Most people do not realize all that the school counselor does for college admissions for our students. It goes well beyond writing the letter of recommendation.

It starts with academic advising in middle school and then each year in high school. Then it transitions to scheduling and making the master schedule work. Along with knowing which courses the student will succeed in, that also puts them up there with others to be considered for admissions.

We also have to navigate the tears when the student is overwhelmed and being strong but caring when they want to take a certain class over another.

Without doing these things well, many of our students wouldn’t have some of the opportunities that they do. We truly are the unsung heroes for our students. Hoping for good results with all of the early decision results being released soon and admission decisions in general.

Hello! I am looking for documentaries that may be helpful for high school students that will be first generation college students. We have watched Fail State that discusses for profit universities. Know of anything similar that could be helpful? Or documentaries that you think high school students should see?

Hi fellow school counselors!

I hope you are having a decent year and had a good thanksgiving break.

I have kind of an off topic question and I am just curious as to what other people's POV is.

My husband and I are wanting to start having kids, hopefully giving birth in Spring of 2026. By then I will have completed my third year as an elementary school counselor. I do really like my job and I think that I am at a really great school. My issue is that with childcare prices being the way they are, we are going to be stretched really thin. It is doable otherwise we wouldn't have kids.

My thought process is that maybe I take a year or two off and try to get some kind of remote job so that I can stay at home with my future child. Or possibly getting a full time nannying job that is okay with me bringing my child. We can't live off of one salary, so I have to work. My issue with this is then I lose out on being at my current school and will have to start over again somewhere else and there's always a risk of either not getting a job or getting a job at a school that turns out to be one I don't like. Sure it's possible that my school will have an opening when I come back but I obviously doubt that and can't count on it.

So my questions are as follows, has anyone experienced taking some time off of being a counselor? What did it look like to reenter the field after leaving for a bit? What job did you do when you were at home, if any? Is it worth it to just bite the bullet and pay for the child care?

Hi all. I’ve been a school counselor for 10 years and I’m feeling the burn out/lack of love for my job. What are some other careers people have gotten into?

Hi everyone, I am doing a group proposal for a class project. The client population is female adolescents (age range 12-16) that have experienced sexual abuse.

Has anyone worked on this specific topic with students or clients (if previously clinical mental health counselor)? If so, could you provide any pointers for this type of project? or digital resources you may have used when providing this type of group or any planned activities that could be done with this age group?

One of my assignments in college requires me to create an advocacy project. I’m supposed to advocate for a policy or program change to support the students well being and identify an area of need and an idea that came to mind was advocating for teachers dealing with stress and burnouts but I wasn’t sure if that can correlate with a students well being?

I figured since teachers play such a big role in a students life, it’s important to help teachers as well.

If that doesn’t correlate with supporting a students well being then any other ideas come to mind???

Greetings everyone! Are there any Metro Atlanta school counselors here? I ask because I am looking to move to the area and would like to know what your experiences are based on the areas you're in

Hello,

I’m currently a Sophomore in high school and I know absolutely nothing about what colleges specifically look for and or take into account so I thought it was appropriate to ask about this here to see if anyone knows anything regarding this situation. I’m not going to get too specific into the class but basically the class is dedicated to making the schools yearbook and may I say the class is not great. The teacher is awful, too many schedule conflictions, awful environment, and additionally it’s not what I thought I had signed up for. I’m planning on potentially going to college for and going into a design related field and was wanting to know would dropping this class conflict with that in any aspects?

Does anyone know anything about this program? I know it's not a CACREP program (it is CAEP accredited), but outside of that it seems too good to be true in terms of affordability, flexibility, and number of credits (48 vs. 60). I am a HS teacher looking to make a switch in a state that doesn't require a CACREP program and really don't want more student loans after having paid off my previous loans. Thank you!

Hello everyone!

My amazing wife just got her first gig as a student counselor and she is beyond excited.

Her birthday is coming up next week and I would love to give her a gift(s) that is counselor oriented. Any recommendations?

What jobs did you guys work that didn’t include ABA to help you get into your grad program for counseling? I did ABA for a few years and I can’t see myself doing it again rn during school 🥲

Hello, everyone. I am a certified school counselor in WV. My family plans to move to NYC this spring, and I want to establish employment there. I checked the pathways to certification for out-of-state applicants from the NYSED website, but I am a little confused about the process. In WV, when I applied for a school counselor position, the district BOE assisted me with my certification. I wonder if that is also the case in NYC. Will I be considered for the position with out-of-state certification and apply after, or must I apply for certification prior to applying for a position?

Has anyone who got initially certified in Texas moved to Minnesota, Maryland, or Virginia and worked as a school counselor? Was it difficult to get certified in the new state? What educator prep program(s) did you attend for your teaching and counseling degrees? Please feel free to share any and all info regarding your journey!

Yay, it's Friday! To celebrate share one (or more!) thing that made you smile this week. This could be a school counseling "win" (big or small!), a moment of connection with a student, something that made you laugh, or anything else that made you feel all warm and fuzzy this week. :-)

Our job comes with a lot of hard. Let's take some time to be intentional about our joy.

Hi! I’m a college student that was accepted as an intern next spring at a local high school’s counseling office. If any of you have had interns, tell me things you loved/hated/wished they did! Thanks everyone ❤️

I was just wondering if anyone has or has a plan to “move up”/make more money—whatever that looks like for you. Are there skills that school counselors have that they can take to other sectors and make more money? Or ways that we can move up in schools and make more money? I’m asking because I’ve gone from elementary, middle school and CMH into high school counseling and I’m thinking about possibly working towards a phd and teaching/counseling in college or taking my skills somewhere international. I know others might plan to go into admin or school psych maybe? School counseling seems like the type of profession that you just get and never really “move up” anywhere, you just burn out and “move on.”

Anyone else who has or is planning to grow professionally with school counseling and how?

I got my first check, just saw the pay stub, and wow, the taxes taken from it were about half of the income itself.

I’m feeling a little frustrated because I made about the same amount of money as I did when I worked two part time jobs. I was really looking forward to only working on full time job, but looks like I’ll have to find a second job again.

MSW student interning for a k-8 school district providing ERMHS. I have mostly boys on my caseload and I would do a session focused on psychoeducation + talk therapy and a game the next session. Uno and Jenga with prompts about socioemotional topics have been used to death and need more ideas.

What are some of the games that are both fun and still have that psychoeducational aspect to it?

In my grad program, we've been using Solution-Focused and Narrative, and also learning about Motivational Interviewing. I'm more of an EFT person myself, but that's not really in the same brief counseling style.

Hi, I’m parent with a seventh grader. Just wanted to know….if I ask the counselor, whom my daughter sees regularly, are they able to tell me what they discussed? I’m not talking about anything life-threatening. Or are they required to keep what my daughter says confidential? In PA, US

Hi everyone, I’m a first semester school counseling graduate student looking to interview someone in a school counseling position (doesn’t matter how long) for a class project. The project consists of 14 quick questions about your position and overall experience as a school counselor and can be emailed to you for convenience. I would truly appreciate any help I can get!

Original post here

In September/October I interviewed for two jobs I was really excited about within the same organization and I was offered one of them in October. I accepted that job and started in November. It's a good job and I'm much happier here than I was at my last job. I definitely made the right choice by quitting when I did and everything worked out okay in the end. Just wanted to give everyone a positive update! :)

Hi everyone. I’m in a graduate program for school counseling (based in California) and currently doing my internship hours. I want to try to take the exam by February just in case I don’t pass and will give myself enough time to take it again if needed. However I want to be as prepared as possible and pass the first time!! I need a 146 to pass so if anyone has taken this exam and has any suggestions on any materials they used to study please let me know! Thank you! (Also just ordered the red ASCA book 4th edition as I’ve seen a lot of people on here say that book was helpful)

I am in a graduate program and I have to interview a School Counselor for an assignment to get first-hand knowledge and experience of the counseling profession. If anyone would be willing to answer a few questions, I would greatly appreciate it. This is informal and can be done over the phone, zoom, or if you prefer I email the questions and you write back, that is fine too. I appreciate any help any can offer. 

I had a student come in at the end of the day yesterday with information that certainly flirted the line with potential child abuse. After letting it sit for a couple of hours, I decided to make the call given that if I am 1% worried, I should 100% call.

Given that it was the end of the day and the child was safe (he was with his other parent and did not have safety concerns) he went home for Thanksgiving break. Normally I do tell students when I have to make a DSS report, and he knows the stipulations of when I have to, but I was unable to have that conversation before he left for break.

The student is emotionally volatile, and I really am the only adult he trusts which makes this worse. I feel like I am about to blow that trust to ash, but I felt like I had to make the call, and that has to take priority.

Should I wait until break until to notify the student, or should I try and let him know via our staff/ student communication. Obviously in person feels better, but waiting until after the report feels awful too.

Rock and hard place… let me know what you would do as my fellow colleagues.

Hey everyone! I am currently a senior in college who is receiving a minor in counseling.

For one of my class assignments, we must interview someone in the human services profession - this can be a counselor, social worker, psychologist, etc.

I am reaching out to see if anyone would be interested in a quick interview over zoom or over the phone sometime before December 3rd. (I am also happy to just dm/email!)

The interview will consist of questions regarding your educational background, work experience, typical work day, etc. and will not take longer than 30 minutes!

Thank you so much for your time!

I graduate in 2 weeks & I’m barely excited. I worked so hard for this degree but cannot find a job for the life of me. My Resume & Cover Letter have been reviewed by my site supervisor & we sat down & completed it together. I have sent my Resume & Cover Letter to the Principals but no one will interview me. Principals have called my Site Supervisor but never follow up with me afterwards for an Interview. Yes I’ve reached out the people who are over subbing for my current county as well.. I can’t even get my foot in the door in any county.. & I’ve started applying to food services at this point because I need a job badly.

I'm actually a school psych but the way the school psych and counselor roles are structured in my district, I do a lot of 1:1 counseling and small groups. Plus testing and such. But most days I feel more like a school counselor. Anyway, I am at an elementary school and it darn near seems like every time I pop into a class to grab a student or even pass by a class walking in the hallway I'm flooded (harassed? 😅) with "how come you never take me?!" "when can I come with you?" "it's not fair that Z always gets to go with you and I don't!!!" "can I come with you later today?" questions/comments.

I always struggle with this question because I'm not just meeting with students for fun, there's a reason they are seeing me lol but I'm not sure kids understand that and how do you explain that to a 1st grader without compromising the other student's confidentiality? I want students to see me as a resource/person to talk to if needed, but I really and truly don't have the time to see kids just for fun :(

In a private message though.

I’ve been in this business long enough to realize that my style is not for every student. Nor are other counselors’ styles for every student.

I understand that some students may feel more comfortable talking to a counselor of a certain gender and others it may make no difference.

I understand that there may be other commonalities that make the counseling relationship more comfortable with a different counselor.

Recently, I’ve been finding that there’s a new colleague who wants to meet with my students, but when their students want to meet with me…the students are scared to even say hello to me.

It’s never bothered me when a student prefers another counselor over me. In fact, it keeps me humble and wanting to improve.

Today, I saw a student in passing who I was a counselor for during part of last school year because we had a resignation and had to pick up parts of the caseload. She stopped and waived and just looked at me. I told her that she could come into the office. She seemed apprehensive.

I made small talk and she told me that she’s asked to see me many times, but the new counselor refuses to let the student see me. I reiterated that she can see me any time she wants.

It really bugs me that a student has a positive connection with a fellow counselor and someone is too insecure to do what is best for the student.

When something is mentioned about meeting with other students to my colleague, it is almost always a passive aggressive response and there’s almost always a comment about them being liked. I swear, they are insecure themselves.

I’m just wondering how others handle these situations?