Did you go Public With Your Private Counselor?

Sally_Rubenstone
Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:29:53 +0000

reeinaz … Having a dedicate college counselor is a big plus. I wish all high schools did–if, of course, their counseling loads are reasonable as well.

Re your son’s school being new: There are pros and cons to that. There may not be any established track record for the counselor, students, and parents to use as a guide, and the school may not have yet established a reputation (ideally, a good one) in admission offices. However, I’m a firm believer in what I call the “push pin” theory. That is, the colleges and universities that draw their students from across the country (and around the world) like to also draw them from a broad swath of high schools. Picture a giant map on the wall with a push pin stuck in it for every high school represented in the student body, with the goal being to get as many push pins as possible. So if your son’s high school is not already represented, some admission folks may be hot to add a new pushpin. (Admittedly, my theory is a bit of an oversimplification, and you’d need a gymnasium-sized wall to accommodate all the pushpins that some colleges would require, but I think you get the idea.)