How to Have a Successful Meeting With Your College Counselor

Meeting with your college counselor or advisor is key to ensuring you stay on track to graduate. You can check in with them about what classes to take, how to maintain a high GPA, what you will need to succeed in specific classes, and more. Here’s how to use the time you have with your counselor or advisor efficiently and effectively!

Set an agenda 

Every successful meeting has an agenda! Before your meeting, write down important things you want/need to cover with your advisor. What questions do you have for them? What progress have you made on things you talked about in your last meeting? What do you need to figure out together to ensure you're on track? Having these things in mind will make your meeting go smoother. 

Bring relevant documents and notes to the meeting

Come prepared with any relevant documents, notes, or insights. If you’ve worked on your class schedule ahead of time, be sure to bring it. Your counselor will appreciate the work you’ve done to prepare and can help with scheduling conflicts, waitlist options, or other specific details.

Take notes 

Write down the answers to your questions or any other important bits of information. This will help you retain information and you can run to your next class on time without forgetting anything important!

Leave the meeting with action items

It’s pretty rare to leave a meeting with all the answers. Once you start talking you’ll find that you have more questions that may require more time to answer, so be sure to leave the meeting with action items. These could be things like looking for and completing documents, doing some research, or checking in with a professor or your family for input on important decisions.

Follow up after 

After the meeting, follow up in an email with any action items or clarifying questions. You may even consider proposing a follow-up meeting to go over anything new or time-bound. Always remember to thank them for their time and guidance!

Quick tips for virtual meetings

If your meeting will be over the phone or via video call, here are tips to ensure it goes smoothly:

• Find a quiet place or let your household know you will be in a meeting and would appreciate it if they could be quiet
• Be aware of the background in your video or set a virtual background
• Wear headphones or a headset if you have one (test it first!)
• Reduce or turn off any streaming services to help with the quality of the video
• Practice using the video call program and screen sharing with a classmate
• Be patient and encouraging while everyone learns virtual meetings

Any questions about having a great meeting with your college counselor? Text #Hello to 33-55-77!