9th graders will take the ReadiStep, the 10th and 11th graders will take the PSAT, and the 12th graders will have their annual Senior Mock Interview Day (SMID) and other college and career planning exercises.

As always, don't hesitate to email or schedule an appointment to discuss any questions or concerns. We are very proud that our proactive efforts are having their desired impact, which allows us the opportunity to provide more schoolwide programming to benefit all students.

One last note - inspired by some school counselors in other states, we are trying to raise funds for each school counselor to have an ipad so that we can be more mobile in the school and have immediate access to college and career planning resources, as well as take immediate notes of student contact. If you would like to donate to this cause, you may do so at Donors Choose. Once the first two devices are fully funded, we will work to identify funding for the third. If you use the promo code "INSPIRE" at checkout, DonorsChoose will match donations of up to $100 by September 8.

Making plans for next year

Happy School Counseling Week!
On Monday of this week, our students received materials to request their courses for next year, and watched a video made by Mrs. O'Brien-Krack and three of our esteemed curricular chairmen:


Students are encouraged to consult with their teachers to obtain recommendations for electives, since the course request forms are already populated with recommendations for next year's primary course contents and levels, based on test scores, current courses, and teachers' observations thus far this year.
The forms need to indicate seven credits, include alternates in case students' first choices are not available or are in conflict with each other, and are due back to homeroom teachers on Friday. Then, starting next Tuesday and going through March 1, every single student in grades 9 through 11 has a prescheduled appointment with his or her school counselor to discuss these plans to ensure appropriate rigor and to check on their four-year plans.
Some students have already noticed that they have the same time as their peers. This is because some students may need 3 minutes to just verify that everything makes sense, some may not even show for their appointments, and some may need at least ten minutes. To plan for that, each counselor has six 30-minute blocks each day to meet individually with three students each. We will spend this time to review the four-year plan, enter course requests into the scheduling software, and discuss any pertinent issues like testing plans or senior year requirements. Additionally, the school counselor will be available during their assigned lunch shifts to meet with any student who needs to do so.
To prepare everyone, here are a few guidelines to remember:

• Regardless of your grade or intentions, please seek balance. You need to challenge yourself, but not at the expense of your youth and/or mental health. Make sure that you are challenged, with ample time to also pursue your extracurricular interests and family responsibilities.
• Current freshmen and sophomores are required to have two different years of the same world language in high school for admission to four-year colleges in Maryland, regardless of what or how many credits in world language in middle school.
• Current freshmen and sophomores are required to continue with math through senior year for admission to four-year colleges in Maryland, regardless of how difficult their math track was when they started high school.
• We encourage students to get their fitness, engineering, health, and fine arts completed as early in high school as possible, while also acknowledging the value and integrity of other programs like multi-media, AVID, Project Lead-the-Way, and staying involved in performing arts all four years. It always comes down to the individual student's priorities and values. It helps to write out the four-year plan in order to get a sense of when and how those priorities fit together.
• AVID is for students who are in the academic middle - students who are interested and capable of pursuing four-year college admission, but may not have the support or resources available from parents or case managers. AVID is not for students who need remediation or motivation. AVID students are expected to take honors classes in grades 9 and 10, and AP classes in grades 11 and 12. If you are prepared for that kind of challenge, ask for an application. If the AVID site team feels that you would be appropriately suited for the program, then you will be invited to join the ranks of many successful AVID scholars.
• All students have the remainder of the 2012-13 school year to change their minds about next year's classes, as once the schedule is built over the summer, no changes will be made. Staffing decisions are made based on your requests, and it is not fair to teachers or your fellow students to pursue changes to your schedule next year. You get what you ask for, so please make sure that you are certain about what you want.
• To help ensure proper consideration, we launched a "Get AP Fit" video playlist so students can hear about 14 different AP courses before taking the courses, so there are no surprises. View the playlist at http://tinyurl.com/GetAPfit
• Remember that for college admissions, the priority junior year is grades and the priority senior year is rigor, to ensure both college admission and completion.
• Current juniors who wish to have a partial schedule next year should consider several things. Such a request is not an option if service learning hours are not complete, or if there are any HSAs which you have not yet passed. Plan to be in school every day, all year. If you are eligible and wish to pursue this, be certain that it is really in your best interests. Consult with college admissions counselors and ask them in general terms what they prefer when reading high school transcripts - more AP classes, parallel enrollment at the community college, internships, or released time? You can ask them at college fairs (CCBC will hold one in the first week of March), or on campus tours, or by calling the campus and asking to speak with an admissions counselor (secretaries and undergraduate work-study students usually answer - ask to speak with the rep responsible for your geographic area). 
• Whatever plan you pursue for senior year, remember that in addition to your classwork, you will also be expected to balance homework and studying with college visits and applications, and scholarship applications, all of which are quite time-consuming.

We look forward to meeting with all of our students individually, so please make sure that you arrive on time for your designated appointment. We will resume our regular schedule in March. Again, change your you mind about next year's classes as often as you want until June; after that, they are yours to keep.

Big Week For Seniors and AP

This is going to be a hefty week for seniors and students in AP courses.

English 12 classes will meet with school counselors in Dell 2 lab on their assigned day. We will show classes how to access the FAFSA website and our own scholarship page. Then, we will explain the local scholarship program, with its deadline of March 4. We will also give seniors time to log on to their ConnectEDU accounts to request midyear transcripts.

In addition, Mr. Goldman will put on his AP Coordinator hat and visit AP classes to explain the process of registering for the AP exams.

Here are some details:
AP exam registration materials are provided in a brown Manila envelope. Enclosed you will find the Bulletin for AP students and parents, an orange exam registration form, a blue sheet with information, a green form related to fee reductions, and an envelope to remit payment.
The AP exams will be held between May 6 and 17. The whole point of the AP courses is to prepare for the exams, on which a passing score could lead to credits or accelerated study at the university level.
The cost of each exam is $89. Students who qualify for a fee reduction based on income or other criteria specified on the form are responsible for $53 per test. This year, we are also introducing a partial voucher program rewarding students for taking exams last year. For every point you scored in 2012, you get a dollar reduced from your total payment in 2013.
For now, we can accept checks, money orders, and cash. If we are able to manage a system for accepting credit cards, that will be announced accordingly.
AP exam registration forms and fees are due to the school counseling office no later than March 1, but you are encouraged to register in advance of that date. Unless otherwise specified (world history or extended time), all exams will be given at the Pikesville National Guard Armory.
If you lose the forms, you may download them from edline.

Regarding scholarships, it is paramount that all students pursuing any type of post secondary education complete their FAFSA as soon as possible, but certainly before March 4. See the blog page for paying for college for more resources.
Students and parents are advised to monitor http://tinyurl.com/PHSCollegeCash for new regional and national scholarships that we hear about.
For the local scholarships, notice that there are two forms: one general application that is to be copied for each external organization to evaluate and must be accompanied by two letters of recommendation, and one committee application that needs no accompanying documentation since our own scholarship committee is comprised of teachers who know the seniors. Don't forget to provide a signed transcript release and submit all your apps, letters, and other requested information by March 4. All of the scholarships, forms, and applications are available for download from edline. This deadline will not be extended or excepted for any reason other than schools being closed on March 4.

Last, we will devote time with the English 12 classes to assist the seniors in logging on to their connectedu accounts in order to submit midyear transcript requests. The three school counselors will be able to submit midyears electronically on common app, but we need all of the other midyear requests posted on connectedu by February 8 in order for Ms. Billingslea and Mrs. Pope to organize and collate mailing the transcripts when common app is not used.

Where are our seniors getting admitted?

Congratulations to the class of 2013, who have so far reported admissions to:

Arcadia University

Art Institute of York

Barry University

Boston University

Canisius College

Case Western Reserve U

Clark Atlanta University

Colorado School of Mines

Colorado State University

Drexel University

Emerson College

Emory University

Evergreen State University

Frostburg State University

Full Sail University

George Mason University

Goucher College

Green Mountain College

Hampshire College

Hampton University

High Point University

Hofstra University

Hood College

Humboldt State College

Indiana University

Ithaca College

James Madison University

Johns Hopkins University

Lehigh University

Loyola University Maryland

Lynn University

McDaniel College

Michigan State University

Morgan State University

New York University

Notre Dame of Maryland U

Nova Southeastern University

Penn State University

Radford University

Saint Francis University

Shippensburg University

Stevenson University

St. John’s University

SUNY - Buffalo

Towson University

UMBC

Unity College

University of Baltimore

University of Chicago

University of Colorado

University of Maryland

University of Massachusetts

University of Miami

University of Michigan

University of New Hampshire

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

Utica College

Washington College

Washington Univ of St. Louis

West Virginia University

York College of Pennsylvania

We will continue to update this post with each new addition, and will also update the list annually.

Putting it together

As we have distributed and explained the ReadiStep score reports to nearly all of the freshmen, some salient moments have occurred.

During the class session, we discuss how the ReadiStep scores are merely indicators of test-taking and problem solving skills, and help students estimate and predict their likely SAT ranges. We remind the students of the GPAs that we helped them calculate just prior to Thanksgiving based on their first quarter grades. Finally, we assist the students in activating their College Board accounts on the MyRoad module and familiarize themselves with the college search and other functions of the College Board website.

With their individualized data in-hand, students are empowered to find colleges that offer an appropriate educational fit for them. At this early stage in high school, ninth graders have the chance to either proceed as they have been for the past three months, satisfied with the post secondary choices that they see, or make changes to their work and study habits in order to meet more lofty goals.

Sophomores and juniors are also getting their PSAT scores and activating their College Board accounts, and are equally empowered to find colleges that provide a good academic fit. Please encourage all students to be proactive and schedule appointments with their school counselor so we can help them narrow or build that list of "fit" schools to about ten, to which they'll end up applying to about five.

Another interesting development in the PSAT Quickstart module is that this year, the College Board has added a pink square with a link to the students' AP Potential recommendations. This offers an excellent chance for students to take one or two courses with more rigor, to better prepare students for the challenges of college. Please consult with teachers and school counselors to find course selections for next year that make the most overall sense for each individual.

Is my score good?

We are over half-way done distributing and explaining the PSAT and ReadiStep scores to students. Today, several students asked me individually, "is my score good?" The most truthful answer I can give is that as long as you tried your best, it's your score.

We have many students who are conditioned to believe that you "have to" get into a "good" college, and lose sight of the fact that there are thousands of post-secondary institutions, many of which will be "good" for each individual student. The students' PSAT score reports show how they did at taking this test. It isn't an indication of their value or worth as a human being, or even just an assessment of the quality of student that they are. While it is true that PSAT, SAT, and ACT scores have some predictive validity related to students' success in college, it is only part of the picture. Success in high school courses plays a much larger role in college admissions, and success in academically rigorous courses is even more important.

Regardless, it is extremely important for all of us to remember that even if your grades and test scores are not  in the range of a particularly coveted college, there are still options. Perhaps there is something about this college that the student admires which can be attained at any of dozens of similar colleges in (or outside) our region. It just takes some time to schedule an appointment with your school counselor to discuss best-fit colleges, beyond just the "best" colleges that we hear about so often in the media.

Further, if a student is really so determined to attend this dream school (think "Rudy"), remember that what matters in life is how you finish, not necessarily how you start, and that the journey is more valuable than the destination. Students can start at one four-year or two-year college and then potentially transfer to a different college. Many who plan to transfer end up staying where they are because they eventually learn that being where they are is actually in their best interests!

It's not about a "good school," it's about a "good fit" school.

Get Me To College

Thanks to following @getmetocollege, we are introduced to two great college-planning sites:
http://www.allcollegeessays.org/
http://getmetocollege.org/hs/
They help students and other interested parties consider issues that they may have overlooked. The essay writing is especially important, since it seems that many of our students are reluctant to take risks in their essay writing. Remember, your personal statement needs to convey a deeper sense of who you are, what you've been through, and how you are becoming an adult. If you've made mistakes (especially the ones that are obvious from your transcript) this is your chance to explain those mistakes and, more importantly, what you've learned from them. We grow much more from our failures, not just from our successes.