HWS Counseling Center Has "Limited" Availability to Students

March 8, 2023

By Ksenia Lowry-Neufeld

Geneva, NY- Being in college can be a very stressful time for many people. With classes, sports, homework, and everything else that college students have to do. Not only are there things to think about and consider at your school, but you also still have people and situations at home to think about. This can become a lot and overwhelming for most people and they need somewhere to go to, as an outlet. Hobart and William Smith Colleges has this outlet, the Counseling Center, but how available is this for every student?

The Counseling Center can be found directly on campus and according to their website they are available to any student who needs “counseling, prevention and crisis services.” Also found on their website, they are still limited with how many in-person meetings they can hold but there is an option to meet with them over zoom. They have a 24/7 urgent care and crisis services available if needed. They also offer options and contacts for people who are looking for advice on what to do when a friend or someone is in distress and needs help.

The HWS Counseling Center website states the following:

“The Counseling Center's mission is to provide high-quality, confidential psychological services that facilitate student progress toward age-appropriate, healthy and mature psychological and social development. These include counseling, prevention and crisis services focused on emotion-regulation and self-care, exploration of personal identities, establishing and maintaining healthy interdependent relationships, and developing life-skills necessary to thrive in adulthood.”

There are three ways to schedule a meeting; call during open hours, email the office manager or go to the website and fill in a time slot directly.

A sophomore at the colleges, who wishes to stay anonymous, shares that when it came to choosing a college, their counseling services were an important part of there decision because being able to have that outlet would be critical in helping with their mental health and overall studies. “When I visited the colleges and went to the counseling center to see what it was like they were very welcoming and made it seem like no matter what they would be there for me which is what I was looking for.”

During her two years here, she has been going to the counseling center once every two weeks which is less than what she was told. Originally she was told that she could meet with someone at the center twice a week when needed but they did not follow through with that statement. But her experience is not the same as other students.

There have been many students who have been rejected from the counseling center when they applied for appointments to receive help. Throughout my interviews that I conducted, I noticed that approximately half of the students that I talked to, were rejected because they weren’t a “high-profile case” meaning that their issues weren’t severe enough to take the time that could help someone else. The other half stated that they got rejected from the counseling center because they were a “too high-profile case” meaning that there wasn’t anything they could do with their situation.

         HWS Counseling Center

With knowing the information that we know, the rejection of students whose cases are too high profile or they aren’t high profile enough, who do they accept to see then? What is the criteria that you need to meet in order to be accepted?

A counseling should be able to help anyone who needs it and should be able to adapt to the size of the school if needed. College is hard enough without help that is essential for some but knowing that you have to be within the limits of certain criteria to get that help makes it harder.