College Counseling

Assisting students and families through the college preparation and admission process has taken on even greater importance as higher education costs continue to rise. This course will give special attention to training in the college selection process while emphasizing the important issues impacting the profession. Participants will examine the fundamental concepts of setting up a college counseling office, while exploring the personal dimensions of working with families during one of their most crucial transitional experiences.

College counselors have a variety of critical roles in the college admission process. This course provides training in areas of program development, including building successful programs and designing useful resources for students. Various areas of college admissions will be explored, including the early decision debate, testing options, letters of recommendations and building relationships with college admission professionals. Strategies to successfully deal with students, parents and staff will also be addressed.

The final component of the Specialized Certificate in College Counseling allows participants the opportunity to network with colleagues and apply their newly developed skills. Participants will engage in online discussions as well as research and develop a final project. This course is intended for individuals who have completed the first two courses (Principles of College Counseling & College Counseling Strategies) in the UCSD Extension College Counseling Certificate Program. The goal of this last course in the certificate sequence is to allow students to apply their growing knowledge of...

This class is intended to assist the International College Advisor regarding the process of applying to college in the United States. The course covers topics like what admissions officers look for in applications, strategies for self-assessment to find the right university and the logistics of planning and submitting all the necessary elements of an application.

This course is designed for counselors and school psychologists to help students with career planning, leadership development and character development. The school counselor’s role has been redefined as one of leadership within the school counseling model. Following the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) model, this course explores how school counselors can influence systemic change through collaboration with other schools professionals and how to develop a framework for a school counseling program that is preventative in design and developmental in nature.

If you are considering working as an independent educational consultant, understanding the complexities and requirements of a consultant are important. In this class you will utilize your background in college counseling and admission process while acquiring knowledge in the requirements of an independent educational consulting practice. Topics covered include foundational issues of starting a consulting practice, practical steps for launching your practice, working with clients, legal issues, professional development, and general business issues relevant for an independent educational...

A student essay in an application to a college or university is an opportunity to show they can write well and support ideas with logical arguments while revealing their best qualities. A student can demonstrate to the admission committee what makes them stand out from other applicants in a favorable light. As a college counselor, you can guide the writing of an exceptional essay by understanding their importance, what makes them remarkable, and how to edit without taking over. This class will cover the role of the essay in the college application, working with students, tools for...

The potential of all students to achieve academic and career success is a fundamental precept of the 21st century career counselor. The 21st century career counselor is both advocate and leader. This interactive course will engage participants with both research-proven best practices and practical hands-on curriculum. Participants will learn strategies to actively engage the students they counsel in the planning of college and career goals while also teaching them a learning a methodology on how to achieve those goals.

The number of students diagnosed with a learning difference has increased significantly over the past 10-15 years and consequently, the number of students with learning differences is increasing on college campuses. Students with learning differences have a great deal of potential for success at the post-secondary level. However, there are unique considerations when assisting a student with a Learning Difference (LD), ADHD or High Functioning Autism to plan for college. Considerations such as the type and scope of diagnostic testing, college selection, campus support services, use of...

This course will explore ethical considerations for educators advising high school and transfer students applying to college from a variety of perspectives. We will consider formal rules established by professional associations that guide those involved in college and mission counseling, philosophical foundations of a variety of relevant ethical approaches, and concrete practices that college counselors can implement to ensure that they themselves do not run afoul of formal and informal rules governing our profession as well as ways to set boundaries for students and families to ensure that...