The college office is the number one place to get help with signing up for SAT’s, AP sign-ups, or to get approved for dual enrollment courses at Pierce. If Ms. Young or Ms. Betancourt is not available, there are also Peer College Counselors, seniors students, that are available to help other students with college applications or to get information about FAFSA or other items related to preparing for college. These students are there to be an empathizing figure since they are going through the same situation as you.  You may even recognize a friendly face from one of your classes. From PSAT and SAT exams, AP tests, scheduling college representatives and one on one support with career assessments and college applications there is a lot going on in the college office. With all of these things to be in charge of are they able to function properly? We polled seniors to see how effective they felt the college office was.

The answer? Yes.

With an overall positive response, many students believed the College Office was helpful to a certain extent. One student said, “They were helpful but there had been a lot of miscommunication between the PCC’s and the college counselors thus creating a lot of confusion for students.” They also said that college counselors could have better attitudes and be more helpful. Students believe the college counselors should be more excited to help students pursue their college goals and have more accessible workshops. There weren’t too many complaints except for the aforementioned ones. A majority of students said the college office is an extremely important resource that all students should take advantage of. They can help you figure out what to research when it comes to applying to how to apply to colleges. The most important thing to remember is to call schools yourself to get the most accurate information. With 1000’s of options after high school to choose from, college counselors aren’t physically capable of knowing each and everything about specific universities and scholarship opportunities.

The issues our college office faces have more to do with the resources, than with effort or care. Most of their issues can be easily fixed by more funding, starting to helping students from the beginning of their high school careers, and having everybody involved with the college office be trained over summer break so that they can be prepared to answer students questions before the Fall semester begins.

Taft is lucky to have support in the college office, and the students that frequent the space are met with support, resources, and a friendly face. If you haven’t ventured to the college office for help with your application, swing by! They would love to see you.