Effectively Preparing Students for University

In this article, Yu Huang shares some tips and advice with readers who are interested in creating an effective college counseling program at school

During my career as a college counselor, I have counseled over 500 students on the college process, taught classes in college preparation to high school students, and provided workshops for parents. Last August, I began my second masters program in Childhood Studies with the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning in Norway, where I majored in Social Work and earned my master’s in Social Science. After my first masters graduation I worked at an international high school as a college counselor in China. Working as a school counselor is both enjoyable and educational. I play an integral role in preparing high school students to pursue their university goals.

Preparing for university is important for every student. However, talking with students about life after graduation can be challenging – most often students only have a narrow concept of ‘going to college’, but few of them have a clear understanding of choosing a school or country, or how to live alone at university.

• Firstly, how to achieve effective studying techniques and to attain good time management are top challenges for most of my students. In the last year of high school, many students have found that there is not enough time  for them to prepare for regular exams at school, attend extracurricular activities, schedule tests and write application essays. This situation may also continue to occur when students enroll at university, where they expect students to maintain their own schedules and develop good study habits.
• Secondly, the students may face transition issues, such as being independant, feeling homesick or unaccommodated in new countries. They may miss previous routines at high school and the culture of their home country.
• Thirdly, exploring career options and achieving effective career planning is also a challenge for students, especially for first generation students.
• Finally, students need to figure out many things in university, such as course selection, tuition fee budget, and building new friendships or relationships from a variety of backgrounds. In addition, roommates could be one of the challenges for students because new roommates often have different lifestyles when they come from different countries or backgrounds, although many students have roommates at high school. 

In many areas of university teaching, there is a disconnect between university staff expectations and student capacity, which is frequently linked to students' lack of preparedness. Student's apparent lack of skills at university level are not only related to learning skills like arranging their study time and studying independently, but also to their ability to solve social life problems. Counselors who work with students around planning for life after graduation should provide them with a larger picture of the world, such as the job market, destination country culture, and to help students see how their background might become a challenge when trying to fit in. In addition, the college readiness course at high school can also increase student’s college readiness opportunities, as well as help develop a school-wide culture that promotes college readiness.

1. Create weekly or monthly college readiness courses for G9-G12 students at school, especially for the G12 students. These comprehensive courses should involve the college application process, course selection, university information, career planning and time management skills. For example, teaching students to use career tools (https://www.onetonline.org/) and explore their future careers. After receiving an offer in their last semester at school, students and their parents should also be invited to attend courses or workshops regarding destination country culture and campus life.
2. Explore the alumni resources (workshops, alumni story sharing, etc.) and encourage students to reach out to the alumni who were sophomores or juniors. Peer support may release the pressure from students who haven’t visited the university physically. Furthermore, staff at school can provide a useful experience as alumni resources if students are interested in their graduate program.
3. Coordinate the college visit and the digital information session for the university. I would recommend that the high school organize the trips for students to visit college campuses. During the trip, students have a chance to observe the campus life and interact with college students. The digital information sessions are also useful for students to get a better understanding of the university.
4. Increase families’ financial awareness and assist students with applying for financial aid. Counselors should inform students and their parents about the cost of college early on in the process. Sometimes, the tuition fees are higher than families expect, and schools should be prepared for parent’s lack of financial awareness. 

This paper suggests that high school counselors need to identify the main challenge of students early in order to better prepare students and parents for college. As a counselor, the best that we can do is to keep ourselves informed of how the future of education and the future of the world are changing. We also have a responsibility to know what the job market looks like or how we can help students to develop their talents. 

https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator College Navigator (National Center for Educational Statistics)

https://www.collegedata.com College Data

www.CollegeBoard.com College Board

https://www.cappex.com Cappex

https://www.niche.com

The Best 385 Colleges, Princeton Review, 2020 edition

Fiske Guide to Colleges