<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Does anybody have any experience with college admissions counselors such as Ivy Wise of Ivy Coach? Are they really that helpful/are they worth it?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Hah! No, they’re not helpful. They walk around your questions and tell you in an around about way that well your chances might be good but overall we have to look at everything and it’s always a case by case standard. </p>
<p>Do you think they help with writing the essays?</p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>Nope. I read an admissions officer’s from Tufts blog about this once. He said it’s not worth the money at all. They don’t teach you anything about writing an essay that your English teacher can’t. He also said that if you get the kind of counselor who will write your essay for you that “if they’re willing to lie for you, they’re willing to lie to you” about actually being helpful in increasing your chances of getting accepted.</p>
<p>Independent counselors tend to make students look packaged and thus, less appealing.</p>
<p>@430ktk @AnnieBeats thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>I think there are counselors that are very helpful - but they are not necessarily the norm. I would stay away from anyone that requires an extensive multi-year package, and/or claims they have proprietary services or products that can significantly increase your chances at selective schools. The best ones will let the student and family drive the process, but provide support and feedback where parents and schools cannot either because of knowledge or time constraints. They should be there to help navigate and not get overly involved in the actual application. Really they should be more about process than product. </p>
<p>I read many books written by admission counselors, but I would not pay them a buck for the service. You may be able to find those books at your local library. Although you will not get a tailored advise from the book, you would learn a lot of information that help your college applications. I know a friend that hire someone to review and give advise on essays. You can also get books from library about writing admission/scholarship essays. There are some common mistakes one should avoid, but I don’t think one should pay someone to polish their essays.</p>
<p>Independent counselors may be helpful if there is a difficult relationship between the student and parents, if the family is very disorganized and has trouble meeting deadlines, if the student and family have no idea what colleges are realistic and aren’t willing/able to do some research to generate a suitable list, or if there is no support from the high school guidance counselor and faculty. </p>
<p>@Poohbah29 @billcsho @yaupon thanks for the help!</p>