<p>anotherparent, I don’t know how you can really know that the paid counselor actually wrote this applicant’s essays for him. You don’t have direct contact with the parents, student or counselor. Through a friend, you heard this to be so. </p>
<p>I’m a paid college counselor myself and would never write an essay for a student and most paid college counselors I know would not either. Many students have guidance with regard to their essays, either paid guidance or unpaid. Many students have parents who discuss the topics, revisions to content or grammatical editing. I have many students who go to schools where IN school they write college essays and get lots of help and revisions before they even show it to me (my own kids’ high school did not work on college essays, but my clients, particularly who attend private schools, work on these lots at school). I do help students in brainstorming their essays, and give feedback on content and structure and editing revision suggestions of a technical nature. The essay is their writing. Many kids have someone who guides them or gives them suggestions for revisions, even their own teachers at school, for the application essays. Most counselors do not craft/write the essays. </p>
<p>I am not convinced that the counselor wrote that kid’s essay but simply that you know that this family used a paid college counselor to advise them on the applications.</p>