Introduction
If your family has never worked with a college counselor before, you may not know what to expect at the first meeting. Don’t worry – the goal of the first meeting is not to grill your student about their passion projects or overwhelm you with dire college acceptance statistics! Instead, the first college admissions counseling meeting is a chance for your counselor to get to know your family in a welcoming, low-pressure environment where they can collaborate with you on a roadmap for the college admissions process.
Book your first session today with an AJ Tutoring Admissions Counselor.
Purpose of the First Session
Your student’s college counselor has a few goals to accomplish in the first meeting. First, the counselor wants to begin getting to know your student – their academic and career goals, strengths, and challenges. Second, it’s important to discuss your student’s college aspirations and priorities so they can begin creating a balanced college list for your student. As part of that conversation, your counselor will ask about preferred geographic locations, majors, size of school, atmosphere on campus, and financial considerations. Finally, your college counselor will go through an initial review of your student’s application materials, including their academic record, extracurricular activities, and standardized testing plan.
Step by Step Breakdown of the First Session
Student and Parent Intake Conversation
In this part of the conversation, the college counselor will review all the materials the student sent ahead of time, including transcripts, standardized test scores, and a list of extracurricular activities, along with a questionnaire we ask students to complete before beginning college counseling. Your counselor will also discuss any goals or concerns you may have about your student’s academic, extracurricular, and testing record as those relate to college admissions.
Goal Setting and Roadmap Creation
Here, your counselor will set expectations for the college admissions process. They will review everyone’s role in the process – student, parent, and counselor – and discuss how to set the student up for success in creating a strong application and meeting application deadlines. The counselor will then work with your family to create an initial action plan for the student with deadlines and milestones.
Discussing Key Application Components
Beyond your student’s academic record and extracurriculars, it’s important to plan ahead for college essays, test prep strategy, letters of recommendation, and interviews (if applicable). Depending on when you first meet with your counselor, it may not be time to work on college essays or request letters of recommendation yet, but it helps to plan ahead so your student is ready to work on those application components at the right time. Your counselor will develop a plan and timeline for addressing each of those items with your student.
Q&A and Next Steps
Finally, your college counselor will give you and your student a chance to ask any questions about college admissions you might have. They’ll talk with you about the optimal meeting schedule for college counseling and any follow-up support the student may need with test preparation or academic tutoring.
What Families Should Bring to the First Session
Your admissions counselor will ask you to bring a few things to the first college counseling session (or to email them to your counselor ahead of time). Typically, those items include:
- Transcripts and/or grade reports from all high schools and community colleges the student has attended
- A list of extracurricular activities and leadership roles
- Standardized test scores from the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and/or AP/IB exams
- A draft of your student’s college list, if applicable
- Any college essay drafts if the student has started those
Beneits of Starting with AJ Tutoring
AJ Tutoring employs a diverse set of college counselors with Bay Area and national expertise. Our team of college counselors is very familiar with the college admissions landscape across the United States and beyond. We stay up to date with college admissions trends and changing requirements, and we pass that information on to our families. We offer our families a holistic and consistent approach, where they’re able to find high-quality, personalized test prep, academic tutoring, and college counseling all in one place. Finally, we help reduce families’ stress during a pivotal season in their lives by providing a clear roadmap for college admissions and guiding the student through that process.
Parent testimonial:
“Thanks for all your help with the application process! We couldn’t have done it without you! Robert decided to attend Chapman University to play football. He seriously considered other colleges he was admitted to, but Chapman was the best academic fit for him – with the added bonus of playing football at the next level. Now on to his younger sister – can we set up a meeting in a couple weeks to get her started?”
Next Steps
AJ Tutoring’s college counselors are available to support your family through high school and the college admissions process. We encourage you to reach out and schedule your first college counseling consultation today!
