<p>I've recently seen some ads whereby college consultants will GUARANTEE admission to Ivy colleges. How does this work....do these consultants have connections with the admissions offices at those colleges? Seems like a worthwhile investment!</p>
<p>If anyone out there has used such a service, I'd appreciate it if you would share some info on it.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>They put you in a package with a bright shiny bow and take that package to an ivy league admissions office.</p>
<p>Either that or they just don't take people who have low grades/board scores.</p>
<p>Perhaps they charge an exorbitant amount of money for the service, but only make you pay if you get in. They probably make their clients apply to all the ivies, as well.</p>
<p>Yeah, I bet they review your son or daughter's application and if they think it passes muster then they'll accept the job! That way they can turn out any kids who they don't think stand a chance of getting into an Ivy.</p>
<p>Amb3r,</p>
<p>I think you're right!</p>
<p>In my opinion, it sounds unethical if that's what they're doing. In the college admission process, desperate and overinvolved parents would be easy targets for such a thing.</p>
<p>A poster on another thread said it meant something like this: Parent writes a check for $5,000 to college consultant. College consultant holds onto check. Kid gets in to Ivy, check is cashed. Kid doesn't get in, consultant returns check. Win Win situation!</p>
<p>Not necessarily a win-win situation. If the consultant takes on only potentially successful cases, would the student have gotten into the GUARANTEED college without the help of the consultant anyway?...probably.
So, the parent probably has paid $5000 for essentially the same services that a good public school guidance counselor could provide for free.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, desperate and overinvolved parents are good targets for such scams.</p>
<p>It would be interesting for 60 Minutes or 20/20 to do an undercover investigation, whereby they pose as clients and hire a college consultant.</p>
<p>Could the consultant have some "in," perhaps? Connections do help - as does only taking hooked or well-qualified applicants.</p>
<p>In the book The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins, Ms. Robbins attempts to follow a star student through the admissions process and attends the first meeting with the private college counselor. The counselor then told the student she couldn't have her for a client if she was going to be followed by a reporter.</p>
<p>Yeah their like $40,000. Basically one year of tuition and their kinda like your brain. They tell you what classes to take, what EC's to do, when you should do this, they polish your application and make it perrfect. I'm pretty sure they'll take average students?</p>
<p>who actually pays all that money, that's ridiculous!! It's not fair, just because they get help to present themselves as a better applicant doesn't mean they are better in comparison to someone who did the application all by themselves and is much more sincere and honest and in reality a better applicant. I am doing my app alone, and I'm not paying anyone to get me into an ivy league school. hiring private counselors is just ridiculous, just like how some people hire private SAT tutors. I can get a good score on my own, thank you, without having to pay boatloads of money. Sorry, just had to get it out there, I am somewhat resentful of people who get want they want through money, it's ridiculous.</p>
<p>sorry for the rant, just really stressed out and annoyed</p>
<p>I wonder if they do have "connections"</p>
<p>If they do have connections, and the Ivy admissions offices let the consultant's influence enter into their admission decision-making process, this would be just one more case of the Ivies favoring the wealthy. It would certainly negate any of the positive publicity the Ivies have gotten for enhancing financial aid opportunities for middle income families. </p>
<p>But, when you think about it, the wealthy already have better connections. Ivy admissions offices focus most of their recruiting efforts on wealthy suburban high schools and elite private (high cost) schools. Rarely do they focus on small rural high schools, even though such schools have students just as bright and talented as the wealthy high schools.</p>
<p>If the Ivies truly want to help students of more modest means, they should invest some of their money in adding more admission staff to visit high schools that have always played "second fiddle" to the elite high schools they have always been connected to.</p>
<p>They should...probably not going to do it though. The Ivy's do somewhat favor the wealthy. Around 40-50% of admissions are from private highschools that usually have some sort of "admissions consultant." Not all do but a lot do....</p>
<p>That book following the Wesleyan admin. process had an example of Harvard-Westlake in L.A. where its guidance counselor was in tight w/ top schools. </p>
<p>It's so damn hard to get into Ivies these days that if you're not an athlete, URM, legacy, or VIP the chances are slim no matter how much $$$ you have or type of counselor. </p>
<p>I presume that the scheme with these Guaranteed Ivy Acceptance is take a fraction of students who inquire, then if half of that group gets in they still make $15000/2=$7500/student. Not bad for a day's work.</p>
<p>I know this is an old thread, but I’m posting this for when it comes up in search:
Please be aware that absolutely NO individual can claim to give guaranteed admission to a college or university and doing so is unethical. A paid consultant may know people in a college admissions office as a friend or colleague, but admission committees make their own decisions based on your application and credentials- not based on a consultant’s word. Educational Consultants can help students research colleges, prepare for interviews, etc- but be careful. Members of the IECA (iecaonline.com) promise to work under a code of ethics. There is a lot of misinformation in this thread. I strongly encourage students to reach out to Admission Counselors at colleges, who will be happy to speak with you directly. I base this information on 6 years as an Associate Dean of Admission.</p>
<p>I have not used these type of services but they may be useful. By guarantee, they may mean that if you do not get desired result, you will be compensated appropriately. However, last year this couple was not happy:
<a href=“Chinese Parents Sue Consultant After Sons Are Rejected by Harvard - The New York Times”>Chinese Parents Sue Consultant After Sons Are Rejected by Harvard - The New York Times;
<p>
Actually there are many schools (NOT Ivy league) with guaranteed admissions. Be careful how you make your statement.</p>