At the National College Fair in San Francisco last weekend, I was reminded of the collegiality and ongoing cycle of our work. Moving from table to table, high school counselors commented on their seniors who had just committed to the colleges, excited for their future. Juniors and their parents were discovering new opportunities to explore. Admissions representatives used the time between student inquiries to share about their experiences on the road.
As professionals who operate in the spirit of good will, we still have much work to do together to tackle some troubling issues. The increasing anxiety and gamesmanship around admission to the most selective colleges takes a toll on the mental health of our high school students. Many students are taking too many AP classes and taking on too many activities at the expense of the important developmental task of identity development. They are sleep deprived and going through the motions. They arrive on college campuses in need of costly mental health services and are at risk of graduating without discovering genuine interests. Cheating is epidemic on high school and college campuses. From the perspective of the high school student and his or her parents, this is the only path to success in life.
On the high school side, we can advocate for limiting AP classes and counsel good sleep hygiene and careful choice of school activities. We can require students to read about a broader range of colleges. Parents will not listen unless the colleges provide us with direct support. What if colleges agreed to consider a maximum of three AP classes each year in their academic rigor rubric? What if there were fewer spaces on the application for listing activities and students were directed to list only the activities that were most important to them? What if colleges emphasized outcomes for their graduates and agreed to not comment on rankings in their recruiting materials? While I am constructing my ideal world, could the common application limit students to a dozen colleges and not institute the “where else are you applying” question?
There will be a gathering of outstanding, committed professionals at the Super Conference in Reno later this month. What new ideas might result from those hallway conversations?
By Peggy Hock
Hi Peggy,
I agree with and love your ideas around limitations regarding AP courses, activities listed, number of colleges applied to, etc. and increasing emphasis on advocating for the health and wellness of our students.
Sunita
I had the good fortune of attending one of Denise Pope’s presentation at a school where I often present. She works with many Bay Area schools and her presentations have the same theme. We need more professionals from our field who are in this for the students and are concerned about their overall well being. The word holistic needs to have a more comprehensive meaning for the student as well. Only if our high school and college students could get a couple of hours of extra sleep and more time to do simple things that help them relax and enjoy some family time and down time…
The trusted voice of a counselor encouraging a well crafted list of less than 10 meaningful colleges on the list can change the tone of this exciting developmental experience for students. As always I applaud your ideas and leadership Peggy!
Peggy- Your comments were spot on. The blog I have written for next week is about AP’s and the pressure to take them. I have seen way too many frazzled students and parents this year. I had one parent that thought colleges only accepted AP Literature and AP Lang and that English 3 and 4 were not college prep (even though they are on her HS’s UC approved list)– scary. Thank you for addressing these issues.
With the recent awarding of $250 million for career pathway development here in California, work experience, internships and career/technical education credentials or certifications could/should be included in the mix. Students with health, business, transportation or other certifications make great candidates for higher education, but they need time (and support) to complete the necessary training. Thank you for providing a much needed perspective.