If there is one consistent item that is on every senior’s mind right now, it would be college. Our minds are filled with common app phrases, questions, and a checklist of documents to send within the next couple months. While we all sit and try to deny that the first early decision round deadline is in less than two months, at this point we know what is important to our application in order to get into the college of our dreams.

The number one recommendation requirement for every single college is the counselor’s recommendation. Now after sitting through 18 colleges info sessions (seriously, I did), I understand that every college takes the counselor’s recommendation to heart.
Normally, this wouldn’t be something to bring up, however, a handful of the seniors of this year have been given a brand new counselor for this year. Last year, GM lost two veteran counselors and only filled the two spots with one new counselor.

“It is definitely an inopportune time for a change,” said senior Guthrie Edson. “I had a strong relationship with my old counselor and I know she would have had a lot to write in a letter of recommendation.”

The counselor’s recommendation is to give a potential college an idea about the student applying. “Not only describing the student’s academic background, but also their involvement outside of the classroom and in the community. Granted, students and parents fill out forms describing the student and giving more information for each counselor to work off of. And while a new counselor can provide a good amount of information about the student, when a counselor works with a student in consecutive years they can see development and progress of the student. Unfortunately, that opportunity is unfeasible with the limited amount of time.

“I’m just a little disappointed that I have only about 3 weeks to try and establish the same relationship I had 3 years to develop with my old counselor “because of recommendations,” said senior Julia Ferris. “It’s a little stressful that this change came right before college applications are starting.”

For the seniors just meeting their counselor in September and then expecting a quality recommendation after a couple weeks of knowing each other, it seems a little far fetched and unrealistic for both parties.

While I understand that the counseling department is juggling many balls and their job is endless, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to have a new counselor be in charge of underclassmen and veteran counselors who have a better idea of GM students take on seniors for this year.