<p>I am assuming the college consultant probably knows the admission people pretty well and if they are close enough they can even recommend candidates to them? I had this impression that the top-notch consultants know how to advocate their clients with the admission officers to maximize their clients' chances.</p>
<p>No, private counselors would never do that, they remain totally behid the scenes. Good in school counselors, however, can play a role.</p>
<p>They don’t maximize chances, but rather can ask specific questions that the student or parent (or school counselor) may not be willing to ask…PM me if you are curious as to specifics…</p>
<p>I believe most college consultants worked, at one time or another, in a college admission’s office. Very often, that’s their selling point. In fact, many authors of those college books (A Is for Admission: The Insider’s Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges by Michele A. Hern</p>
<p>private college counselors stay behind the scenes and do not interact with admissions people. School counselors (especially in very high ranking schools) may have a longstanding relationship with admissions people at certain colleges that gives them a bit of an “in”.</p>
<p>“the top-notch consultants know how to advocate their clients with the admission officers to maximize their clients’ chances.”</p>
<p>This is unethical, and I don’t consider anyone who does it to be “top-notch.” Much less a good influence on a young person.</p>
<p>I good, ethical college consultant has as their goal a great match: identifying colleges that suit the student’s academic, social and community needs so they can succeed academically and thrive. That doesn’t mean someone who claims friendships with admission directors or an insider connection to manipulate the system. In fact, the days when a counselor–school or consultant–could reply on a personal connection to assure an acceptance of a student who does not qualify on their own are L - O - N - G gone. Anyone who claims otherwise is not “top notch”, they are a fraud. Stick with consultants that have met ethical and competence guidelines (either by joining IECA or NACAC) and avoid those who claim to have an “in.”</p>
<p>Many college counselors at good private high schools have worked in college (often top) admissions.</p>
<p>College admissions officers will talk to school counselors but not to private counselors.</p>
<p>We are working with private college counselor now. It is hard for me to say whether they are good or bad, because we would only know 2 years from now. All I could say is that we are happy with the service they are offering. They have people on their staff who have worked (read) at top colleges. We just got our first feedback last night for D2. Based on D2´s location/ECs/college aspiration, they had one counselor who worked at a college she is interested to read her profile (application in progress). The counselor used to read for that college in the area we are living in now. She told D2 what ECs to focus on, what´s minimum IB score she would need to have, and SAT I scores. As D2 will only be a junior, it is still up to her to work toward those stats.</p>
<p>What I find to be helpful is the counselor(s) are very objective. Everything they suggested made common sense (no gimmick), but it just sounds better coming from a 3rd party rather from the parents. When the time comes, they will help her pick appropriate colleges, and help her with her applications and package her in the right way (with all the ECs she´s done along the way). I am not sure if they would have ins with adcoms, but that´s not what we are asking for or paying for.</p>
<p>What happened to the good old fashioned days of… APPLYING TO SCHOOL YOURSELF? Yes, capitalization is for emphasis, and yes, I would shout that.</p>
<p>Yes, I know what admissions consultants do. Yes, I know people who have used them.</p>
<p>But, seriously? Come on. Research schools yourself. Research applications processes yourself. Whatever happened to students applying to their own schools, instead of having parents or consultants helicopter over them? Now it’s students applying, competing with parents/consultants. I see the advantage, and sadly, admissions consultants are increasingly common. I view it as a practice that should cease to exist.</p>
<p>Private consultants are just one more level of professional services in the college admissions arena that guarantee an unlevel playing field.</p>
<p>Private college counselors should not be intervening with admissions offices on behalf of their students. This is a common creed for independent counselors. School guidance counselors can communicate or advocate for their students with admissions officers. Not only is this a common creed for private counselors, it would be unwise to advocate for a student with a college admissions office because often college admissions frown upon the use of private counselors. Private counselors should advise a student on college selection and the admissions process but have no involvement with the student’s high school or colleges.</p>
<p>“Private consultants are just one more level of professional services in the college admissions arena that guarantee an unlevel playing field.”</p>
<p>+1</p>
<p>And the colleges wouldn’t “frown on their use” to use Soozie’s terms if they themselves were not aware of the ethical minefield they represent.</p>
<p>I personally do not think the term “unethical” applies to independent college counselors. While I understand that it may be frowned upon, it is not because it is not ethical. It is simply because it may be viewed as an advantage to have a private advisor guiding a student through the college selection and admissions process. But many students do not have great college advising through their schools and their parents have opted (and obviously can afford) to get the guidance through a private counselor. I understand how others may view that, but it certainly is not unethical. It isn’t any more unethical than some opt to send their kids to private schools where there may be better college advising than at a public school where an GC may have 500 students to “advise.” </p>
<p>Yes, some students have unequal “advantages” when it comes to college admissions based on various opportunities afforded them and so forth. I just don’t classify such “advantages” as unethical in nature.</p>
<p>Why is it unethical? It is over 200k investment. You could either do the due diligence yourself or hire someone to do it for you. The college counselor told D2 what she needs to do, but it is still up to her to get the work done. There are some parents who have more time to do the research themselves, but there are some parents who just don’t have the time.</p>
<p>Right, we may as well call it unethical that some kids have parents who help a great deal in doing research and learning about the admissions process and reading CC ( 
) and so on and some kids must navigate the admissions quagmire on their own. </p>
<p>Some parents hire a consultant as they don’t have the time or knowledge to navigate it on their own with their child, or even have a hard time working with their child, and choose to get assistance from someone with expertise.</p>
<p>Yes, it is beneficial to get advice and guidance. But unethical? I don’t think so. </p>
<p>What would be unethical is for an independent college counselor (or parent) to do the college applications for a student, or to make contact with admissions officers and so forth.</p>
<p>Probably two thirds of the Ivy League student body comes from either private schools or “public” schools in neighborhoods so privileged that the term “public” is a real stretch. These schools provide counselors who do exactly the same tasks as independent counselors. If the universities viewed this as an “ethical minefield,” they wouldn’t admit so many of these schools’ graduates.</p>
<p>No, private counselors represent a public relations problem for elite universities, rather than an ethical minefield. They want to attract students from ordinary AND privileged backgrounds. The perception that an expensive consultant is necessary for admission is destructive to the universities’ recruiting efforts. They have to appear as far removed as possible from private consultants in order to protect their brand.</p>
<p>It’s been my experience that meritorious 17-year-olds rarely have good judgment about how to display their merit. Virtually all successful applicants have adult guidance of some kind, whether it’s a parent, teacher, school counselor, etc.</p>
<p>Hanna, I agree with everything you just wrote.</p>