Beginning at the beginning

As I begin to write, I feel like Julie in Julie & Julia; I am a relative neophyte writing on a subject about which I have a great deal to learn. Sadly, for any reader who may stumble across this, my posts are unlikely to conjure up fantasies of fragrant beef stew, freshly baked pastries or hearty red wine.

Why college counseling? After years interviewing student applicants as an alumni interviewer for my alma mater, I have come to believe that many students are poorly guided in the college admissions process. Some come from schools without sufficient resources to help them. Some come from low income families or are from backgrounds in which their parents are unfamiliar with the process and are unable to help their children. Some are so hell bent on going to a name school, whether because of pressure from parents or peers, they torture themselves with insanely demanding academic and extra-curricular schedules that leave them no time to figure out who they are or what they want for their futures. So I am taking classes, devouring websites, reading articles and books and volunteering in the college counseling office at a local high school, to educate myself in order to better help high school students navigate their way to a great college experience.

When should the process begin? In an ideal world, as early as possible. Among students headed for ultra competitive schools, the courses students take in middle school prepare them for a more competitive class load in high school, although many would argue, myself included, that beginning the discussion in middle school puts unnecessary pressure on young kids. But ninth graders need to understand that the courses they take and the grades they get throughout their high school careers are an important factor in the opportunities they will have. In California, admission to the University of California system or the Cal State Universities requires the successful completion of a specific set of courses which must begin in the ninth grade. In the tenth grade (again in the ideal world), it's good to get students thinking about their strengths, possible career choices, about what kind of school they might like to go to, and whether they need extra practice to get ready for SAT and ACT tests.

It's also a great idea for students to stop and consider why they are choosing to go to college. For many, college is an assumed next step after high school and for them, the focus is choosing schools and getting in. For other students, it is all a bit mysterious, perhaps because no one in their family has ever been to college, or because the path of least resistance is to go to the closest or least expensive school. But an earnest, open-ended discussion of "why college" can help a student for whom college is a given take a more global, less myopic view of the process and look at schools for reasons beyond "all my friends are applying there," "that's where my parents want me to go" or because it's a school they've heard of before. And for students at the other end of the spectrum, it can help broaden their viewpoint.

So those are the lofty thoughts I had when I walked into the college counseling office at a local high school on my first day as a volunteer. It is a large, urban high school with about 3500 students in the regular school population and two magnet programs. In the regular school population of about 3100 students, there are just over 500 seniors. Rough calculations lead to the conclusion that a whole lot of students have dropped out, over forty percent? Then I was asked to do a "grad check" for an eleventh grade girl who wandered in to the office; in other words, see if she was on track to graduate. Her transcript contained A's in French & phys ed and D's and F's in everything else and she had or was taking makeup classes in a hodgepodge of adult education programs, summer school and community college. Clearly, she isn't heading to a four-year college anytime soon. I was speechless. Months later I'm still amazed at the number of students who routinely fail classes. In my college counseling classes, there are extensive textbook articles and discussions about "underserved" populations who need improved college access. We haven't talked much about the kids who can't or don't even finish this not very good urban high school. Underserved, indeed.

My favorite day at the high school thus far came when I was also in the throes of a big project for a counseling class on career planning. Flush with thoughts of online assessments, personality analysis and websites that were full of great ideas to get students thinking about a wide variety of careers, a girl came in and asked the college counselor, "Mrs. [Counselor], what school would you go to if you wanted to do makeup on dead people in a funeral home?" Wow. No kidding. The only thing that surprised me more than the question was the speed with which Mrs. C rattled off the name of a local trade school and a nearby community college.

Given the high ideals and standards incorporated into my college counseling courses versus the reality of the kids who really could use some help, I'm not sure where this road will take me. But I'm looking forward to the ride.