60% of high school students rate their high school college counselors poor or fair at best, according to a story in the USA Today. That really is not surprising when one considers that high school counselors are not trained to give college advice, they have so many other guidance tasks to fulfill, and they have far too many students to work with.
The report also found that students who got “poor” or “fair” college advice also did not receive good counsel on financial aid, a crucial part of counseling these days. High school counselors simply have too many other duties to give each student the attention needed.
I have worked with several volunteer groups and the AVID program at the local high school in order to help bridge the gap a little bit. It can be very difficult for students and parents to get the information they need. Our schools and families really need to do a better job getting students to college and keeping them there.
