Communication issues with counselors

Academic advisors and counselors have many parts to what they do. The counselors work very hard, whether they are helping students plan their courses and schedules, making sure students get all the credits they need or sending student transcripts to colleges and universities.

However, many students think their counselors are not doing what they need to to help them. In a social media poll conducted by NCHS Live! students answered if counselors were doing what they needed to do to help them. 52 percent of students who engaged in the vote thought counselors are not helping the students as much as they can.

Senior Abigail Alonso is an honors student, AP student and student-athlete going through the early college application process. 

“My current counselor helps me out a lot, but my counselor from the previous years definitely did not help me at all, and I had to do many things myself. Anytime I asked for help, I didn’t really receive it,” Alonso said.

Getting in touch with counselors can be difficult, especially at the beginning of the semester when students are trying to change their schedule. Most counselors have different ways of setting up meetings or conversations with students. Some do it through email, canvas, or google calendar, but sometimes these methods do not work well.

“My current counselor responds to me in a timely manner but the counselor I had before made it very hard to get in contact with them,” Alonso said.

Seniors who plan on attending college request their transcripts from their counselors to send to colleges, which they must send by a specific date depending on the time of admission.

“They definitely sent my transcripts on time, and every time I requested them in Naviance, I could see that it was sent pretty much the next day,” Alonso said.

Counselors have many students they are in charge of; it can be hard to keep track of them and get in touch with them all the time.

“Pretty much everyone I know complains about their counselor all the time and how they don’t provide help for them. Over the past four years, I’ve heard so many people complain, especially upperclassmen,” Alonso said.

In past years, students have struggled with their counselors, but now the counseling department may have made changes to improve the student’s experience.

“Overall, it has been a horrible experience with counselors; this has been the first year I’ve had a decent one that cares about helping me,” Alonso said.