Following high school, many students go off to pursue their interests at colleges and universities all over the world. But to get there it requires hard work, dedication, and college counseling. 

According to the Parker website, Parker describes their college counseling philosophy as a way to keep students “from becoming overwhelmed by the college search, application and selection process in a way that steals their high school years away from them.”

In previous years, Parker has provided upper schoolers with in-person college counseling gatherings individually and along with families. For the 2020-21 school year, all college counseling gatherings have switched to occurring virtually. In some cases, this has been an improvement. While school was in person, there had been numerous instances when students who were typically upperclassmen would come to visit the college counseling office on multiple occasions during a short period of time to ask questions.

“There were some students who we would find would come in weekly, not just to hang out but to ask a question and to get more information,” Director of College Counseling, Susan Weingartner said, “which meant that sometimes you didn’t have time for kids who never came in.”

Formerly, Parker college counselors would put sign-up sheets outside the college counseling office intended for students to sign up for time slots during their office hours to ask a question or receive information. Slots would fill up so rapidly that some students wouldn’t receive the chance to meet with a counselor until well after the time they initially intended to schedule. The college counseling team has now begun to take advantage of the fact that school is remote, and seniors now only attend previously scheduled college counseling gatherings. An example of these are scheduled check-ins for their college essay. Information is also frequently given to students through grade heads, advisors, and faculty.

Weingartner admits that the number of student meetings could be unequal. “Sometimes you wouldn’t see a kid all year, so that would be zero,” Weingartner said. “Sometimes you would see a kid so often that you’d be ready to say ‘I can’t help them anymore.’ Normally those people would also talk to their advisor, their teacher, and someone else, so in some ways, they had too much information.”

As well as individual meetings, there was also information discussed during graderooms, Morning EX’s, essay workshops, financial aid meetings, and more. 

College counseling at Parker is now trying to monitor how many times they meet with students individually and try to make time for every student equally, although students who need to add additional supplements to their application, such as an audition, require more time with college counseling. An average number for the amount of times counselors would meet with students (specifically seniors) through scheduled individual meetings would be around three over the course of the school year. Students also tend to stop into the college counseling Zoom link during virtual office hours to ask a question or receive information.

All meetings with colleges and universities have become successfully virtual. Over one hundred colleges and universities visit Parker and host informational meetings for upperclassmen to attend. Seniors can miss up to six classes in order to attend these meetings and juniors can miss up to three. 

As much as college counseling is an exciting process for many, it can likewise be very exhausting, even for parents and guardians.

Parents or guardians have made complaints about the college counseling process. “There are always complaints,” Weingartner said. “Everyone wants what they want and the college process doesn’t always bring out the best in everyone. People’s children — that’s the most important thing to them always, and you can’t blame them. My children are the most important thing to me. But, they can’t all be the most important, each individually to us.”

Whenever there is an issue raised by a parent or guardian, Weingartner and the college counseling team always address these concerns. Weingartner also clarified that the college counseling team has to “calmly” prioritize what they need to do for whom they need to do it, and not always only respond to the most “demanding person.”

Many parents and guardians are concerned about the effort put in by the college counseling team working with their child. Of course, a lot of parents and guardians recognize the hard work put into the college counseling program. One such senior parent is Elizabeth Samuels who agrees this is a very stressful time for parents and guardians. She feels college counseling has always done a great job communicating with the students and providing “individual connection.”

“I think it will work out in the end for them as it has for all these years,” Samuels said. “College counseling has always connected with the students as individuals. I encourage them to continue that individual connection. They said they will and I really do think they will do that.”

Samuels acknowledges that applying to colleges and universities is a difficult and stressful process for any senior in previous years, and this year particularly so. She realizes that the college counseling team will go “above and beyond” this year no matter the difficulties introduced from COVID-19.

“I’m optimistic,” Samuels said. “It’s stressful and the unknown is difficult but I have faith that from all their years of experience they’ll figure out how to still provide that level of service and connection with our kids.”