High School Counselor Week

Immigration enforcement causing trauma and school avoidance, educators and advocates say
K-12 Dive – September 3, 2025
The national increase in immigration enforcement is causing trauma, school avoidance and stress in the new school year, said educators, advocates and a child psychologist last week. Speaking during a virtual press event Thursday, the leaders also shared proactive measures schools are taking to ensure students and families understand the rights of children to attend school regardless of immigration status. In response, schools and districts are offering legal aid, resources and school transportation options to alleviate school attendance fears. There are more than 5 million children born in the U.S. who have a parent lacking permanent legal status.

State Funding for Schools Is a Mess This Year, Too. Here’s Why
Education Week – August 29, 2025
Many school districts’ biggest budget concerns this year have centered on the federal government. But in a number of states, political debates and administrative turmoil are piling distinct and varied challenges on school districts at the start of a new school year.

In the Assault on Education Research, Students are the Victims
NEA Today – August 28, 2025
The Trump administration has decimated the Institute of Education Sciences, the Department of Education’s research division. Students will feel most of the impact. The administration canceled sweeping and impactful education research grants and cut most of the staff, with very few analysts left to conduct research that schools, policy makers, and the public rely upon. Without the research and data analysts to provide it, updated numbers required for formula funding for Title I schools hangs in the balance. Rather than reducing waste, experts say the cuts will create it.

Grieving with Guardrails
Counseling Today – September 1, 2025
In the late 18th century, European newspapers reported a troubling phenomenon: a number of suicide deaths among young men, all dressed in a yellow waistcoat, blue jacket and high boots. The men had all read a new bestselling novel about a character named Werther, who falls deeper and deeper into a despair caused by unrequited love, and at the end of the book dies by suicide. The phenomenon would later be called “The Werther effect.” It was one of the earliest documented examples of suicide contagion, where one death by suicide — even a fictitious one — triggers others, in what’s known as “cluster.” Contagion, while rare, poses a real risk following a death by suicide, and research suggests it may represent thousands of deaths each year. But contagion is preventable. School counselors play a key role in this response. From education to triage, counselors can help protect those most vulnerable to the effects of contagion. And following a student suicide, the most important action school counselors can take to prevent contagion is screening for students at risk, then referring those students to the appropriate mental health resources…

Supporting early intervention and awareness to create career road maps
Times Higher Education – August 21, 2025
In today’s unpredictable world, early intervention in career guidance has never been more essential. When students are met early, heard often and given the tools to explore, counselling becomes a long-term narrative arc. College counselling plays a crucial role in creating a road map that helps students choose pathways rooted in self-awareness, adaptability and reflection. When career awareness begins early and is well aligned throughout the high-school journey, college applications become an organic reflection of their passions and individual voice. This can be cost-effectively integrated into the school experience by using resources already present: teachers, parents and alumni, with technology playing an assistive role. Depending on the context of each school, here are some of the tools this process could include:

5 Skills Teens Need For Future Success In College, Careers, And Beyond
Forbes – September 2, 2025
Today’s teens need skills that go beyond good grades and standardized test scores. The most successful teens aren’t just academically prepared—they’re developing real-world capabilities that give them an edge in college admissions and future careers. Here are five proven ways to help your teen build these essential skills.

Ask Us Anything: Should My Daughter Apply to Colleges We Can’t Afford?
U.S. News & World Report – August 28, 2025
My daughter…has all these big dreams about going to very selective private schools, but we know we can’t afford it. We can manage our state school with some financial aid, but for the schools that are $80,000 or $90,000 a year or more, there’s just no way. So do I discourage her from applying? Or do I let her face that harsh reality if she gets in down the road?

How early should you start thinking about college? Here’s what one counselor suggests.
CBS News Boston – September 3, 2025
For most people, the road to college began in the junior year of high school, but that’s changing. One counselor said some academic decisions that impact applications start as early as freshman year. However, if you’re considering hiring a private college counselor for your child, there are a few red flags to look out for.

Students can’t get into basic college courses, dragging out their time in school
The Hechinger Report – September 2, 2025
Colleges and universities manage to provide courses required for majors, when their students need to take them, only about 15 percent of the time, new research shows — a major reason fewer than half of students graduate on time, raising the amount it costs and time it takes to get degrees. Now, with widespread layoffs and budget cuts on campuses, and as consumers are already increasingly questioning the value of a college education, the problem is expected to get worse.

How Colleges Admit Students Based On Major
The College Investor – August 29, 2025
At some colleges, certain majors can be very impacted, while others are easy to get into. So as you think about where to study, consider the difference between colleges that offer schoolwide admission versus admission to a specific major and what that difference might mean for your acceptance chances.

Supporting religious diversity on campus is a surprising consensus among faculty across the red-blue divide
The Conversation – August 27, 2025
The Templeton Religion Trust funded a recent national survey administered to 1,000 faculty members, asking about their perceptions of university life, including free speech and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, often shortened to simply DEI. The results reveal a striking divergence in perspectives on the often divisive issues of free speech and DEI among faculty, particularly along the red state and blue state divide. Yet, despite their sharp disagreements on other aspects of DEI, both red state and blue state faculty overwhelmingly agree that “colleges and universities should provide support for students of all religious, secular, and spiritual identities and backgrounds.” And both groups similarly reject the notion that “campuses should not concern themselves with religious, secular and spiritual diversity.”

2025-26 FAFSA Will Be Available to Everyone by Dec. 1, U.S. Ed Department Says
The 74 – August 29, 2025
The 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will open for a limited set of students and institutions on Oct. 1, and then the department will make the application available to all students on or before Dec. 1. According to the press release, on Oct. 1, the ED will invite volunteers to participate in the testing period, and over time will make the form available to an increasing number of participants, starting with hundreds and expanding to tens of thousands of applicants. In the coming weeks, the department will release more information about how this testing period will work.

Best Private Student Loans of September 2025
Money – August 28, 2025
Remember that you should always max out undergraduate federal student loans — issued by the U.S. Department of Education — before turning to private student loans. Federal loans are more accessible, and they offer more flexible repayment terms and borrower protections. But a private student loan can help cover your school’s total cost of attendance after you’ve hit the federal borrowing limit and exhausted all other options. To pick the best private student loan lenders, we focused on overall costs (including interest rates and any applicable fees), flexible repayment terms and unique perks or offerings that help a company stand out in a relatively uniform industry.