Since we celebrated National School Counseling Week a few weeks ago, it feels fitting to dedicate our next blog to our high school counselors. While I’m always eager to highlight how powerful Slate is for higher ed institutions, I believe Slate.org and its capabilities deserve a spotlight of their own. Institutions can significantly enhance their relationships and communication with high school counselors, fostering a more efficient and collaborative process for those on both sides of the desk.
Slate.org is a powerful tool that facilitates communication between institutions and high school counselors. It allows colleges and universities to share important updates, deadlines, and application information directly with counselors, ensuring they have the most up-to-date and accurate details to support their students.
Likewise, high school counselors can use Slate.org to process application materials, track student progress, and communicate with admissions teams. This mutual exchange of information helps strengthen the partnership between institutions and counselors, ultimately leading to a more efficient and transparent experience for both students and the professionals guiding them.
Having explored Slate.org and its functionalities for this blog, I was brought back to a key connection from my recruiting days—Alyx Matchett, the College & Career Advisor at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School. Alyx is deeply connected with the student experience of college admissions, playing a pivotal role in guiding students through the complexities of the application process.
Streamlining the Process for High School Counselors
Technolutions’ Slate.org is not only a powerful tool for higher education institutions, but it also offers a range of benefits for high school counselors working with prospective college students.
With real-time insights into students’ application statuses, Slate.org allows counselors to quickly provide updates, reducing uncertainty and stress for students throughout the application process. Having access to the most current information helps counselors keep students informed and prepared for the next steps, enhancing the overall experience.
Additionally, counselors can receive timely notifications about financial aid deadlines, scholarship opportunities, and other key events. This ensures that both counselors and students stay on track, never missing important dates or opportunities.
For Alyx Matchett, Slate.org plays a critical role in supporting students throughout the college admissions process. “With over 400 students on my caseload and the majority pursuing college, keeping track of applications and acceptances is a massive undertaking.” Alyx adds, “We don’t always get complete self-reported data from students, so Slate.org has been great for cross-referencing application trends and verifying college decisions.”
The platform’s ability to sort and filter data by specific institutions has been especially valuable. For Alyx and high school counselors alike, it provides crucial insights into individual schools. “This [feature] not only helps me track where students are applying but also provides insight into emerging trends, making it easier to offer informed guidance year after year.”
Data plays a crucial role in shaping decisions within college admissions offices, and the same holds true for high school guidance counselors. After all, data enables counselors to provide the best guidance.
By utilizing tools like Slate.org, those on the higher ed side of the equation can offer high school counselors access to a wealth of data, enabling them to better support their students. And I’m sure I’m not the first to point out that when students are more empowered and informed, it leads to a more engaged and capable freshman class for you.
Improving Communication with Students
When I asked Alyx how having real-time access to students’ application statuses helps them support students through the college admissions journey, they shared some insightful thoughts on the value of such access.
“I find myself checking Slate.org about once a week as admission decisions start coming in. It’s incredibly helpful for tracking where students have applied and spotting any new applications since our last conversation.”
For high school counselors, getting information from students—and let’s face it, from institutions too—can sometimes be a challenge. Alyx explains, “Having real-time access to missing materials means I can troubleshoot applications with students during live meetings, ensuring everything stays on track.” This ability to quickly identify gaps in an application helps counselors guide students more effectively.
“Slate.org helps me to be proactive in keeping students on track with their applications, especially in a cyber school setting where my students navigate the process more independently.”
Rather than having to dig through multiple conversations or chase down information about 10+ college admission statuses, Slate.org enables counselors to enter discussions with students already equipped with the most up-to-date and comprehensive data. This access not only saves valuable time but also allows counselors to approach each conversation more strategically, offering tailored advice based on the student’s current application status.
Improving Communication with Institutions
From the admissions office perspective, there are numerous benefits to using Slate.org to enhance communication. According to Alyx, “If a student is concerned about their application status or missing materials, I can check Slate.org first before reaching out to admissions, which saves time and reduces unnecessary back-and-forth emails.”
College admission offices handle counselor communication in various ways. Some have dedicated teams to respond to questions sent to a general admissions email, while others rely heavily on already overextended admission counselors to manage these inquiries.
With a tool like Slate.org, users on both sides of the desk can make more informed decisions, leading to clearer and more effective communication.
Alyx adds, “With students applying to a wide range of colleges, I can quickly identify if multiple students are facing the same issue, such as missing documents or delayed updates, and step in before it becomes a larger problem.” This proactive approach ensures that students’ applications stay on track and prevents small issues from turning into bigger hurdles.
With these numerous hurdles that high school counselors, students, and college admission offices all face, why not take advantage of a tool specifically designed to help overcome them?
Where Do You Start?
For high school counselors, Slate.org is an invaluable tool that simplifies and streamlines the college application process, enhancing both student success and counselor efficiency.
But what does that mean for your institution?
This blog is specifically dedicated to the benefits of Slate.org for a high school counselor’s workflow for a reason. First and foremost, I wanted to provide a deeper understanding of the tasks, workload, and sheer passion that high school counselors, like Alyx Matchett, bring to the table when guiding their students through the college admissions process.
Counselors are often juggling a wide range of responsibilities, from managing multiple applications to ensuring each student receives personalized advice. Their ultimate goal is to help students find the right fit for their futures—something that extends far beyond simply filling out recommendation forms.
By showcasing how tools like Slate.org can streamline their efforts, I hope to highlight the crucial role they play in connecting students to your institution, ensuring a smoother and more effective process for everyone involved.
In our upcoming blog “Slate.org: A How-To Guide For Your Institution,” I’ll walk through the more technical (and super fun Slate-y) process to get Slate.org up and running for your institution.
