Teens Turn to Counselors for College Advice
November 20th, 2007High school students are looking for more assistance with college planning. According to a recent survey by Grand Canyon University, many students now rely less on parents and teachers. They are turning to guidance counselors for help with one of the biggest decisions of their lives.
The GCU study, conducted via forums and electronic surveys of area public high school guidance counselors, showed some surprising results. A record number of students are seeking help to decide what to do after high school.
While colleges and universities are investing heavily to recruit students, the demands on high school students are escalating as well. Students are pressured to decide on an area of study before even entering college. A majority of counselors said that less than half of their students had decided on a major or direction of study for college.
Couple that pressure with the stress to select a college or university. As a result, students are increasingly seeking out guidance counselors to help with the critical decision-making process. Students are coming to counselors for assistance with college applications, financial aid and scholarship information.
Many of the counselors also reported that they need better training to assist students with the application process.
Sidebar:
Among the guidance counselors surveyed by Grand Canyon University, most responded that students had also sought assistance for something other than college planning. The most frequent reasons students asked for help were:
- Grief and bereavement – 76% of counselors
- Suicide issues – 68% of counselors
- Drug and alcohol issues – 65% of counselors
August 21st, 2008 at 6:42 am
The Numbers seem High to me.
* Grief and bereavement – 76% of counselors
* Suicide issues – 68% of counselors
* Drug and alcohol issues – 65% of counselors
what is the source I must have missed it.
October 11th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I wanted know what are the guidance counselor tools. Its good this platform
would help high school students to choose right colleges by themselves rather
than depend on parents or their school teachers.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
My experience as a coach to teens beginning the college search process is: the task is daunting and lengthy, yet students can feel in control of many aspects; guidance counselors have expertise - if not enough time to help all the students for whom they are responsible - yet they are not parents; parents and teens need to talk about the selection process and act like a team/take roles in addressing the many parts of the process; it’s not my experience that colleges “pressure” students on an area of study… the good news is that there’s a lot of information and support available to teens and their parents. It can be a really exciting time for a teen!