TWIFT | Lifestyle | How to Become a College Counselor ‒ 2021 Guide

How to Become a College Counselor ‒ 2021 Guide

Have you always wanted to help young people? Are you interested in social science and psychology? If the answers are “yes”, then you should think of becoming a College Counselor. The college counselor is the person who supports and guides the post-secondary students through their first year. Thanks to the College Counselor students can adapt easier and reach their full potential. In this article, you’ll find everything to know about How to Become a College Counselor in 2021.

college counselor
Steps to Become a College Counselor

Before we dive deeper into the check-list of what it takes to become a college counselor, let’s take a better look at the profession itself. 

What is a college counselor?

As it was said earlier, the counselor is a guide for young people on their new path of study. Counselors work in a few distinctive ground divisions, including admissions, financial aid, career services, and academic advising. Some represent considerable authority in treating psychological wellness problems which are typical for the school-age youth. For example, sadness, uneasiness, anorexia, and substance abuse. 

A college counselor is a profession with a very low percent of joblessness (2.2%). For 2019, the U.S. News and World Report positioned College counselors as the 63rd best occupation. This article will help you in joining the 291,700 school instructors and become a college counselor yourself. 

college counselor

What does a college counselor do?

For a better understanding of the counselor’s job, we’ll take it from a student’s perspective and go from the opposite. When the student first meets a counselor, is at the very beginning of education, when the young one needs help with applying to the school and enrolling in classes. This is the admission adviser. He/She’ll make sure the student knows everything or at least knows who to ask for additional information. 

Next, the student needs to settle his loans and scholarship questions. The financial aid advisor is the person the student needs. The financial aid advisor’s goal is to give the student a clarified understanding and if needed to fill different forms of financial content. 

Later on, the student will have access to an academic advisor, who will help select courses or a major. Also, the academic advisor makes sure every student is staying on track for graduation and getting support if struggling in a class. 

Though all of these roles are essential for a student, they are not college counselors. 

The college counselors take it deeper in a social level of bonding. For every university, there is a different vector of dedication. Usually, universities have counseling centers that employ licensed counselors, social workers, and/or psychologists to help students experiencing emotional difficulties, depression, mental illness, substance abuse, or other personal problems. Every college will entail different responsibilities for their college counseling centers.

To sum up what a college counselor does:

  1. College counselors engage in consulting and prevention programming. The degree to which they offer these services varies by college or university.
  2. Counselors often present to various faculty groups and classes on issues related to mental illness, wellness, or how to refer a student to counseling services.
  3. Prevention training is also offered by many counseling centers. This includes specific training to police officers, resident advisors, orientation leaders, and student leaders (e.g., athletic, Greek life, activities).

college counselor
How to become a college counselor?

  1. For a start, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in a behavioral, social science field, or another field. These four-year programs need in any event 120 semester credits at schools or colleges. Understudies center their Bachelor of Arts or Science in explicit zones called majors. Most advisors start with studies in the human administration field, for example, brain science, social science, social work, and conduct wellbeing.
  2. Earn a master’s degree in counseling, psychology, or social work. Admission teams might require prerequisite courses, references, interviews, and essays too. It’s best to apply to schools accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
  3. Complete graduate and postgraduate internship experience for licensure requirements.
  4. Pass any required exams and apply for licensure.
  5. Apply for and earn additional certifications.
  6. Continue your education and stay up to date on college counseling trends and changes.


What is the average salary for a college counselor in the US?

PercentileSalary
25th Percentile Private College Counselor Salary$63,253
50th Percentile Private College Counselor Salary$73,003
75th Percentile Private College Counselor Salary$84,195
90th Percentile Private College Counselor Salary$94,385

college counselor
Character traits a College Counselor needs

  1. Strong analytical skills

A school advisor should be acceptable at examining an individual’s fitness and character characteristics and matching them with a few professional choices that profit by those abilities.

  1. Ability to demonstrate compassion

Students in college are often under a lot of stress. They may be concerned about how their loans are going to be paid back. They may be nervous or have personal problems with the job market. The college counselor will need to be sensitive to the individual situation of each student.

  1. Strong interpersonal skills

These professionals deal with a wide variety of types of personalities, and they must be able to interact with all types of people effectively.

  1. Excellent listening skills

To understand where the student is coming from and what their issues are, they should be able to fully focus their attention on the student.

  1. Speaking skills.

The counselor must be able to provide information easy and understandable so that it resonates with every student. 

college counselor

Work ethics for College Counselors

A wide range of instructors, including school advisors, need to follow the calling’s set up morals rules. Most schools and colleges likewise have a set of principles that are needed for all workers to follow. 

A major piece of expert morals includes keeping up the understudy’s classification. The data given by the understudy to the guide ought not to be imparted to any other person except if the understudy has given composed and educated assent. This implies that the guide can’t impart by and by recognizable data to their associates, colleagues, office secretary, companions, or any other individual. 

The main time any close to home data can be shared is in a circumstance that must be accounted for by law. School guides are commanded journalists in certain spots. A permitted case of what a school guide could tell their associate is, “An understudy is keen on turning into a disease transmission specialist. Is there a senior disease transmission specialist or any other individual at the state wellbeing division who may know about accessible temporary job openings inside that organization?” A prohibited case of a conversation with an associate is, “This understudy, First Name Last Name, revealed to me they don’t care for Professor Smith.”

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Benefits of College Counselors in Universities 

  • improved correspondence and relational abilities 
  • more prominent self-acknowledgment and confidence 
  • capacity to change reckless practices/propensities 
  • better articulation and the executives of feelings, including outrage 
  • alleviation from wretchedness, uneasiness, or other emotional wellness conditions 
  • expanded certainty and dynamic abilities 
  • capacity to oversee pressure adequately 
  • improved critical thinking and compromise capacities


college counselor

Conclusion

College is a very unique time in a person’s life. Some students are young and away from home for the first time. Other students are going back to school with familial responsibilities. Regardless of students’ reasons for attending college, lessons learned and obstacles overcome can provide opportunities for emotional growth and maturity. The college experience can also include issues and events that bring about overwhelming stress and psychological problems that affect the personal life and academic performance of the student. Counseling services are designed to assist students with both addressing difficulties encountered and promoting greater overall wellness.

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