What does an IEC really think of school counsellors?

Here is the truth: a student cannot undertake their application process without a school counsellor. This relationship is a must. An independent education counsellor (IEC), by contrast, is not a requisite support professional, nor are they a replacement for the school counsellor.

As an IEC, my two most common refrains to students are along these lines:

• “It’s so important that you go and talk to your school counsellor about this issue. They should be able to give you the clarity you need.”
• “If you’re unhappy with this list of schools or the advice that your school counsellor gave, you just need to talk with them and give them the context. At the same time, there are schools on this list that I do agree with.”

IECs: not a replacement for school counsellors

IECs – or the families who hire them – who believe they don’t have to interact with their school counsellor are severely hampering student success. Any IEC who believes they are a replacement for the school counsellor in the way this process unfolds is working for their own ego, not what is best for the student.

Let me repeat that: IECs should be driven by student success, which is inherently linked to the student’s relationship with their school counsellor.

Anyone who calls themselves a counsellor, whether working with a school or independently, typically arrived at the career because they aspired to mentor and empower young people through learning. Our titles might be somewhat different, but without a doubt the goals are the same: to support students and their families as they explore and navigate the transition from high school to university.

Comparing my (short) time as a school counsellor with my (long) time as an IEC, what I enjoy the most is being closely involved in aspects such as recommending books, podcasts, documentaries and summer activities. I love the process of exploring and helping to develop a student’s writing potential. I also enjoy understanding the family dynamics and helping to parse expectations, in order to align parent goals and hopes with student possibilities and interests.

What an IEC cannot do

But there are specific roles that a school counsellor plays that an IEC cannot:

• Writing the counsellor’s letter of recommendation
• Helping to support and gather teachers’ letters of recommendation
• Providing the student and family with specific data about the school’s prior admissions trends, including who has applied where, what their profile was, and whether their application was successful.

The first two are vital. A student’s application will not be deemed complete until the counsellor and teacher forms are submitted. Equally, it’s illustrative of just how important the relationship between the student and their school counsellor and teachers is. A counsellor or teacher can write only what they know.

Number three is also critical, in that the school counsellor has particular insight into these trends and statistics from past years, as well as an understanding of what the current year group looks like and how each student fits within that group.

What an IEC can do

Meanwhile, IECs can offer some particular types of support:

• Greater focus on the storytelling aspect of application essays
• Specific advice for students applying to creative programmes, such as film, fashion, design and music, or for student-athletes who are being actively recruited by universities
• Specialist support for students with learning challenges, including knowledge of which universities and colleges offer particular accommodations
• Knowledge of unusual programmes of study, such as accelerated medical entry
• Broad experience with the Fafsa (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
• Offering a second opinion on the schools or options that a school counsellor has given the student.

This last one brings us to the biggest problem between the two professions: when they work against each other. This is not necessary.

In fact, the IEC can support the process that the school counsellor is managing, traditionally taking some of the stress off the plate of the counsellor by making sure that the student is hitting the appropriate deadlines and communicating effectively with their school counsellor.

Any IEC worth the title should make the school counsellor more confident that the process is being undertaken with care and consideration – not contradicting and undercutting any input being offered.

We can all make each other better – which enables us to provide better advice to the students and young adults with whom we work.