The higher education learning curve is in full swing with the start of the semester and it begins with first-year students learning their ABCs.

A is for Advisor

B is for Bursar

C is for Counselor

It’s a new lexicon. And for many students, they have no idea where to begin (or worse, that they even need to learn this new language).

The reality is that a counselor in college does very different tasks than the school counselor in high school. In college, the high school counselor morphs to become four people. I’ve always said that school counselors are superhuman. This is the proof.

Check out the YouTube video about advisors and counselors.

Let’s take a look at how our superhero school counselor transforms into four roles in college.

1. A counselor in high school supports students’ social emotional learning. Think about the outreach for bullying prevention or building a healthy presence on social media. High school counselors listen to those who have experienced trauma and guide students to develop mentally and emotionally. This is consistent with what a Counselor does in college.

2. A counselor also may plan the logistics of class scheduling for the entire high school. In college, this level of planning and coordination is done by an office of people, known as the office of the Registrar.

3. In addition to planning the school’s class schedule, a high school counselor also helps students plan their individual schedules and register for classes that advance their learning goals and meet graduation requirements. In college, students register in consultation with their academic Advisor. Academic advisors help students pursue majors and minors in which they have interest, skills, and strengths. They also advise on academic pathways and completing requirements in a timely manner.

4. A high school counselor advises students in the next steps after high school. In some states, like Ohio, students are asked what’s your E? Are they going to be employed, enlisted, or enrolled? For students in the enrolled pathway, high school counselors advise on the application process for college admission, scholarships to pay for college, filing the FAFSA (aka the Free Application for Federal Student Aid), and then officially enrolling in the college of choice. In college, this kind of ‘next step’ coaching is often done by a Career Coach in a Career Services office.

Learning the new language of college can be intimidating. The people who students knew from high school have changed names (teachers are now professors) or transformed into four people, like the high school counselor. It’s for these reasons and many more that we created Success Prints Crash Course®, the college life strategy board game.

Set at the mythical Tabletop University, the board centers on the campus quad. Every week (or round of game play) reveals new campus services and resources. One week, it might be Financial Aid and the Writing Center; the next might be the Wellness Center and Accessibility Services. This allows players to learn the names and functions of these resources before the college game is on and the consequences are real.

Success Prints Crash Course® is perfect for high school teachers and counselors looking to level up their college and career readiness curriculum. It is also ideal for college first-year seminar and experience programs and/or as part of community-building activities in the residence halls.

When students learn the language of college early in the transition (or better yet, before they arrive), they become fluent and navigate with greater ease and increased confidence.