What Happens to Students?
Many students, especially those with college-educated
parents, will get plenty of advice and considerable help
thinking about different careers and different kinds of postsecondary education, making sure their high school coursework positions them to pursue their goals, and accumulating
the financial resources they will need. In some families, planning for college and career begins the moment a child is born.
But not all students come from families in which college
attendance is routine. Nearly 6 in 10 students in public
schools are from families in which neither parent has
completed college (U.S. Department of Education, 2008).
How does a less-than-optimal counseling process affect the
lives and prospects of such students? Many factors go into a
student’s long-term educational success or failure, so it’s
neither fair nor accurate to blame a lack of good counseling
for student disappointment later in life. Nevertheless, analysis
of the Public Agenda study of young adults reveals some
disturbing patterns that warrant a closer look. These suggest
that students who don’t have access to good counseling are
not making the most advantageous choices about postsecondary education and work.
For example, compared with young people who say their
counselors really made an effort to get to know them, those
who say they felt like “a face in the crowd” when talking with
their high school counselor are
; Less likely to say they chose their college because they
believed that it would help them get a good job on graduation
( 48 percent versus 64 percent).
; Less likely to say that they chose their college on the basis
of financial aid that was offered to them ( 32 percent versus 44
percent).
; More likely to say that they would have gone to a
different college if money were not an issue ( 46 percent versus
35 percent).
; Less likely to say that they chose their college on the basis
of its academic reputation ( 41 percent versus 51 percent).
; Less likely to go to college directly after high school ( 39
percent versus 54 percent).
A Striking Gap in the System
Our mission in reporting these results is not to bash counselors, who in many cases lack the support or time necessary
to assist and counsel students adequately. Instead, our aim is
to focus on a striking gap in the education system—one that
students themselves recognize and take to heart.
When our survey asked young adults to rate a broad array
of different ideas that might help them successfully complete
college and other postsecondary programs, 72 percent said
Resources for Helping Students
Transition to Higher Education
Admission Possible
www.admissionpossible.org
Admission Possible is a nonprofit organization that
provides college advising services to more than 1,400
low-income students in the Minneapolis–St. Paul,
Minnesota, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, metropolitan
regions. Recently praised by President Obama for having
sent 99 percent of its 2008 program participants to
college, Admission Possible assists students in the
college application process by offering after-school
programming focusing on test preparation for the
SAT/ACT college admission exams, intensive support in
preparing college applications, help in obtaining financial
aid, and guidance in the transition to college. The majority
of program staff members are AmeriCorps members, and
most are recent college graduates.
Talent Search
www.ed.gov/programs/triotalent
Talent Search, a federally supported outreach program,
identifies disadvantaged youth who have the potential to
excel in postsecondary education and provides comprehensive services to help them succeed in both secondary
and postsecondary education. Program services include
academic, financial, career, or personal counseling,
including advice on entry or reentry to secondary or postsecondary programs; career exploration and aptitude
assessment; tutorial services; mentoring; information on
postsecondary education; exposure to college campuses;
information on student financial assistance; assistance in
completing college admissions and financial aid applications; assistance in preparing for college entrance exams;
and workshops for participants’ families.
KnowHow2Go
http://knowhow2go.org
Launched in 2007 by the American Council on Education,
Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Ad Council,
KnowHow2Go is a comprehensive multimedia campaign
aimed at students from middle school through 12th
grade. The program provides interactive tools to
encourage students to go to college and to help them
choose the right college, find financial aid, and get help
from adults around them in applying to college.
