How to advocate for your students

When I first started working as a counsellor, advocacy was an unfamiliar term. I had heard of it in the context of law and social activism but less in the realm of counselling. I wondered why and how counsellors could advocate for students.

Three years later, now that I am more familiar with what counselling entails, I also understand better what this action means and why it’s so integral to our role. It may or may not be strictly in our job description but what we do on a daily basis is advocate for students. 

I’ve also come to realise that advocacy is a two-pronged effort. 

First, as counsellors, we must advocate for our students. Second, as counsellors, we must advocate for ourselves. 

There are fantastic articles on how we must advocate for ourselves here and here, so this article is about advocacy for students – what it is, why we do it and some practical suggestions of ways to do it. 

What is advocacy? 

I’ve heard advocacy explained plainly by another counsellor: “Advocacy means you’re fighting for someone.” 

You’re supporting the interests of a student: standing up for their rights, needs and well-being, and fighting on their behalf, if it comes to that. 

But why is advocacy something counsellors need to do? 

Why we must advocate for students

There are few reasons why advocacy is integral to the counsellor role. 

Guiding and representing students 

As college counsellors, we stand on the threshold between education in school and the world of adulthood. We are the guide at this crucial junction of life, and we represent the students to the many stakeholders we interact with: school, university, parents and teachers. 

Advocacy is vital if we are going to represent our students successfully. You cannot guide or represent someone without advocating for them. 

Correcting the imbalance of power 

The students we support are novices in admissions systems. They do not have the knowledge or the network it takes to successfully navigate this system. (When a student uses an independent education consultant, they are, in a way, trying to correct this imbalance of knowledge). By advocating for them, we are consciously using our institutional legitimacy to rebalance it. 

Honouring the whole person

The application system (and, later, the job search process) commodifies and reduces individuals to data points. As an advocate, we see students as people – and help them be seen. 

To the university representatives, we have the power to introduce context and narrative to the student. Sometimes, we also help parents or teachers understand more deeply who the students are. 

In this way, we are advocating for them. This ultimately supports student well-being, because when we are seen and understood, we can flourish.

Moving out of admin

Theoretically, we can do our jobs by doing the bare minimum – which is pushing transcripts and predicted grade reports out to universities on behalf of our students. 

However, we can move beyond just being the admin. When advocacy is infused into our role, we can truly become counsellors and meet the student where they’re at, honouring and respecting them and guiding them to their next stage of life. 

How to advocate for students 

Step 0: know the student 

If you don’t know a student and what makes them unique (their circumstances, personality, strengths, areas of improvement and history) you cannot advocate for them as effectively as possible. Because knowing the student is so crucial, this is step 0 of the process.

Depending on context, the advocacy scenario can become quite specialised – for example, advocating for a student with disabilities will be different from advocating for a low-income student or a student in crisis or a first-generation student. 

Capturing the full possibilities of each context is beyond the scope this article but there are already articles on THE Counsellor – on SEND students, universal design and anxious students, for example – that touch on some of these areas. 

Step 1: facilitate access to information and resources

When we network and develop professionally, we do it to bring it back to the students – whether what we bring back is information and resources or contact info and networks. 

Don’t be an “information sink”: a pothole of information that does not get shared with others. After a networking or a professional development event, think about how you can improve your current system. It’s not about dumping the information, resources and contacts on to the students all at once but about linking them strategically at the right time and the right place – and then teaching them how to use what you’ve shared with them. 

Step 2: intervene strategically 

If step 0 is soft advocacy, step 2 is the more formal type of advocacy, where you make an official request, invoke policies or write an appeal. 

The need for this type of advocacy can vary widely but you as the counsellor must understand the core need at hand. Sometimes the student might not state it explicitly or realise that it is lacking – but your experience and vantage point enable you to see the underlying need. 

Document everything: summarise meetings in emails and take notes. Research options, rights, precedents and alternative pathways, and when you finally prepare the formal intervention, ensure you have a list of specific requests. 

AI can be a useful tool for helping you write formal emails. It can also help you think about the next steps you need to take, if you don’t have a thinking partner at hand.

Step 4: learn to write good letters 

A counsellor letter of recommendation can be a powerful tool. Different contexts (such as the UK or the US) require different styles. So first learn the differences and then make the best of this open channel to the university. What information isn’t contained in the application that the student crafted? 

You are also entitled to write emails or make calls beyond the letter – but clarify the purpose first, and do it respectfully. This ability to reach out is what distinguishes school counsellors from independent education consultants so use this power carefully (and explain this distinction to parents and students as well). 

Step 5: change the system

The system might need to change for the student to flourish. Review the policies, processes, documentation, timelines and requirements that make up the system at your school. Think about whether they best serve all students involved, and whether you have the power to influence them.

As a counsellor, you have direct contact with key decision-makers at school: the teachers, vice-principal, principal, head of school and head of admissions. So use your voice to advocate for lasting positive change. 

Step 6: teach pupils self-advocacy

Sometimes, the best advocacy comes from the students themselves. This is a valuable skill for them to learn.

Whether it’s narrating their stories in essays or emails, creating a LinkedIn account and harnessing the power of social media, or learning how to communicate their own needs professionally and personally, you can teach them the tips and tricks you’ve learned in your career. It can be a part of the transition curriculum you set up for them, especially once applications are all in.  

This is not an exhaustive list, by any means. Advocacy is a key part of our role and you are probably already doing it on a daily basis. Counsellors have a lot of power – more than we give ourselves credit for – and advocacy is a noble and essential way to wield this for the students’ benefit. 

Thinking more consciously about what it is, why we do it and ways to expand it can make you a more confident and empowered counsellor.

This article was inspired by Grace Cheng Dodge.