High school counselors may focus on academic advising or emotional support, though some counselors may serve students in both academics and social issues. Academic advisors, also known as college counselors, follow a student’s classes and grades over their high school career to create goals for what the student plans to do after high school. Based on these goals, academic advisors work with the student to ensure they take the proper classes and meet grade point average (GPA) requirements. You may also suggest extracurricular activities, volunteer opportunities, and leadership opportunities to bolster their transcript.
Support counselors work with students experiencing disciplinary or attendance issues, getting poor grades, or having other emotional problems affecting them. These counselors meet with the student and parents to find the cause of the problem and help determine a course of action to resolve them. Students with severe emotional distress may be referred out to mental health professionals.