It’s never too early in your high school career to start thinking about college. However, you likely have questions or concerns. Is your essay good enough? Do extracurricular activities matter? How can you improve your SAT or ACT scores?
A college admission counselor can help answer all these questions and more. But what exactly does a professional admissions counselor really do?
Read on to discover five benefits of using a college counselor.
1. Less Stress
The entire process of applying to college can be stressful!
There’s a lot to juggle, from searching for the perfect college, taking standardized tests, and writing essays. Not to mention making sure you’re taking the best classes to showcase your strengths and if your extracurriculars are on point.
A college admission counselor helps ease the stress you may feel while navigating the application process. They provide timelines (and deadlines) for getting crucial things done. A college counselor is an expert on all facets of finding a good fit, from providing tips to improve your essay, to offeringgenuine perspective on whether student might benefit from a tutor for test prep. Ultimately, your applications are in good hands.
2. Personalized Attention
While high schools may have a few full-time counselors to help students with college selection, these counselors are often overloaded with a heavy caseload of 400+. They simply cannot spend enough time with each student to help everyone.
A professional admissions counselor can provide one-on-one attention for as many hours as needed, and will tailor their approach to your student’s individual needs. They take the time to get to know you and your passions.
An expert college counselor offers personalized strategies to support your interests, improve your resume, and craft an outstanding application, all in all helping you across several axes to get accepted to your top colleges.
3. Find the Right College
With so many colleges out there, how do you know which is the place for you?
A skilled college admissions counselor will help you find the right college. Sometimes it’s not about getting into the highest ranked university, but finding the perfect fit for you.
Not sure of your direction? College counselors will help tease out those clues to what you’re interested in and where you might best thrive. A successful college match is one where you can be your authentic self, pursue your interests, and be successful with your studies.
4. Greater Chances for Acceptance
Getting into college nowadays is complicated.
It used to be that decent grades and test scores meant a wide range of colleges to pick from—with a good chance of acceptance at any of them.
Today, colleges are inundated with applications and have to reject more students than ever. For them to decide who to accept, they look for rigorous high school classes, good grades, top test scores, and a variety of extracurricular activities that showcase a student’s talents and interests.
Get advice early from a college admissions counselor. They can recommend courses to take in high school, activities to pursue, and summer internships to participate in. You don’t have to guess at how to improve.
5. Help You Tell Your Story
A key factor to a great college application is how well it conveys who you really are. College admissions offices are flooded with generic applications from high-achieving students. How can you stand out from the crowd and get accepted? Through your personal story.
You may have a variety of interests, good SAT or ACT scores, and many extracurricular activities. But knowing how to take all this information and craft a compelling personal story that will intrigue the admissions office and gain you acceptance is another skill altogether.
This is where using an admission counselor makes sense. You’ve done all the hard work and laid a strong foundation of excellence. A counselor knows what to focus on and how to present it, so your unique qualities shine through.
Is a College Admission Counselor Right for Me?
Now that you know how an admission counselor can help you navigate the application process, you may still wonder if hiring one is right for you. For many students, the answer is a resounding, “Yes!”
A counselor’s personalized attention and expertise have helped many students get into the college of their dreams.
Sophia Minhas
Madeleine Karydes