Bill Gates Foundation Study: “Guidance Counselors College Advice Unhelpful to Students”

A 2010 study about college-bound kids — commissioned by billionaire Bill Gates — concluded the following:

A large percentage of high school graduates believe their guidance counselors provided little meaningful advice about college or careers.

“Most young adults who go on to college believe that the advice of their high school guidance counselors was inadequate and often impersonal and perfunctory,” the survey reports (The survey was conducted by Public Agenda and sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.)

“Most young adults who go on to college believe that the advice of their high school guidance counselors was inadequate and often impersonal an perfunctory.  When asked about their experiences with their counselors in high school, about half say that they felt like “just another face in the crowd.”

Most troubling out of this in-depth study was how many young people were less likely to select the right college… which resulted in students selecting the wrong college based on academic reputation… attending schools that were less likely to give financial aid… and going to colleges that would have little chance of helping them get a good job after graduation.

A Counseling System Under Stress

“Responses from the more than 600 young adults surveyed by Public Agenda, all of whom had begun some form of higher education, suggest that the existing high school guidance system is a perilously weak part of the nation’s efforts to increase college attendance and ramp up degree completion.”

As the survey demonstrates, the judgments young people make about their high school counselors are often harsh, considerably harsher than the judgments they make about their high school teachers or their advisers at the post-secondary level.

It is also useful to present some context about the challenges facing the counseling system nationwide. Although professional groups such as the American School Counselor Association say that a student–counselor ratio of 100 to 1 is optimal, this is far from the typical state of affairs in most public schools. In California, the ratio is closer to 1,000 students for every counselor available. In Arizona, Minnesota, Utah and the District of Columbia, the ratio is typically more than 700 to 1. Nationwide, the average is 265 to 1.

It is also important to note that advising students about college choices is just one of the many tasks that a counselor is faced with performing.  Disciplining issues, scheduling, and various other administrative mix-ups are included.  Add this all up and it’s easy to see why so many students are left with little to no help from counselors.

In response to this lack of help in selecting the right college, many parents are looking to outside sources to fill the void.  This has caused a string of private companies to pop up and offer college admission, career counseling, college research, and financial aid advice.

But like any new field, it has caused several less then ethical outfits to sprout up like weeds.

Here are a few guidelines and questions to consider when looking to a private firm for any college admission and aid needs…

Do they have happy customers?  And are those customer testimonials available for viewing?

Are they certified or endorsed by any credible organizations?

Do they pressure you to buy their service on the spot?  Or do they give you a ton of free advice and ample time to make a decision?

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5 Reasons College Counseling is More Important than Ever

Why College Counseling is More Important than Ever: Part 2