Are college consultants worth the price for early in HS?

Parents Forum
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<p>I think it depends how involved you want to be in the process. If you want to take a hands off approach, then hiring a consultant, if you can afford one, would probably be a good idea. On the other hand, if you are more like me and like to do things for yourself, then I do not believe that hiring a consultant is necessary. It does require a large time commitment, but I have enjoyed the process, at least so far. My daughter is just finishing up 11th grade and I can honestly say that I am glad that we did not hire a consultant and I do not think that my daughter’s chances for acceptance to any colleges have been limited, in any way, by the lack of a hired consultant. By the way, we also used the same approach for the SAT/ACT (daughter did not take a class) and using information available on this site daughter was able to bring her score up on the SAT so that she is now competitive (at least with respect to her SAT score) at any college she might decide to apply to.</p>

<p>There are a lot of very informed and helpful individuals on this site who are more than willing (sometimes too willing) to answer questions and give advice (usually more than you need). Of course there are also those who are not well informed and give advice that is not helpful. After awhile, if you spend some time here, you will be able to quickly separate one from the other.</p>

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<p>I would definitely say hire a consultant unless you have knowledge in both the college search and college application process. In summary, I have hired a consultant and it has been the best thing that has happened to us. The way I look at it is, you have hired your own lawyer to help you with the college process and it is a very expensive process and you want to make sure you are not making any expensive mistakes. </p>

<p>I will highlight some reasons why a college consultant is extremely helpful. I am a huge researcher and I planned on attacking this whole process on my own. I was spending over twenty hours a week researching what schools my son should apply too. I had this huge spreadsheet and began by using the US News ranking and I came up with a list. I was literally pulling my hair out and a coworker at work told me he knew of a consultant that could help me if I wanted to go that route. </p>

<p>We also met with my son’s GC and she told him to apply to two specific schools and that he was all set. I asked her why she recommended those two schools. She said “Oh, I send all my kids to those two schools and the students are happy there.” I left and realized that she doesn’t have time to help us and that she doesn’t even know who my son is so how can she know what schools are a good fit for him! Amazing! For example, my son loves foreign languages and he wants to take different languages in college and neither one of those schools offer the languages he wants to learn. In fact one doesn’t even offer any languages. My son told me the GC is overworked due to the number of students assigned to her and she cannot spend quality time with us to help us. Obviously, my son did not apply to either of these schools. He actually dislikes both of them. </p>

<p>However, my son did not want me to hire the consultant. He was very angry that I ended up hiring her. Looking back now, he has told me that she was the best thing that happened to us. </p>

<p>Back to my spreadsheet, I gave it to her and she basically went through each college on my list and told me to throw the whole list out. She went through each college explained why my son should not apply to those schools. In fact, we were all set on attending these schools for a summer visit and she saved us money because we did not go! That would have been a huge waste of money if we did go. For example, the school on the list would be a likely for my son if he lived in that state but it was an extreme far reach because he was from out of state. She told me to use the US news with a grain of salt and she explained why. The whole thing was a huge eye opener for me and I realized there was no way that I could know everything she does unless I spent years researching. It is like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. If you want to do it on your own then in my opinion, it will take you literally years to get there. Our consultant has saved us so much money and time and we will always be grateful. She also recommended books for me to read which was so beneficial and eye opening.</p>

<p>From this process, my son had an edge simply because of the consultant. She knew where the good schools are and if they offer what he wants to study. In other words, she kept us away from the bad schools too. She also knew which schools would likely offer merit. We hired her at the end of my son’s Junior year and she told us all the mistakes we made from 9-11th grade and that he had a lot of catching up to do. </p>

<p>As far as the college application, that was also a huge eye opener. My son would send her his essays and she would write back, this will not work and she would explain why. We all realized she could see it from the admissions side and we couldn’t. However, we realized she was completely right once she explained it. I kept saying oh my goodness, he wouldn’t have gotten accepted if he turned that in. She saved his butt! It is again what you don’t know, you don’t know! Yes, I agree you should be careful who you hire, but then again that is just like anything in life, you have to do your homework! :)</p>

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<p>Bottom line,</p>

<ol>
<li>Do you have the desire, ability and time to do the research yourself?</li>
<li>Do you have the ability to weigh certain qualities you think will be important to your student that they themselves may not know themselves to consider eg location, size of school, amount of money you can afford.</li>
<li>Do you really access to someone who can hone the process for you or upon some research, those people you find seem less skilled?</li>
<li> How good is your school in assisting in the process? Private schools will have more resources than public.</li>
</ol>

<p>I considered hiring a consultant then

  1. upon finding CC, doing my own research and emailing schools myself directly with questions found I didn’t need to.
  2. My son could be somewhere big or small, money was less of an issue and I knew he preferred to be on either coast.
  3. I contacted college consultants to see if they would just go over the college app since I could do all the other work and could not really find someone willing to do that. They want to charge for an entire package not work by the hour and I resent that they are unwilling to do so. Instead, I found an English teacher (more web researching) who does SAT essay workshops in the summer where the kids go for an entire day and come home with a completed essay. Very affordable, so I will use her this summer.<br>
  4. Our school does not really have guidance counselors who assist much with the actual process. They just don’t seem to have the time, while a friend’s son went to a private school and the school counselors were much more involved in their college search.</p>

<p>If your child is trying to get into Ivies, then I think it might be more helpful to have a consultant since they are so super competitive but otherwise, it is doable on your own.</p>

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<p>It’s good to start thinking now, but I would not hire a consultant. Excellent private schools generally have excellent counselors. And, I would recommend not letting a kid fall in love with “The Ivies”, particularly based only (apparently) on reading about Gates and Zuckerberg.</p>

25

<p>A little known fact: this board is initiated and supported by a group of college counselors. After noticing how wonderful the comments made by Sally Rubenstone and Dave Barry were, we elected to contact the people that initiate and maintain this board. We had done the research, and DD had some great apps out already, but we were panicing because we read after she applied what a tough admission cycle this is, and she had chosen to not have any safeties (I know - bad choice in my opinion too, but it was her choice.) By the time she realized her error, we needed to apply for some safeties - and FAST! Ann Playe reviewed her applications, made some great suggestions based on our research, and she ended up applying for an excellent safety that we had NEVER heard of or considered and got in with a large scholarship. If it weren’t for the fact that she ended up getting into her first choice school, we would have ended up at that safety, as she preferred it to all of the other schools we had carefully chosen. </p>

<p>FYI, CC’s rate is very reasonable and is on an hourly basis. We only needed 2 hours - I think we paid around $200. So even if you don’t decide to invest in the big bucks packet, a couple of hours by internet (never met or talked to Anne directly) really paid off for us! Thanks Ann!</p>

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<p>What an excellent idea! I think I will have them look over my son’s application then in the fall. Sally Rubenstein is lovely to interact with. I have emailed the ask the dean section here and she answers the emails. I agree that CC counselors would be a good affordable choice.</p>

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<p>I know someone who hired a college consultant…the student was a smart girl and was good enough to get recruited for track. California citizen…</p>

<p>Got rejected everywhere.</p>

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<p>Laurelhurst, welcome to CC.</p>

<p>I’ll second what others have said: You are already paying for a college consultant, so use the school’s counsellor. My nephew is a junior at a college prep school, and they have done an excellent job at leading him and his parents through the process year by year. It’s part of the package you’re paying for.</p>

<p>BTW, you might want to begin helping your son to understand that there are many excellent schools outside the Ivy League. The colleges he’s aiming for are not a sure thing for any student. By all means, he should apply to a couple of them as reaches, but he should begin (in a couple of years) exploring other schools where he can also get a top-drawer education, and where he stands a more realistic chance of getting in.</p>

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<p>Shoot4Moon here, I received a private message asking how to contact Ann Playe at College Confidential. Here is my response - thought others might be wondering too, as it worked out well for us, and is not “advertised” much at all on this website…
I believe I just sent an email to their contact address listed on this website. the link is [Contact</a> Information - College Confidential.com - College Confidential](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/contact.htm]Contact”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/contact.htm). They sent me a price list with a variety of plans. Since we were pretty far in the process, I started off with the minimum 2 hour consultation, and I never added additional time as that is all that we needed. </p>

<p>They indicated that Ann Playe is the person who reviews written material (e.g. essays), and hooked us up by email. </p>

<p>I sent her a long email with the list of schools our DD was currently considering and why. I told her what DD’s criterion were. Ann sent us a list of about 10 schools she thought might be a good initial fit. Some were good - some were not good choices for reasons that when I explained made for better choices in the next set. (E.G, one absolutely excellent school she suggested shares our grocery store - WAY too close to home, but how would she know that?) </p>

<p>She also reviewed Marissa’s existing essays, and made suggestions for improvement from the perspective of a former admissions counselor. That was very helpful. We kept her posted on DD’s progress, but didn’t really ask her for a tremendous amount of additional help, as she got into/LOVED her suggested safety school (DePaul in Chicago) and then got into her first choice (Boston University).</p>

<p>Best of Luck to you!! Keep the process FUN, and remember you are not the boss but the secretary and financial advisor!</p>

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<p>We did use a consultant but much later in the process. We are also at a private school with great counselling and have had no issues with course selection, timing of SAT subject tests and SAT’s and ACT’s. Our only issue was that son had a bit of GPA/test score mismatch. In the context of his school, as parents, we really did not know what would be a match or safety. His GC was not really forthcoming with a huge list of schools and wanted the choices to come from him. We wanted to choices to come from him as well.</p>

<p>We wanted to take our preferences out of the equation, so he could take ownership of the process. That is when we decided to hire the consultant to help just with college choice. We were very happy with his choices and he will be attending his top choice. </p>

<p>My advice: I agree with others that your school should give you excellent advice. For a specific issue, like ours, you might consider a consultant later.</p>

31

<p>I agree with Lakemom. </p>

<p>I decided to invest the last three years in doing research on every aspect of the process because of my lack of belief that his school would be able to advise him properly. I was fortunate to have the time and desire. In retrospect, it would have been good spending time with a consultant to bounce ideas off of someone with experience. </p>

<p>My son ended up being accepted to ten schools in a variety of majors. What was interesting for us was the maturity growth during senior year. DS went from an engineering major to accounting/finance. He is excited about college and his selection.</p>

<p>Bottom-line for me is if you have a first rate guidance office, then maybe you don’t need to spend the money.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

32

<p>If I had it to do over again, and had the means, I would have retained someone to help guide my son, starting freshman year. </p>

<p>I’ ve been on CC since the stone age, but he did poorly with his college applications this year. I think he was advised incorrectly in some matters by his public school guidance counselor, particularly regarding course selection. And some things that I’ve been telling him all along he might have actually believed, listened to, and done something about, if the exact same advice came from some third-party “expert” and not me.</p>

<p>Of course one cannot ignore the central role of the state of his own maturity, motivation and abilities, all along the way. But yet there is a lingering feeling, given the results, that maybe we didnt do everything we could have to help. Which of course would not be entering my mind if the results had been different.</p>

<p>I think if you’re going to do it, the best time would be right off the bat, at the beginning of high school, when they can have the most impact all along the way. I think my kid went off track with course selection, starting sophomore year.</p>

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<p>“some things that I’ve been telling him all along he might have actually believed, listened to, and done something about, if the exact same advice came from some third-party “expert” and not me.”</p>

<p>long thread that I have been following…but this is the primary reason (IMO) that one really needs to consider this…</p>

<p>Whether in freshman, sophomore, or junior year start there is a definitely benefit to taking yourself as the parent out of the process…</p>

<p>it’s a function of the adolescent brain that tells your child (especially girls btw) that what Mom or Dad believes doesn’t really count…</p>

<p>If, on the other hand, if your adolescent child still thinks that you walk on water and that your word is gospel, more power to you (and how fortunate!!!)…welcome to CC; do your research and you will be just fine…</p>

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<p>UG college has to be a very good match at all levels, including personal, academic, EC’s,…and yes, pretty campus might help some kids studying (my D.). Kid needs to develop his own criteria and follow his own heart (and following Merit money helps also, especially if Grad school is a must). </p>

<p>This is from prospective of parent with D. starting Med. School in few weeks. D. has graduated from state public where she was on full tuiotion Merit scholarships and at the end had awesome choices of Med. Schools. She will be surrounded by kids from Ivy’s at her Med. School (we saw partial list). The difference in seemingly the same result? We did not pay UG tuition which has afforded us to help D. thru Med. Schools, while most others have applied for loans.</p>

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<p>One thing that I have seen private counselors offer is the brainstorming and networking ideas on how to move the EC and talents out of the school environment and into the real world. A passion or talent that is recognized by the free market or by professionals who are used to judging adults stands out more than being a president of a school or student club. Especially valuable if student is aim high or wants to apply for big scholarships. Quantifiable metrics are also important - how much $ did they make, how many tickets were sold for their event, how many hits on the website, impact in the community.
The counselor can be adept at finding the organizations that would love the energy of high school student. This also makes for amazing references that standout.</p>

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<p>My view on college consultants is bifurcated into two categories (1) “Full-house” consultants who aim to navigate your student through every aspect of their course selection in high school, colleges they apply to, etc. and (2) “Service” Consultants who offer something specialized be it Essay Writing, Application Review & Feedback, or Interview Preparation.</p>

<p>I’m guessing that your question pertains to the former in which case my thoughts are below:</p>

<p>(1) They don’t provide anything you couldn’t get for free. </p>

<p>In my opinion, someone who’s actually been through the admissions process successfully in the past 10 years can provide just as good advice as they do. If they’re a close friend or family member, usually their advice is better as well in my opinion.</p>

<p>(2) They are jack of all trades, master of none.</p>

<p>When you pay someone to write an essay for your student, or conduct interviews and give them feedback, you are paying for something which the provider is used to, cuts their income off of, and is specialized in knowing how to “game” properly.</p>

<p>When you pay someone to consult about the entire admissions process and how your child should set up his activities, schools, EC’s, etc. how much extra value do you think they can add? Maybe, as other posters have alluded to, they can provide an extra voice which your child will listen to. Maybe they can also enhance the EC portfolio your child eventually has by encouraging them to “think big”. But in where in this entire process do they add value which can’t be derived from reading CC or talking to successful friends? You’re really just paying money to have “one source” of info, which I consider to be an unwise approach to admissions. </p>

<p>In my mind, the only services that merit you paying “top-dollar” for in the college admissions process are essay reviews, interview prep, and application review.</p>

<p>The reason why is because those aspects are things which your student does not have 4 years to figure out. The essay is so free-form in how you can approach it that most students can easily get lost in what they do. In the case of an interview, it’s quite likely their first interview that is actually truly competitive. </p>

<p>Additionally, from an emotional maturity standpoint, I think almost about half of applicants I deal with can present themselves well, it’s extremely rare for me to find someone who out-of-the-gate actually knows how to “spin” what they say correctly to actually make a substantive point in the interview that relates to what they study. It’s still amazing to me how many people (both college applicants and job seekers) still haven’t figured out the “rules of the road” by the time they’ve crossed the 10 interviews barrier.</p>

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<p>“If you are thinking about using a consultant, it’s best to do it early on, like freshman year. It’s pointless by the time a student is junior or senior.”</p>

<p>I don’t agree with this. Some families have good guidance about course selection and testing, so they don’t need help early, but when it comes to making up a college list or planning essays, they need a hand. Although I do work with some families starting freshman or sophomore year, most of my clients hire me the summer before senior year when the deadlines are looming. There is still plenty to do at that point.</p>

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<p>I am also going to point out that a friend of mine whose husband had passed away but had left money for the kids in separate accounts was given wrong advice from a college advisor. She lost out on the opportunity to qualify for financial assistance.</p>

<p>If money for college is a big issue, make sure you find someone who is really competent in this area.</p>

39

<p>We engaged a counselor when we dedicded to move to a new school for D2 due to my job. We got the recommendation from my brother. </p>

<p>My nephew moved back to the States after spending 15 years of his life in the Far East. When he returned he wasn’t able to take any honors or APs because his old school wasn’t very rigorous and he was off track. His SAT scores were way off too, in the 1900. He wanted to go to my brother’s alma mater, which was a low Ivy. </p>

<p>The consultant worked on his course selections for junior year (honors, but no APs) to make sure he could get all As. The consultant advised him on what ECs to do. He even advised my brother on his communication with the school, so when my nephew put his application in it would be in the special pile. My brother was not a big donor, but was always very involved with the school because his love for his alma mater.</p>

<p>My nephew worked his butt off junior year, got his grades, and with SAT tutoring he scored mid 2200 and high 700 in SAT IIs. He did an internship that summer which was important for the school he wanted to apply to. Senior year he took his first 2 APs in high school and he aced them(to show colleges he could actually do the work). Came Dec it was good news for him. Most kids at his school were surprised because they didn’t see him at many of their AP classes, and it is the kind of high school where many students graduated with 10+ APs.</p>

<p>We don’t know what D2’s result will be next year, but having this consultant is making our life easier, and D2 less stressed. The consultant is not anywhere near us. We do most of our meetings via Skype and communicate a lot through emails. D2 is even doing SAT tutoring via Skype because we don’t have it here locally.</p>

40

<p>No problems whatsoever if someone chooses to use a consultant for all 4 years, but I fail to understand what value is added in the choosing of courses. In my kids’ school, there wouldn’t be enough courses to choose from that you’d need a real strategy. You’re going to take math, science, history/social studies, English, and a foreign language plus room for one elective (and there were requirements that went against those electives, such as one fine arts course). Gym was required all 4 years so no options. Take the highest level you feel comfortable in your core subjects, and pick an elective you find interesting. What more needs to be discussed?</p>