This post is part of a series of monthly posts intended to assist a number of categories of educators with interest in college counseling. These monthly posts will provide a summary of the typical or recommended work of a college counselor, including providing a link to our monthly Cheatsheet, a daily task of 30-minutes or so for college counselors. In addition to these ideas and suggestions for those in the college counseling realm, they will also include some suggestions for those ancillary to this world, such as administrators, board members, etc.

March: The Results Are In! 

While March continues to see college counselors straddle the two worlds of grade 11 and grade 12, pushing the former toward the application process and pulling the latter toward the finish line, it is during this month that most university results will come back. This is particularly at schools with a majority of students focusing their college aspirations on institutions in North America. Like so many other junctures throughout the annual cycle, college counselors are now divided between the logistics and granular details of educating juniors and the emotional and psychological support of the seniors. It is a crazy time! 

What follows are some of the topics and concepts that are (or ought to be) on the to-do list of college counselors this month:

• Pushing the Juniors. This time of year – typically second semester – is often when the workload starts to increase significantly for grade 11 students. As such, the work of college counseling is to push these students, typically just beginning their college process, to prioritize academic achievement while also putting in the time into the college process. It all comes to a head this time of year!

• Pulling the Seniors. At the other end of the spectrum and timeline, seniors are often into a waiting period for the college results (or they already have made their decision), and so their motivation can wane. The work of college counseling therefore needs to be to pull those seniors through the final lap to graduation.

• College Counseling Cheatsheet. The Cheatsheet provides roughly 30-minute or less tasks that appear on your calendar each weekday and that are designed to improve your counseling practice. From tips to strategies to reminders, this can help you stay organized.

• Seek help. Consider the ways that we here at Lamplighter might be able to assist. Take a look at what we might be able to offer. 

Suggestions for Admin:

• Jump into the Work. This is a great time to lend support to college counseling by getting involved with student conversations. It is often a difficult balance to strike for a college counselor to step in as the “heavy” in conversations about maintaining academic performance for seniors or to keep on track with the juniors when their relationship with students has not been similar in the past. It is enormously helpful when admin step into this work alongside college counselors in partnership.

• Support the Complete Student. Sometimes the work this time of year becomes entirely results-focused and often loses the process-focus of the rest of our educational philosophy and journey. The focus becomes on names of institutions and college acceptances among other such trophies. As such, it is helpful when administrators step back to remind everyone to focus on each individual student. 

• Understand the Complexity. Around this time of the year, there often come pressures from elsewhere on administration – whether from boards or parents or elsewhere – and this can often translate into a failure to understand the complexity of college counseling work. It is not always or ever merely a matter of where a student deposits. There is much more to the process for each and every student. It is wonderful when admin appreciates this!

• Express Appreciation. Let your counselors know how much you appreciate their work!

Be sure to let us know if you have any questions or suggestions. We are always happy to incorporate and share others’ feedback.