All Schools Should Offer College Counseling Classes

Do I need to take the SAT? The ACT? Are my grades good enough? What scholarships should I apply to? What classes should I take? What clubs should I join? Students are faced with many questions on the path to college. Without a class to guide them, many students find themselves filled with regrets, confusion, and panic over college admissions and the choices leading up to them.

Across the country, millions of students choose to attend college prep schools, which typically cost tens of thousands of dollars each year. For many people, that isn’t an affordable or practical option. Most people will instead go to their local public schools. 

Other people may enroll in extracurricular college prep programs or get college counselors to help them in their academic journey. Nonetheless, these services are also quite expensive, leaving many students behind while their more wealthy counterparts get the best resources and advice on the college process and their high school careers. Every student willing to put in the effort deserves to have a fair chance in college admissions.

Additionally, many students may receive outside help, whether from a parent or an older sibling, to help guide the way through their own experiences. This support system can be essential for passing down knowledge of the way things work. But not everyone has this type of mentor to gain life experiences from due to a vast variety of factors, meaning even the most exceptional students may slip through the cracks.

By creating a class to provide this, students can gain invaluable advice and find resources they didn’t even know existed. For instance, a student unaware of free peer tutoring services may not challenge themselves in the course material they take, thinking that having a hard time in classes leads to automatic failure since they can’t afford a tutor. Another student may think that schools only look at grades and test scores and never join extracurriculars to focus on their studies.

A mandatory class would mean students get a set time in the day when they are free to think about their future and receive structured support. Although some may see it as a waste of time, this can give people the chance to maximize their success. 

This can also open up some opportunities for collaboration between students. Having upperclassmen give advice to underclassmen means that they can get a sense of how the school operates and the specific opportunities in the area. That way they can get up-to-date, expert knowledge on their educational situation from their peers.

This class can also give students time to work on passion projects, meaning they can explore their interests and make an impact in their community. With additional time not set aside in a typical course structure, students can explore their interests and discover what things they might want to pursue in the future. These classes allow students to work with one another and build connections over shared interests.

Overall, these seminar-like classes will provide opportunities for collaboration, counseling, and advice not currently accessible to the majority of students. Reducing the educational divide starts by lifting up students who don’t have every opportunity out there, and inspiring them to reach their maximum potential.