When you’re in high school, preparing for college admissions can feel like you’ve been plunged into the Upside Down in Stranger Things. Everything is confusing, people might as well be trying to talk to you via blinking Christmas lights, and you just want a waffle. (You can tell I’m excited for the new season, can’t you?) But just like our favorite squad in Stranger Things, you don’t have to go it alone. Your guidance counselor has your back.
In a previous blog post, we showed you how to make the most of your guidance counselor’s advice: “Regular check-ins can help you stay on track for college applications. Set a cadence that works well for both you and your counselor, whether it’s once a semester or more frequently as deadlines approach.” In this post, we’ll help you sort through what to discuss in these meetings.
Let’s dive into the top 20 college prep/admissions questions to ask your high school guidance counselor.
As soon as possible (like freshman year!), ask your counselor if you’re taking the right classes for college admission requirements. This question might surprise you if you’ve been attending high school in another country. “I work a lot with the Hispanic community where [some international] schools are different,” says Tia Gomez Zeller, assistant director of USF’s PATHe program. Those international schools might automatically put you in classes you need for college requirements, but in the U.S., you’re responsible for making sure you have the right courses.
For example, USF requires applicants to have completed a minimum of 18 approved units of high school work in five core subject areas (English, math, natural sciences, social sciences, foreign language), as well as two electives.
When you’re choosing electives, talk to your counselor about what your favorite classes are. That way, you can keep exploring the field that interests you (like the arts or sciences), which might lead you to a possible major. To help you figure it out, your counselor might ask you (as Gomez Zeller does): “What’s your procrastination homework, and what is the homework you want to do first?”
Your counselor can help you decide the pros and cons of AP courses, IB programs, and dual enrollment. These accelerated programs can save you money, raise your weighted GPA, and earn you college credits. But they’re not for everyone. If you’re having a hard time maintaining good grades in your current courses, focus on mastering the skills you need to succeed before leaping into this new challenge.
This is a common question, according to Ann Griffin, Department Head for Riverview High School’s College and Career Counseling. Students come to her overwhelmed by the college planning and admissions process. So, she breaks it down with one simple question: “What career path are you interested in?”
Not every career path requires a four-year degree. Trade schools can jumpstart your career in massage therapy or cosmetology, for example. And some industries, like construction and nursing, value a two-year degree, which you can earn at a community college.
But if your career does require a four-year degree, you’ll want to prep for the traditional college admissions process. We’ll talk more about that later.
You’re in good company! A lot of high school students don’t know what career they want to pursue. But that’s what high school counselors are for.
Ask your counselor for a career survey, and follow Griffin’s advice: “Don’t give the answer you feel like people want to hear because it’s not going to give the true output.” Be honest so you can be matched with the right career.
Your counselor can also help you use tools like O*Net, offered through the Florida Department of Labor, to explore career paths.
“I also recommend for [students] to just explore. Look at any extracurriculars they’re part of, any TV shows that they’re interested in,” Griffin says. “I use myself as an example for them. Growing up, I was always fascinated with the criminal justice type shows … I used to want to be a forensic psychologist, but it was through exposure opportunities that made me realize I don’t want to go to those gruesome crime scenes.” Instead, she became a high school counselor, where she can still use her detective skills to figure out what’s going on with her students and how she can help them.
Your school should offer college prep and financial aid workshops that can help you and your parents understand some of the more complicated parts of the college app process. If your high school doesn’t host these programs, ask your counselor if you can attend one at a neighboring high school.
The answer to this question will depend on your academic goals. For example, your counselor might advise you to take the PSAT/NMSQT by 10th grade and take the SAT and/or ACT by 11th grade.
However, if you’re a high-achieving student who’s applying to very competitive schools, your counselor might want to speed up your timeline. In that case, go ahead and take the SAT or ACT in ninth grade, and then “pretty regularly each school year,” says Cindy Topdemir, coordinator of the counselor education program at the University of South Florida and a licensed mental health counselor.
Talk your counselor about which entrance exam — the SAT or ACT — is best for your strengths. “I always recommend to sit for each one at least once,” says Griffin. “While the exam content is similar, how it’s structured is different. Naturally, students — based on their specific learning and testing style — are going score better on one versus the other.”
If you’re worried about your grades, your counselor is the perfect person to talk to. They can help you figure out why you’re struggling. Do you need time management tips? Are there study strategies that work better with your learning style? Can you get an individualized education plan for a learning disability? Is there something in your home or personal life that needs to be addressed?
Be honest with your counselor, so they can address your own doubts about your abilities. Some students come to Gomez Zeller and say that because they’re not good at taking standardized tests like the ACT or SAT, they don’t belong in college. “I tell them to change that mentality because standardized tests don’t show what kind of student you are,” she says.
Even if you’re a senior with a low GPA and/or low test scores, you should still talk to your counselor about your options – because you always have options. “I always tell a student it’s never too late, you just need to know what other paths are there for you to get into a university,” Gomez Zeller says.
Without a campus tour, “I think that you can’t fully make a determination if that campus is the right fit for you,” Griffin says. Plan your campus visit schedule with your counselor. For example, in sophomore year, you might want to visit nearby colleges and universities. Between the spring of your junior year and fall of your senior year, you might plan more targeted visits to your prospective schools, including campuses out-of-state.
Even if you can’t physically tour a campus, check out virtual options, which have become even more robust since the pandemic. For example, USF offers virtual tours of all three of our sunny campuses.
Experts say you should apply to 6 to 10 schools, but your counselor can help you figure out what’s feasible for you (and how to get application fee waivers if you need one). Ask your counselor which prospective schools count as reach, match, and safety for your academic profile.
“Don’t just apply to one school because schools are becoming more competitive,” says Griffin. “You have to have a Plan A, B, C, all the way through [Plan] Z if you need to — because there’s always options.”
This is a question counselors wish students would ask more often. Here’s how we explained the different application deadlines in a previous blog post on college admissions FAQ’s:
“Priority deadline: This is the deadline to send in your application for priority admission. At USF, if you don’t apply by this deadline, you are not guaranteed admission at the campus to which you applied.
Scholarship deadline: Submit all of your application materials by this date to be considered for any available merit-based scholarships. These materials include test scores, your SSAR, and application fees.
Final file completion deadline: This is the final deadline to submit your required documents to the university to be considered for the term for which you’re applying.”
“Never wait until the final deadline, even if it’s a Plan B [school],” says Gomez Zeller. Otherwise, you might miss out on important scholarships.
Some students want to wait until the final deadline to apply because they’re trying to bring up their grades or their entrance exam scores. “I would encourage students to still apply by the priority or early action deadline,” says Brenae Hillard, a PATHe advisor. At many schools, applying early can give you a better chance to be admitted because those applications are given priority. Also, schools who have a holistic application review process will consider more than just your test scores and GPA, so waiting won’t necessarily improve your chances of being admitted. If you have any questions about a school’s application review process, you should visit their admissions website or contact them for additional support.
Your counselor can help you locate scholarships and show you how to use scholarship search tools, like:
Because scholarship apps can be intimidating, your counselor can also be your hype-person, encouraging you to push beyond your comfort zone. For example, a lot of students don’t apply for national scholarships because they think the competition will be too high. “The thing they don’t realize is that everyone has the same mentality, and then nobody applies, and that [scholarship] is left on the table,” says Gomez Zeller. That means you should go for it!
The same is true for scholarships that require an essay application. Because they take longer, less students may apply for these, says Hillard, giving you a better chance.
Counselors also help students navigate the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Even if you don’t think your family will qualify for FAFSA aid, complete the application anyway, says Griffin, because it’s tied to other funding opportunities, like in-house scholarship offered by your school.
“Sometimes students get discouraged because they apply to a lot of scholarships but may not hear back,” says Griffin. But that’s part of the process: “It’s a numbers game.” Remember that the more scholarships you apply to, the more chances you’ll have of winning one.
Ask your counselor for organization tips so you’ll be less likely to burn out. Treat applying for scholarships like another class and add it to your schedule, suggests Gomez Zeller. That way, you know that every Monday and Wednesday you’ll spend an hour on research or applications, and you won’t be tempted to wait until the last minute to apply.
Griffin also recommends students set up a separate, professional email that they use only for college applications, financial aid, and scholarships. That way, you won’t miss important emails. You should also track the status of your scholarships using something like a spreadsheet: create a category for the scholarship name, the award amount, the due date, when you should hear a decision, and the status of your scholarship application.
Some schools, like USF, don’t require an essay or an interview. But if you’re applying to schools that do, your counselor can help you prepare. They’ll give you essay-writing tips that make you the main character in your own story (you can read some of our tips here!). And they’ll practice the interview process with you, so you can confidently chat with the university representative.
If you want to apply to an Ivy League school, your competition is stiff. “You need to find a way to stand out because everyone has a good GPA, everyone has good grades, everyone has AP classes,” says Gomez Zeller. “So how do you distinguish yourself with extracurricular and leadership opportunities?”
Brainstorm your interests with your counselor, who can guide you towards leadership roles in high school clubs, volunteer opportunities in your community, and summer internships.
Depending on your grade level, summer college prep might look like refining your reading skills, logging volunteer hours for scholarship opportunities (like Florida’s Bright Futures), taking summer courses, touring campuses, practicing for entrance exams, or doing extracurriculars you love. Your college counselor can help you figure out exactly what should be on your summer to-do list this year.
Some of Gomez Zeller’s students don’t have time for extracurriculars: they have to work or take care of their siblings. They tell her, “Oh, I’m not doing anything. On the weekends, I help my parents with the restaurant. On the weekdays, I make sure my siblings go to school … and do their homework, and I prepare dinner and I bathe them.”
After listening to this list of responsibilities, Gomez Zeller’s response is a shocked, “You’re saying you’re not doing anything?”
The point is, your counselor can help you identify what you’re already doing, even if it doesn’t look like a traditional extracurricular. They can also help you communicate those tasks in a way that will impress admissions officers.
This is a question school counselors wish students would ask earlier. “I’ve heard multiple school counselors say ‘if [students] ask me earlier for reference letters, I can put a lot more thought into it than when they all come two weeks before they’re due,’’” says Topdemir.
Early in your senior year, talk to your counselor about writing a reference letter, so they have time to produce a strong, unique recommendation — instead of juggling 40 of them in one week, Topdemir suggests.
Your school counselor isn’t just an academic advisor — they are also the mental health expert at your school. If you’re feeling anxious or depressed, having trouble sleeping, or dealing with any other personal issue, talk to your counselor about how they can help.
No issue is too small to address. “Small issues are still issues,” Topdemir says. “If you’ve just started to feel anxious recently, you’re starting to feel a little sad, go to your school counselor. You don’t have to wait until something becomes a major problem or it’s impacted your grades or it’s impacted your friendships.”
Let your counselor know that you need to speak with them about a mental health or personal issue so they can see you as soon as possible.
If you’re not getting what you need from your school counselor, you can also call one of these hotlines:
Griffin goes through a step-by-step college evaluation process with her students. “Does the school offer the major that you’re interested in? If that’s a yes, is it in an environment that you feel you can flourish in? Cool. The next piece is, are they offering the money that you need to cover the cost of tuition so you’re not having to start life with a ton of student loan debt? Do you have other funding opportunities, other scholarships available?”
Next, ask questions that are specific to your needs and interests. Does the school offer the resources — like individual education plans or mental health support — that you need to succeed? If you’re a student athlete, is there a team you can play on? If service is important to you, what volunteer opportunities are available?
When you’re exploring school costs, go beyond the tuition price and look at the full cost of attendance (you can ask your counselor to explain what this means for you). For example, will you be living at home and commuting? Or will you be on-campus, and will those housing options be feasible for you?
Keep in mind that generous financial aid, work study, and scholarship opportunities can all make a school more affordable. If you’re interested in a more expensive or a private institution, you should still add it to your list of applications, Hillard says. “In some cases, students are awarded more [aid] than they would expect.”
Ask your counselor how to find this financial aid information for your school. They can also help you explore what on-campus student work opportunities are available.
Counselors can also direct you to resources that show how well a school will set you up for success post-graduation (in other words, what is your return on investment?). For example, you can read the Princeton Review’s list of the 209 “Best Value Colleges” for 2024, or find your prospective school on the College Scorecard.
The best part about talking with your counselor is they can help you find your unique path to success, whatever that looks like.
“Sometimes people think their path has to be linear, and it really doesn’t,” said Hillard. “We just have to be adaptable and flexible with ourselves… Sometimes we have to pivot a little bit or do things a little bit differently than what we think the standard might be, but … there are opportunities for students to achieve their version of success.”
If you’re curious how USF can help you achieve your dreams, reach out to us online, or give us a call at (813) 974-3350. We look forward to seeing your application!