Strategies for College Admissions Advising

After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the knowledge and skills required to provide college counseling in the high school setting.
• Identify specified legal and ethical issues in college counseling.
• Define important terms used in college counseling.
• Identify the primary factors utilized in admissions decisions for a variety of college types, locations, and selectivity and be able to give a national and local example of each.
• Describe the roles of various people in the college admissions process.
• Describe the admissions requirements and process for the state systems in their own state, and selected other colleges and universities that are popular destinations for their students.
• Explain the factors that affect college affordability and identify resources counselors and families can use to better understand college costs.
• Demonstrate how to research a college using public sources, campus visits, and admission officer meetings.
• Describe resources students and families can use to build their knowledge about colleges.
• Describe how to create a student college list and/or assess its quality.
• Explain the ways the college advising process may vary, given differences in students’ backgrounds, skills, and/or aspirations.
• Begin to identify what additional skills and knowledge are necessary to work as an independent educational consultant.
• Identify personal areas for growth and professional development opportunities.

What You Learn

• College reports and campus visit report
• College affordability concepts
• Resources for building college knowledge
• Creating college lists
• Advising students with special talents, such as athletes and artists
• Advising students with special circumstances, such as those who are first-generation, or have different abilities, or are from the LGBTQ+ community
• Advising students about special destinations, such as highly selective colleges and universities
• Independent educational consulting business ideas

How You Learn

• Lectures
• Readings
• Class discussions
• College reports
• Campus visit
• Internet research
• Quizzes
• Assignments
• Class project
• Case study
• Video and audio interviews with industry experts
• Book club
• Interview with a junior
• Team activity
• Virtual panel of Independent Educational Consultants