Acceptance By David Marcus

I've just finished another book that should be on the 'must read' list for students and parents/guardians as they begin the college search. In Acceptance, author David Marcus profiles Gwyeth 'Smitty' Smith in his final year before retirement as a guidance counselor in Oyster Bay, New York. The book talks about his philosophy on college admissions and profiles a few of his students as they go through the application process.

As a new counselor to the profession, I was relieved to find that almost all of Smitty's suggestions and opinions are in line with my own. He too worked to increase the visibility of the ACT and recommended all students try both before deciding which one was best for them. He also believes that less is more and that the ideal size for a college list is more like 8, not 18. He encourages students to view the college process as a way to not just pick a school, but to discover themselves. The goal being for students to figure out what things they value most, what the colleges value most, and make decisions based on fit not brand name, rank, or name recognition in your community. The best college counselors don't tell students where to apply, they help them discover it on their own.

A few things in the book did make me sad though. Or maybe sad isn't the right word, jealous is probably better. Smitty had a caseload of about 30 seniors. Next year I will have somewhere around 139. (**In all fairness, he was a guidance counselor not just a college counselor so he also had to divide his time into working with the underclassmen on his caseload. I'm exceedingly lucky to work in a school where I can devote 100% of my time to the college process. I wouldn't want to trade that, even if the senior class was two or three hundred.) Smitty also co-taught an essay writing class elective during the school day. A class like that wouldn't work at ElRo (aside from not having a teaching license, I use many periods a day to have student meetings, if I was also in a classroom my brain would overflow.) but it did illustrate how students can come to love writing if they really are willing to work at it. Though we can't offer a class, I do think students can still utilize the strategies they taught in their own revisions. The last thing I am jealous of is the encyclopedic knowledge Smitty had of so many different schools. But just like in the book, Smitty's response to that would be to point to his greying temples and remind me that he's "old." I'll get there, one counselor tour and NACAC conference at at time.

Long story short, in addition to my previous recommendations here here and here, add Acceptance to your reading list.

In other news, save the date for next week's PTA meeting, Back From The Trenches on Thursday at 6:00 pm.