Hello,
I’m looking for affordable college admission counselling that can provide guidance in 10th and 11th grades as well to have a well rounded application. We need help in prioritizing all the extracurriculars and focus on the ones that will help tell a good story. Looking for tried and tested services that really work and are afforadable, 3K to 5K range.
Thanks!
A reminder to users that CC is not a referral service, so please make any responses generic.
I would suggest you network with others in your community who have used private counseling services. A personal positive discussion and recommendation would be best.
also look into the professional organizations like IECA and you can find a list of vetted consultants. make sure they have years of experience, actually visit campuses, don’t make false promises and check references.
As mentioned above, personal referrals are ideal. There is no barrier of entry into the profession, so very important to do your homework.
3-5k per year? Total for 10-11th grades?
If total, it is too low a number in my opinion.
Thank you for the references. IECA was helpful.
oh, ok, I do not have any idea what these could cost. Good to know this is low.
I don’t think your price is low at all - it will really depend on what services you are looking for, your home area and many counselor packages only include a couple meetings (and most) in 9th and 10th grade. Don’t judge the success of a counselor by their price and like I said earlier, make sure they are members of several professional organizations. Even nicer, if they also offer a part of their service pro-bono to low income students 
There are some online groups, mostly on Facebook, that are run by former AOs, independent college counselors, and others. You may want to check a few of them out to see if you can find the information you need there.
They are not individual, but you can get individual attention and responses in the groups. These are quite affordable (monthly fees) and worth considering in order to get started.
I would add a caution (apologies for straying off topic) that it can be unhealthy to spend high school years tailoring one’s “story” for college admissions. Many kids get into the schools you are probably aiming for by just being themselves and following authentic interests.
In my view, the best reason for hiring a consultant is to mediate when the college application process causes tension between parents and child.
I agree. $3k-$5k is a healthy budget, and many very good counselors will be at or below that range (depending on how many hours you need). Counselors in NYC or LA may cost more, but even if you live in those areas, you don’t need to use a counselor from there. Look for fit, interview a few (the counselor is assessing fit too)
IMO, have a counselor help with course selection for 10th-12th, an hour for that each year. Then in mid 11th grade, college research and list building starts. Then summer before 12th application work begins.
normally how many hours do these counselors spend for one student, if applying for 8-9 colleges?
It depends when you start and what services you want. If you want help picking classes for 10-12 and then app help including list building, essay brainstorming and editing, I would say that’s 10-15 hours for the majority of students. Some counselors do package deals, some only do hourly, just depends. I would speak with some counselors and see what feels right to you.