New to College Counseling? Resources to Help You Get Started!

By Andrew Palmer – International School Counselor Association Task Force Member & Director of Counseling at Dulwich College Suzhou

Whether you are new to the profession of school counseling, or you’ve recently started working in a high school setting, the skills and knowledge required for guiding international students through the university research and application process can be overwhelming! With so many different pathways for students, and what seems to be an endless amount of institutional knowledge to comprehend, where is the best place to start? This article provides you a variety of practical resources, both paid and free, to help you kick start your journey as a high school counselor.

 (*Note – there are thousands of books and resources on this topic. I cannot detail them all in one article, but please feel free to share any additional links/resources you believe to be important in the comment section below).

Paid Resources: (The following paid resources primarily focus on US Higher Education).

1)   National Association for College Admission Counselling (NACAC) Fundamentals of College Admission Counseling 5th Edition - $69.99 USD

a.    This textbook is used in many graduate level counseling degree programs, and has chapters on Standardized Testing, Financial Aid, First Gen Students, Tech Tools for the Savvy School Counselor, and much more.

2)   College Counseling Sourcebook 7th Edition (The College Board) - $25.00 USD

a.    This PDF resource from the College Board includes everything from essay writing and recommendation letters to activities regarding college and career readiness. The Sourcebook also includes nearly 100 photo-copy ready handouts that can be used with students, parents, and in your guidance lessons.

3)   The Fisk Guide to Colleges – Ranging from $15.00-$25.00 USD

a.    For more than 30 years the Fisk Guide to Colleges has been providing detailed school profiles for institutions of higher education in the US. The Fisk Guide can be a powerful tool by helping students to consider a variety of fit factors in their research.

4)   Rugg’s Recommendations - $25.00

a.    The Rugg’s guide is another great university research tool in PDF form. Rugg’s is unique in that it provides both statistical testing information regarding US universities, while helping counselors to search for options based on majors and level of institutional selectivity.

Free Resources

1)   NACAC - Guide to International University Admission

a.    This 104-page document provides a wealth of information regarding university systems around the world. Including information on admissions requirements, deadlines, applications fees, housing, visa regulations, and much more. This is a fantastic starting place to broaden your understanding on country specific considerations, in addition to other pertinent information for international students.

2)   NACAC - Guide to the College Admission Process

a.    This guide is US focused, and has 14 chapters discussing many aspects of the research and application process. This PDF document also has two appendices that can be printed out for immediate use with students.

3)   Concourse Global

Concourse Global is an organization that partners with universities, counselors and students around the world to increase communication between all parties through their free online software.

a.    They created a free PDF resource and associated wiki page which they call the Common College Counseling Curriculum (C4).

i.    C4 Link - PDF, ii.    C4 Link - Wiki

4)   Bridge U

Bridge U is university and careers guidance platform. Currently, they are developing a wide range of free resources for counselors, in addition to useful blog articles.

a.    Ultimate Guide to studying in the USA (also pdf downloadable)

b.    How to Master and Manage International University Applications 2019-2020 (email required for a free PDF copy)

c.    The New Counselors Survival Guide (email required for a free PDF copy)

Curriculum Specific Resources

Here are a few websites that provide further context about how universities view the various curriculum options out there. Depending on which one is utilized in your school, you’ll find some helpful resources below. 

1)   International Baccalaureate (IBO)

2)   Advanced Placement (AP)

a.    Global Higher Education Recognition of SAT and AP

b.    AP Credit Search at US Universities

3)   Cambridge Assessments (O, AS, A Levels)

Community Engagement

No matter how many years of experience and resources you have in your toolbox, there is no possible way to know everything (and that is Ok)! However, it is great to know that there are other counselors both locally and in the larger professional community that can fill in the gaps by answering questions or providing additional resources. For example, through collaborative efforts we benefit from shared resources such as this spreadsheet for worldwide university research as created by our friends at Seoul Foreign School.

Other ways you can connect with counselors around the world are through blogs, large group messaging services (such as the International ACAC WeChat group), and Facebook communities, such as our ISCA Forum FB Page.

College Counseling and the Comprehensive Model

Finally, it is important to understand that college counseling is just one piece of the comprehensive counseling model. To help assess where your school is in this process, take some time to review the “International Model for School Counseling Programs,” and utilize the ISCA Scope and Sequence to help determine how this can further fit within your school counseling curriculum.

Also, in hopes to keep this conversation going, please add a comment/link below to share additional resources that you believe will help jumpstart a new college counselor!