College Counseling

Welcome to College Counseling at Baylor

Baylor's College Counseling Office is in the business of enabling students to see a match, and then assisting them in making that match with colleges throughout the application process. We know and understand that parents play an integral role in the college counseling process - after all it is the parent who bears the college expense. Here are just a few general guidelines for parents:

• We fully expect our students to take control of the college search process. As college counselors, it is our duty to provide guidance, offer our advice, ask probing questions, make recommendations and suggestions, provide referrals, and above all, inform our students of the many opportunities that avail them. However, it is the parent's role to guide, encourage, and provide support when needed.
• Parents should have frequent conversations with their son or daughter about the college search process. Those conversations should include distance from home and financial resources as they relate to college.
• Parents should encourage their child to remain involved in extracurricular activities and to enroll in challenging courses, if accessible, but they should not place higher than normal expectations on them. It is okay for students to "reach for the stars"; however, they must also have a list of institutions where they are willing to matriculate, and parents need to offer their support, if they only land on the moon.
• We believe in the ability of all of our students to achieve success but at the same time, we have realistic ideas for college acceptance. If a student decides to accept the challenge and risk of applying to a number of "reach" schools, that is his or her choice; our responsibility is to provide direction of the possible negative outcomes based on past experiences not to make the final decision for the student. In that same regard, parents must join the college counselor and provide supportive advice that is more realistic, as too high of expectations can create numerous psychological issues for the students.

We value the relationships we establish with families in the course of our counseling efforts, and look forward to working with you. Please do not hesitate to contact our office with any questions or concerns.