College Admissions Advisor for a High School Senior
Hello all. I am looking for recommendations and advice on finding a college admissions counselor who can also act as a coach/mentor. My son (senior in a public school) loves math & science and is pretty advanced in those subjects (completed all APs and is taking community college high-level math courses). But he has no interest in any extracurricular activity and is pretty deficient in that. On top, there are some issues with so-called executive functioning, organization skills, etc. We would like to maximize his chances of getting to a good STEM program and trying to figure out the best strategy. I was reading around on the internet that a lack of executive functions is common for teenagers; but also, it is very important for success beyond getting good grades. I also saw some executive skills coaching services for teens on the internet but didnot see any in the local area. I was also reading about the philosophies of different college advising services - e.g. "packaging students" vs helping students discover themselves, and inspire them to make the right choices. It seems to me that we would rather take the coaching route than the packaging route. Wondering if any of you can relate to my thoughts, or have had similar issues, and know of college advisors/coaches/mentors that you recommend. We live in south bay, but open to working online with anyone from the greater Bay area. Thanks.
Parent Replies
Hi, there. It is so excellent that you are looking at your whole child here - not just thinking about finding an admissions counselor, but thinking about your son's executive function needs. In my opinion, it sounds like your kid is doing really well in classes; I wouldn't lose sleep over his lack of interest in extracurricular activities. I'm sure he'll get into a STEM program which will be a good fit for him, given your description. But to succeed in it once he's there - to be happy and healthy and reveling in his learning experiences - that is the key, and that is why you are right to focus on executive function. So many students build up really unhealthy study and sleep habits during high school, and take them off to college with them; working on those now is crucial! Classroom Matters offers executive function family workshops, as well as one-on-one counseling, and I know many folks who swear by their services, including adults who recognize that their executive function isn't well-developed. I have attended a number of their workshops, and I think they are excellent.They are Berkeley-based, but that's not a barrier to anyone right now, given that it's all online right now. (FYI, our child attended public school, and we did not hire an admissions counselor. We had a 1/2 hour session with the high school's college counselor, and that was enough for us. Of course, our high school also offers volunteers who help with essay-writing.) Best wishes to you!
I highly recommend San Francisco Admissions Advisors. Great women and they know their stuff. https://www.sfadmissions.com
We have similar concerns! I would add to the request that kids like ours probably need support/coaching to learn how to survive college life once they are accepted and enroll...
My son has ASD and I found a group in Mass that does asperger/ASD focused college counseling — they might know of resources for kids solely with executive function/organizational challenges:
https://www.aane.org/
they do a free phone consult to start.
best wishes to you.