<p>I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone start posts about the same subject over and over and over and over more than OBW.</p>
<p>Vderon, I forgot the mention the BEST website of all, [not including CC], which is run by the same Carolyn that Xiggi spoke of above:
<a href=“http://www.admissionsadvice.com/[/url]”>http://www.admissionsadvice.com/</a></p>
<p>menlomom: Glad to hear that you’ve learned a lot about college counseling through reading and through spending a lot of time on CC. You are to be commended for wanting to share your knowledge with others.</p>
<p>But, when you commented that your friend wanted you to take over her college counseling practice when she retires… that greatly concerns me. As I said in one of my prior posts regarding private practice college counselors, ANYONE can hang out a shingle indicating that they are a private practice college counselor. In this case, you are self-taught in areas pertaining to college. But, have you had formal training in counseling? If so, what is it. Also, how many clients have you actually worked with, on a face-to-face basis, under the supervision of a mentor?</p>
<p>My concern is this: Someone can read all about psychology and help people online. Yet, I wouldn’t trust someone with that background to hang out a shingle and call themself a psychologist or conduct psychotherapy.</p>
<p>Sheesh old but ???,
Did I SAY I was going to take over her business? No. Relax.</p>
<p>menlo: I know that we don’t always agree with each other on CC, and I admit that I am an arrogant SOB, but, the bottom line is this: In our own individual ways, we are each concerned about the well-being of today’s adolescents. That’s the important thing. I’m just much more annoying in my approach.</p>
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<p>OBW, give us a break, will you! Will you now start a debate about the validity of YOUR self-professed qualifications and compare them to private counselors? Yes, a lot of people can start a business by placing a sign in the window. However, there is a giant difference between people who claim knowledge based on some obscure degree and people who are measured by their success with paying customers … and that is called results. After all, not everyone can use the obscurity of an “academic” office to hide endemic incompetence and foolishness, all the while wrapping it up in a blanket of --misplaced-- arrogance.</p>
<p>Do you know why a site such as this is so popular? Here’s a hint: take a good look at your so-called professional degree and then another look in the mirror!</p>
<p>Ouch…</p>
<p>I will stick up for the guidance counselors at my son’s high school: they are great! Very knowledgeable about all kinds of schools (first place I heard about Landmark College, for example), and they keep all kinds of great data about acceptances from son’s high school. They even understand the reasons for the anomalies like lower grades & SAT’s, but still got in. I made a list of schools to visit based upon a meeting with them. I just hate going in to bug them all the time because they are so busy, so I started reading this web site to get a little more info about the schools on the list. Now, I try to pass on information to newbies whenever I’m bored and want a little break from my regular activities.</p>
<p>OBW: The problem with your posts is that they are not informational. And, if you are trying to gather data to support a point of view by asking questions like “education or money”, this is not a good forum for that. You would be better off asking all newly accepted students at a particular school. That’s the only way your data will have statistical significance.</p>
<p>ricegal: Thanks so much for your post supporting your guidance counselors.
Guidance counselors are no different that any other professionals: some are good and some are bad. But, it seems as though people paint them with a “broad brush,” and typically the comments are negative.</p>
<p>Some believe that if a college counselor charges $10,000 for their services, they must be better than the guidance counselor at your local school. That’s not necessarily the case.</p>
<p>In fact, many of the highest-cost college counselors are those who have had a limited amount of experience at only one or two colleges. An experienced public school counselor, on the other hand, has had experience dealing with a wide range of colleges.</p>
<p>Also, many high-cost college counselors have worked with a very limited population (usually the wealthy), whereas an experienced guidance counselor has worked with a wide variety of students.</p>
<p>My biggest concern about hiring high-cost college counselors is this: The primary relationship should be between the counselor and the student. But, when the parent is the one writing substantial checks to the counselor, it is possible that the counselor may “cave” into parental wants and needs, and diminish the importance of the student in the process. Often times, the student has no desire to see a private college counselor, but the parents require the student to do so. In such cases, the parent’s motive in hiring the counselor may be to advance his/her own agenda. Of course, this is not always true, but many times it is.</p>
<p>Also, there are no licensure requirements to become a college counselor. A background in counseling and adolescent development, which a guidance counselor has, is very important because college choice is much more than matching a student’s credentials with admission standards of a particular college. Those private college college counselors who have come out of a college admission background generally have little or no background in counseling and adolescent developmement.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for your post supporting your guidance counselors.</p>
<p>ricegal: In one of your above posts, you indicated that “the problem with your posts is that they are not informational.” I beg to differ. For example: In one of my recent threads, I asked parents to read an outstanding article on hyperparenting and then comment on it.</p>
<p>No one commented on it. Instead, they proceeded to tell me what an idiot I am and they wanted to find out what kind of degrees I held.</p>
<p>The problem is not so much that my threads are not informational. It’s that every one is more interested in attacking me.</p>
<p>Again, I sincerely believe that those who are most offended by my posts are those for whom my information hits too close to home.</p>
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<p>OBW, when ones notices a deteriorating vision and headaches does he call a proctologist? </p>
<p>For the record, you won’t find many people on this forum who throw intellectual grenades at guidance counselor for a lack of empathy or lack of experience in counseling and adolescent development. Most people know that a very large part of their daily activities are dedicated to issues that have little to nothing to do with the very precise subject of … college admissions. </p>
<p>Private college counselors --including the ones who offer this web space-- may or may not have experience similar to yours, but like it or not, they focus on the distinct issues they are hired for and HAVE to be better than the average overworked and underqualified toiling at your typical public high school. Why would anyone decide to spend hard earned dollars if the information was so … easily and freely available at the school. </p>
<p>While it might be that true “college choice [being] much more than matching a student’s credentials with admission standards of a particular college” I believe that the overwhelming majority of students would happily settle for receiving accurate, timely, comprehensive, and useful information from their GC.</p>
<p>OBW: I had already read similar articles on hyperparenting. In fact, the newspaper had one on helicopter parents who actually go to job interviews with their children. So, you see, it’s old stuff. New information would be something specific about a school. For example, one parent on this site told me about Trinity University in Texas which I had never heard of. I really believe parents on this web site are aware of the issues of being too involved. I don’t think I would have gotten on here if it weren’t for the fact that California doesn’t offer too many choices in private colleges. If you can’t get into CalTech or Stanford or Claremont McKenna, but have a 4.2 weighted GPA, it’s hard to find a good spot in California. Choice is USC or Santa Clara, and I wanted to let my son know of other choices.</p>
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<p>Whatever helps you sleep at night.</p>
<p>lool, yea…</p>
<p>xiggi: I noticed that you’ve been on CC for three years and have submitted nearly 4200 posts and started 228 threads. Seems like you would find my views refreshing after seeing the same-minded posts over and over again on CC. Do you really disagree with everything I say? C’mon…you must see at least some merit in my posts.</p>
<p>^^I can’t answer for Xiggi, but I see a lot of merit in some of the ideas behind your posts, but I can certainly see why they annoy so many people.</p>
<p>But the merit buried in your posts is nothing new to CC. As Xiggi and other have pointed out there are hundreds of posts and threads here trying to lower the admissions stress and focus attention on schools other than the top few. These are certainly worthy ideas that need discussion here on CC and elsewhere. To the extent that you promote these ideas in an honest and forthright manner, you will find many friends on CC and many who agree with you, including me.</p>
<p>But to the extent that you begin thread after thread dishonestly, by pretending to be interested in the opinions of others about this or that topic but are really just setting up yet another opportunity to promote your own tiresome anti-selective school campaign and insult those who think otherwise, you will make a lot of enemies on CC. Why not spend your time more productively promoting other these options instead to trying to tear down selective schools and the people who attend them?</p>
<p>To the extent that you tirelessly praise yourself about the 30 years of experience you have, you will continue to annoy people and turn them off to your message. </p>
<p>To the extent that you repeatedly imply that parents who made any choices different from the ones you made in raising your kids are bad parents, you will continue to annoy people and turn them off to your message. </p>
<p>To the extent that you keep insisting that parents confess offenses that they are not guilty of, you will continue to annoy people and turn them off to your message. </p>
<p>To the extent that you continue to proclaim yourself as “wise,” you will continue to annoy people and turn them off to your message. Anyone who labels himself as “wise” isn’t.</p>
<p>“In one of my recent threads, I asked parents to read an outstanding article on hyperparenting and then comment on it.”</p>
<p>Why should we do that? Is this an assigment? Do you think we’re here for you, a supposed veteran of 30 years in the college counselling business? Apparently you think so. Well, sorry but I’ve got news for you-We’re not.
The purpose of this website is not to educate clueless supposed ex college counselors or give them pats on the back for posting articles. You come across more as a needy child, always asking for responses from others, than as a college counselor with years of experience. All you seem to be interested in is getting affirmation, validation or feedback on your posts or opinions from others. I have not seen one post where you offer information or insight about a particular college that might actually be useful for a parent or student.
THAT that is why you get the reactions you do. You waste people’s time.</p>
<p>Bravo, Coureur. Oldf*rt- what is your obsession with our post count? So what if we enjoy the forum and like to share and continue to learn from others? We do like to “pay it forward” and there are always issues that arise with our kids. For example, I never expected to need information on the transfer process, but my kid went through it this past spring. If I had signed off as soon as my son got accepted ED to his college, I would have missed out on the good advice on transfer stuff. Also, I would have missed your not-so-wise discourse on bad parents who send their kids to boarding school (like me).</p>