Roslyn High School senior Nathan Yang said he had strong credentials when he began the college application process as president of the Organization of Class Councils, a three-sport varsity athlete, and an Intel semifinalist.
But, Yang told the Roslyn Board of Education on Thursday, he wasn’t sure how best to move ahead.
That, he said, is why he is so thankful for the help provided by Jason Geller, his guidance counselor, and others in Roslyn High School’s guidance department.
“I wouldn’t say they drove me to pick a certain college; I’ve learned they’re always really flexible with that and they always encourage students to really desire their own goals,” said Yang, who eventually picked Northwestern University to attend. “…It’s not really about him pushing me to apply somewhere, but him giving me examples of where to apply.”
Yang was asked to speak as part of a presentation made to the Board of Education by Director of Counseling Art Mandel on how the guidance department operates and how it assists Roslyn students in applying to college.
Yang said Geller helped him form a list of reaches, targets and safety schools, and encouraged him to explore as many options as he could dream up.
“Overall, my experience has been great,” Yang said. “My guidance counselor has been especially helpful and I’m very appreciative of him.”
Mandel said that while counselors field all kinds of questions from the school’s upperclassmen and their parents about college, they must also welcome a new wave of freshmen each year.
In doing so, he said, the counselors act as “case managers” responsible for knowing all that goes on with each child.
“[If a] Parent has a question, teacher has a question, administrator has a question, the first person they go to is the counselor,” Mandel said. “They want it that way, I want it that way and I think the school works very well with everyone knowing that the counselor is the point person for that student.”
There is one counselor per grade in the middle school and one per 150 students in the high school.
Beginning in ninth grade, the counselors meet with each student a minimum of four times per year.
In Session I, the guidance department introduces themselves while Session II gets the student familiar with Naviance, a college readiness software provider that encourages recording one’s resume well before junior year. Sessions III and IV include administering a career interest survey and choosing courses for the following year.
Later on, one of the most important functions of the guidance department is the junior conference, during which each student and their parents meet with a counselor to discuss colleges they are interested in and which of those schools could be a good fit, Mandel said.
According to Mandel, the college admission landscape has evolved to include factors beyond grade-point average such as extracurricular as well as ethnicity, legacy and geographic location.
A new overarching question is emerging from colleges: what did the student contribute to the student community?
Counselors are responsible for helping students find the path that will allow them to be able to answer.
The relationship between the student and counselor is just as vital as the advice and services they provide.
In one of the most stressful times of their adolescence, these teenagers have a place to look, school officials said.
Board President Meryl Waxman Ben-Levy touted the advantage of students having the same guidance counselor throughout high school.
“There’s something really wonderful about having that same person advising you and guiding you when you’re applying to college who knew you when you stepped your first toe into the high school,” she said .
As Roslyn students apply to more than 265 colleges internationally and end up attending more than 90 different schools each year, the key is finding the right place for each student.
“It’s not where you go,” Mandel said, “it’s what you do with it, and we have to help the kids believe that.”
