Curtis WestbayWhat is the College Counseling Seminar?
BASIS students get a lot of help with college applications and preparation when they are in Grade 12— an hour a day! As one of their required Senior Year classes, the College Counseling Seminar is an opportunity for BASIS Seniors to get individualized help. But not all of the advice our counselors give will be uplifting. It doesn't benefit our students for us to be misleading about their chances, about their strategy, about their work ethic, or about their preparedness. Our general strategy reflects the general goal of the vast majority of our students and families— to produce the best possible college admission outcome for each student. Sometimes, this strategy requires more honesty than students may be accustomed to.
Here are a few of the things about which we sometimes have to give students a dose of reality.
About essays
I've seen it many times before that a student wants to write an essay that's overdone or clichéd. For example, one of the more common topics that students gravitate toward is their transition to international school. They want to write about the struggles they faced, going to school with English as the language of instruction for the first time, struggling to understand the cultural sensibilities of different people, etc. Without a doubt, a transition of this sort probably is one of the most significant changes in the lives of our students. But it's not novel to application readers.
Sometimes, students don't want to hear this, though. They think that their story is different, somehow. Their counselor may have to get tough with them and tell them to keep brainstorming. This can be frustrating, but when a counselor insists that a student go back to the drawing board, it's because they believe it will benefit the student to take a different approach.
About ED strategy
Early Decision is an important strategic choice. A student's ED school should be a reach, but not an unrealistic reach. Students who apply under the Early Decision option are accepted at a higher rate than students applying Regular Decision, but it's not a guarantee. If a student doesn't stand a realistic chance at admission, even when applying Early Decision, our counselors won't hide this fact from them.
The goal for every student is a well-balanced school list with aggressive options and conservative ones. If students don't take their counselor's advice seriously, they may only get acceptances from their more realistic options.
About interview readiness
Some students will be required to conduct a college interview with some of the schools to which they apply. For others, a college interview will be an optional addition to their college application. The interview isn't beneficial to all students. Sometimes, students don't express themselves clearly in English, extemporaneously. This is okay— but students should understand that an interview can harm their application if preparation for it isn't taken seriously.
Interview preparation is part of the College Counseling Seminar. Without adequate preparation, a counselor may advise a student not to pursue an interview, if it's optional.
About productivity
Students must be the author of all of their college application materials. Even if counselors will provide extensive help, the authorship belongs to the student. In order to help, counselors must ensure that students are productive. At times, they may nag students about their productivity. There is no reason to procrastinate, and doing so only means that students won't get all of the help they otherwise could.