College Consultants - do they really help?

<p>It is a nice thing to have as in a scheduled appointment knowing you will accomplish something while you are there. A planned approach to getting the apps done and the follow up tracked....someone non critical to talk with when the offers come or don't come in. A private source of support and calming in a difficult process. Sure it would be great. Like a personal trainer in many ways. Better results than doing it all alone.</p>

<p>Do you guys know how much they cost? I'm just wondering btw. My guess is that Hernandez probably charges through the roof because she "appeared on CNN, Abc, blah blah, blahblahbal"</p>

<p>Someone should invent a crystal ball and take all the intrigue out of the college process. All you would have to do is ask the ball and it'd tell you if you'd get in or not - or tell you where you're suppose to go. I bet by next July, I'll have a peptic ulcer...</p>

<p>Sorry went off track there. The only thing I think is a definite plus about a consultant is the constant support as you said. And hopefully, possibly, their inside knowledge about certain steps in the college process. I'm pretty much 50-50 on this topic, I want one - because I want an advantage, but then again - I don't know how big of an advantage I'd be getting.</p>

<p>**The price for consulting differs. Some charge by hour and other's charge by number of application. If you want a local one, you should go to:<a href="http://iecaonline.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://iecaonline.com/&lt;/a> - you can find one that lives near you. But their reputation isn't guaranteed as my friend told me, some has never had any experience. But you can always call them and ask for their creditionals - or you can find a consulting firm. A lot of the "How to Get into College" books are written by consultants who offer their services.</p>

<p>Well I emailed her and just found out. For a two year plan(junior/senior), its 32 grand (holy crappola), and for a standalone SINGLE "in-depth" consultant sessions, it is 3500!!!!!</p>

<p>EDIT: By her I mean hernandez</p>

<p>She also has pro-bono contracts for those who can demonstrate financial need.</p>

<p>Still, I think that those prices are ridiculous compared to other consultants.</p>

<p>So you can eat lunch with your high school counselor for free and with Hernandez for a fee......Alan Greenspan and others have folks lined up to pay to eat lunch with them....input from some folks is worth much more than the cost of lunch. It is all relative to one's ability to pay or gain value from the cost.</p>