Being a Guidance Counselor- Also known as school counselors, elementary- through college-level guidance counselors work with students to promote and support their academic, personal and social development. Guidance counselors help students at all stages of their educations to assess their abilities, interests, and personalities in order to develop healthy academic goals and emotional development.
Although being a guidance counselor is extremely rewarding, it can potentially become emotionally taxing. For that reason, potential counselors should have high emotional energy to handle the problems and stresses they may come across. An effective school counselor should want to help others and be able to inspire respect, trust, and confidence. Additionally, guidance counselors must follow a stringent code of ethics and privacy in accordance to their licenses and certifications.

Responsibilities and Duties- School guidance counselors emphasize preventive and developmental counseling to provide students with life skills and enhance students personal, social, and academic growth. They use dialogue, therapy sessions, tests and other methods to help students individually, in small groups, or in entire classes. Read the rest of this entry »

The days of competing to be the single high-school valedictorian are dwindling. Due to what some are calling “grade inflation,” it is becoming difficult to evaluate students based on grades. Many college admissions representitives are wary of this inflation, because it makes comparing students among each other very difficult.

This article from the Associated Press delved deeper into the subject.

“Josh Zalasky should be the kind of college applicant with little to worry about.

The high school senior is taking three Advanced Placement courses. Outside the classroom, he’s involved in mock trial, two Jewish youth groups and has a job with a restaurant chain. He’s a National Merit semifinalist and scored in the top 3 percent of all students who take the ACT.

But in the increasingly frenzied world of college admissions, even Zalasky is nervous about his prospects. He doubts he’ll get in to the University of Wisconsin, a top choice. The reason: his grades. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are looking for a way to excel as a student and still manage your expenses, you might benefit from work programs offered through your college. Many schools offer part-time student hourly positions, as well as work-study programs for full- and part-time students.

Work study vs. student hourly positions
There is a key difference between student hourly jobs and federal work-study jobs. Student hourly positions are available for both those who qualify for financial aid and those who do not. Federal work-study programs are provided for students with demonstrated financial need. If you receive any form of federal financial aid, you may qualify for federal work-study programs. These work-study programs provide students with part-time employment opportunities to meet college costs.

Working can enhance your education
Whether employed on-campus in a federal work-study program or off-campus, students can benefit from working while in school. Many schools offer positions ranging from administrative or office assistant to lab or research technician. These jobs are designed to accommodate the busy student’s hectic schedule.

It is possible to find a job that is geared toward your major that will add an impressive line to your resume. Or you could work as a computer lab monitor or receptionist where you are encouraged to do homework in your downtime. Imagine getting paid to do your schoolwork! Many work-study positions make it possible.

Not all positions offered to college students are run-of-the-mill. Students can find work as personal trainers or lifeguards at the school fitness center; game monitors for the physical education department; or tutors in the creative writing, math or science labs.

Working can help you pay for school
Most student jobs pay an hourly wage, which is at least the federal minimum wage. However, many positions held by college students offer starting pay upwards of $8 per hour. The wage often varies according to your experience level and skill set. Check and see what positions your school offers. It might be smart for your budget, your grades and your schedule!

For parents, releasing children off into the ‘wild’ (also known as college) can be a really difficult time. You can no longer tell them when to do their homework, you have no control over their curfew, and you can’t make sure they are eating their vegetables. Whether it’s your firstborn or the last of several children to escape the shelter of your wing, parents commonly suffer from empty nest syndrome. However, the most recently discussed problem known as ‘helicopter parenting,’ a term coined by colleges across the nation involves parents who don’t make an effort to loosen the leash. Read the rest of this entry »

As a senior in high school or freshman in college, you may not have even heard of helicopter parents but you have almost certainly felt the wind from their rotating wings. A helicopter parent, as defined recently by the media, is a parent who hovers too closely over a child, mapping out their activities, decisions and lives from birth into adulthood. You probably have a friend whose mother picked out her daughter

Some parents are writing their college-age kids’ resumes. Others are acting as their children’s “representatives,” hounding college career counselors, showing up at job fairs and sometimes going as far as calling employers to ask why their son or daughter didn’t get a job.

It’s the next phase in helicopter parenting, a term coined for those who have hovered over their children’s lives from kindergarten to college. Now they are inserting themselves into their kids’ job search — and school officials and employers say it’s a problem that may be hampering some young people’s careers. Read the rest of this entry »

Roughly one in six students enrolled in higher education — about 3.2 million people — took at least one online course last fall, a sharp increase defying predictions that online learning growth is leveling off. Read the rest of this entry »

As Amy Shaunette and Cooper Gango contemplated college, they considered an issue beyond the SAT and GPAs: their love life. The pair started dating as juniors at Lake Oswego High in Oregon. As college loomed, they weren’t sure whether