School counselors get a bad rap, especially college advisors during application season. They’re spread incredibly thin; the national average is one guidance counselor to 471 students. California has the worst shortage with a shocking 1-to-1,016 ratio. Meanwhile, applying to college is more confusing and time consuming than ever. Here are the top 12 problems guidance counselors deal with!
1. You have to be cheerful and optimistic all of the time.
2. Some students have no idea where to apply.
...And then there are those with completely unrealistic expectations.
3. You have to get to work earlier than most of your friends.
4. You have to manage parents’ expectations about college admissions.
5. This is the response every time you ask for a budget increase.
6. You get blamed for pretty much everything.
7. It’s really difficult to motivate teenagers to do their work.
8. You see students make bad decisions and can’t stop them.
9. Anything you post online will probably be read by students and parents.
10. Just keeping students’ attention for more than 5 minutes is difficult.
11. A few overachievers suck up a lot of your attention.
12. There are a ridiculous number of students to manage.
...But hey, if nothing else, at least you get summers off!
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