Guidance Counselors Are Your Friends by Chloe

Guidance Counselors Are Your Friends by Chloe - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

When I first entered high school, I was pretty clueless as to what I wanted to do after I graduated. I knew that I wanted to attend college, however I had no idea what I wanted to major in or what career path I wanted to take. Like many freshmen, I had countless questions about what the future had to hold and did not have lots of answers.
Fortunately, I had a brother who was a senior at the time. He informed me about our college and career guidance counselor on campus. He was the first person to actually tell me who she was since I was a freshman and most people assumed they do not need college advice just yet. However in reality, college is right around the corner. While the school year was coming to an end, I thought this would be the perfect time to talk to her about a class schedule for the following year that would put me on track for college. It was intimidating and I was shy at first, however now that I have fast forwarded to my senior year, my guidance counselor and I are closer than ever.
Many students, even some seniors, do not know what guidance counselors are there for. Essentially, they are there for college information and to give advice from everything from standardized tests to college campuses you have never heard of. While I have picked up many valuable pieces of advice through my time in high school, the one most valuable piece of advice that I would give younger students based off of what I now know would be to befriend your guidance counselor.
Chances are, as a new high school student, you have many questions. Guidance counselors are professionals to these specific questions, and offer this advice for free. Many schools are very big and chances are your counselor will not know who you are on a first name basis unless you make yourself known to them. Once you start making meetings with them and start to spend more time with your guidance counselor, you will receive more benefits than those students who do not.
Once your counselor gets to know you, they will have a better idea of your interests and personality. Since they are experts in college advice, this is very beneficial for them to inform you on college campuses you are more likely to love as well as to send you in direction to a career that you will not only excel in but also enjoy. While some may say that you could just take online quizzes for this information, those may not always be as accurate as the tailored advice your college professional can give you.
Furthermore, many items you will fill out towards the end of high school will require a letter of recommendation. If your guidance counselor knows you, they will be able to and more than happy to write a genuine letter of recommendation. This will be beneficial for both of you since you will receive an excellent letter of recommendation and they will be able to write it with ease. You will therefore be at an advantage compared to other students since your letter of recommendation will be more accurate and come from the heart.
Overall, befriending your guidance counselor is not only beneficial to stay up to date on deadlines and information, but also a way to receive tailored advice to help guide you in the right direction. Guidance counselors are not as scary as they may seem, and once you make the first step to befriending them, you will be thankful that you did so.