From Digital Arts to Physics, Carlmont has a wide variety of classes for students to choose from, and it’s time for them to do so.
This year, counselor appointments started on Feb. 12. Since then, students have been meeting with their counselors to discuss their plans for the next year and set their class schedules.
“We look at classes and talk about what their priorities and interests are and try to get them to find a balance,” Kristen Miller, a counselor, said.
For students who are conflicted on which classes to take, this meeting may be useful for them.
“My counselor meeting was good. We talked about my passions and figured out what classes would best suit me. I’m in the Biotechnology Institute (BTI), but I told my counselor that I wanted to drop out since I wanted to take AP US History. I just told her I had a huge passion for history, and I find it really interesting,” sophomore Lauren Wang said.
The appointments are set by grade level: juniors have their appointments scheduled first, while freshmen have their appointments later on.
According to Jayden Mah, a junior, counselor meetings are comfortable and beneficial for the students.
“It’s no big deal. You pick your classes, and you’re done,” Mah said. “They give you common opinions, such as what most people think about harder classes. They also help remind you about the classes you need to take in order to graduate.”
For freshmen, since this is their first appointment, some feel stressed as they do not know what to expect from it.
“I’m actually frustrated. I don’t know my future, and they expect me too,” an anonymous freshman said. “You may not see it this way, but from my experience with the counseling department and general staff, people expect me to know my future.”
However, counselors not only talk about the future; they also discuss the student’s progress during the current school year.
“I think [counselor appointments are] for the counselors to check up on how we’re doing academically, as well as how we are doing as a person going through school,” Wang said.
Many counselors, such as Miller, want to reassure students and make sure that they know that the counselors will help and support them.
Miller said, “It’s just an individual time to talk to your counselor to hopefully answer their questions, to be able to give them more information about what the next four years are going to be like while they’re here, and hopefully have them know that they’re here to support them as well.”
