Mrs. Hamrick’s Counselor Corner

This article covers a study that researched what type of student is most likely to graduate from college.  It covers some very important points, including, once again, that high grades, participation (and success) in AP’s, and living on campus all contribute to a high success rate in college.

Welcome back!  I hope that Spring Break was a relaxing and safe time off for everyone.    Now that we’ve rested and gotten refreshed, it’s the time to really buckle down and work hard to bring up any grades that might not be where you want them to be.  This is NOT the time to coast.  If you are failing a course, you need to speak with your teacher TODAY about what you need to do to improve.  If you haven’t been going to tutoring or getting help from someone, don’t expect that things will get better by just sheer desire.  I love the phrase that is so common in counseling – “if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.”  Basically, we can apply this thought in this way: if what you’ve been doing hasn’t worked,  you need to try something else. 

 You may even want to set up (or have your parents set up) a parent teacher conference.  To do this, just speak, or have your parents, contact that teacher and arrange a time.  If you have several teachers to coordinate, contact your counselor and we’ll set up a time for everyone to meet. 

Hopefully, this will help matters and you’ll sail into the summer with a stellar report card.  However, sometimes things just don’t go as hoped and there comes a need for credit recovery.  What should you do in this case??

The first option is summer school.  Some general information can be found on the Oakwood HS webpage.  We will be getting registration materials in the next week, so if there is a class that you need to make up or something you’d like to take to get ahead, come see your counselor for the information.  This year, SS will be at Walton and the dates will run from June 11 – July 9.  Cost is $300 for 1/2 credit and $600 for a full credit (not cheap, I know!  More motivation to pass those classes…).  I’ll post this info on the guidance webpage when we receive the materials and we’ll also be making announcements.

E-High School is another option.  If you want to make up math credits through E-High School, they are offering a longer session and registration is going on currently.  These classes begin in April and end in July.  All other classes will begin in late May after school is out and end in July.  Visit the E-High School webpage for more information and to sign up.  Please keep in mind that E-High School is best for those of you who are self-motivated and can dedicate yourselves to working hard every day without a teacher “making” you do the work.  Many students have all the best intentions and end up not succeeding because they fail to realize the dedication it takes to do well.  In all honesty, if you are a procrastinator, you would probably do better with summer school.

Lastly, I want to make you aware of a new credit-recovery program that is being offered by the state through Georgia Virtual High School.  The cost is $200 per half credit and it is a self-paced program that you do at home on your own computer.  The program is only available to students who have failed a course, so this might be a good option for some.  For more information, visit the GA Credit Recovery webpage.  To register, see your counselor.

This is the time of year that our 12th graders develop the very hazardous characteristic called “senioritis.”  Some may have caught it as early as the fall and, frighteningly enough, as we are working on meeting with our juniors for advisement, there are even some 11th graders who exhibit early signs.  It is a classic occurrence among students on the verge of graduating to a new stage of life, but there is danger in allowing it to progress to the point that the student completely stops working or majorly slacks off, believing that his/her grades are under control, they’ve been accepted into their college of choice, or they just want an excuse to get lazy.  But, what many students need to realize is that the college will be reevaluating their transcript after they graduate to make sure that they’ve continued in the manner by which they were accepted.  In the same way, juniors should also be very careful that they choose courses for their senior year very carefully.  If they have taken honors courses all along and at the last minute decide to drop down to on-level, the admissions counselors will notice.  Yes, they will notice.  This is why we emphasize the importance of course and level choice.

 If a student appears to have misrepresented him or herself as a hard worker and committed to education and then presents grades or courses that are well below their typical caliber, the college may become suspect.  I have personally seen letters from UGA admissions asking that the student explain why their grades dropped, asking for a prompt letter in response.  And, in some rare occurrences, students have had their acceptances withdrawn.  This is no joke – if you take a look at your admission letter, it probably states something to the effect that the student has been “conditionally accepted” pending receipt of the final transcript.  I call this the “senioritis clause” (although there are many other reasons a students’ grades can drop – illness, death of close family member, catastrophic event, etc.  Typically, an explanation in regards to one of these reasons would be excusable).  Do you really think that an admissions counselor would be sympathetic toward a student who gave an explanation similar to this: “Dear admissions office, The reason my grades dropped during the spring semester of my senior year is that I developed a very strong case of senioritis.  I just could not bring myself to work!  You know how it is…”?  Obviously not. 

And this isn’t all just for admissions purposes.  Recall that college is HIGHER education.  College is harder (in most instances) than high school.  Does the logic fit that you should slack off a few months before you will be studying harder than you’ve ever studied before?  Students need to be prepared and ready for the challenges ahead of them.  Athletes – do you spend all your time before the season starts laying around, eating junk food in front of the tv, thinking, “I’m going to be really busy and will be working hard in the next few months, so I’m going to veg while I can!”  Most good athletes I know, anyway, are training, conditioning, working out, etc. so they can become better.  Same rules apply to going to college.  But you all know this already! 

 Anyway, I say all this to introduce an article that I found that addresses this topic from the collegiate perspective so you’ll know that I’m not just spouting a bunch of nothing.   Enjoy!