Has Anyone Used a Professional Consultant in the Boarding School Process?

Prep School Admissions
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<p>edconsultant -</p>

<p>That's exactly what I did. I talked to students who attended.. they were my #1 source of info.. as well as people I know who have attended, their parents, family members who have attended.. I asked very tough questions, like how many kids they know of dropping out, how common drugs/drinking are on campus, management issues and struggles, honesty in brochures...I looked at brochures, yes, but only for hard facts. They're all the same anyway "... our teachers care about you... our kids are smart and nice.. we value tradition.. lots of opportunities for you, apply!" Yup, got it. </p>

<p>I looked at what was important to me -- teaching style/philosophy, teacher discussion availability, availability of transition courses, humanities course descriptions, art programs, newspaper quality, kids who are actually smart and interesting and not just booksmart, a variety of community service programs and the ability to make your own, decent diversity and international %, management success, teachers with extensive training, clubs pertaining to my interests, traveling programs, girls xcountry/crew team rankings.. my choice was soo obvious (though I was pulled to Tabor/Andover because of the prospect of attending school with family & knowing people who go there)..</p>

<p>I even got my hands on current alumni newspapers and whatnot, to see who the non-famous alumni were.. I like how many Exonians (and Phillipians) were into community service after they graduated. Many Exonians were in education/law (and many Phillipians in journalism), which is what I'm interested in doing later on.</p>

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<p>Anyone who believes someone who dodges questions about their identity, has no credentials, no sources, and comes up with outrageous claims (X school is very depressed) is a downright fool.</p>

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<p>So, you essay edit for kids going to non-competitive schools? I think that's fine, but I think that kids applying to AESD should be able to edit their own essays, and for the admissions office to be able to clearly gauge their own writing style/thought process.</p>

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<p>Thank you, edconsultant for posting again in spite of the fire raging on here! </p>

<p>It is helpful to hear an in-depth description of the services provided by an ed consultant. In addition to the essay review service, I'm particularly interested in the interview process. Do you conduct mock interviews with the applicant?</p>

<p>Also, is there a usual number of schools your clients apply to? I'm wondering if the applicant has a better chance of presenting an excellent application that shows sincere interest if he/she applies to only one or two solid matches.</p>

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<p>Review/edit. What's the overall difference?</p>

<p>Sorry to sound rude, but essays aren't everything. I wrote some pretty terrible essays, still got into the school of my choice, my writing skills have thankfully flourished a little. </p>

<p>If the admissions officers refuse to understand that certain kids have weaknesses - and yes, they take into the factors of your kid's poor public education - then that school was never right for your child anyway.</p>

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<p>In my opinion there can be a huge difference between review and edit. </p>

<p>I think edit means correcting all mis-spellings, punctuation, grammar, and even having them change content. Along the lines of when a teacher corrects an english paper in school. </p>

<p>Review would be to look at it and make suggestions if something was really out of whack. Or like I said before if the topic screamed "don't send me in," help in brainstorming with the student a more appropriate one. If the essay was filled the grammatical or spelling errors, a review might suggest that the student go back themselves and check for them. </p>

<p>So, maybe the end result is similar, I think the difference lies in who actually does the work.</p>

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<p>Baseballmom, I have a question - are you interested in an educational consultant primarily for help with essays or to help you select appropriate schools and provide assistance with the overall application process? If it's the former, I kind of have to agree with Blairt - the essays need to be your son's work. The fact that he may be in a mediocre school district or that "everyone else is doing it" are ultimately rationalizations, not a legitimate justification for using a consultant in this way.</p>

<p>If you are really worried about your son's writing ability might I offer another suggestion? Why don't you take the money you'd spend on an educational consultant and hire a writing tutor to improve your son's writing skill. This will not only help him with his BS essays, but with his classes once he gets to BS. Also, it will insure that his SSAT essay and his BS essays match up. Honestly, if he ends up submitting super-polished BS essays, and his SSAT essay borders on the incoherent I think the disparity will end up hurting him rather than helping him.</p>

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<p>However, when someone else makes suggestions for an essay - then it is still not that person's work. The only difference between editing and reviewing is that the writer literally revises his essay with someone else's ideas. I don't see huge wrongdoing in looking over your son's essay and airbrushing it a bit, much like if you gave a bit of advice on your homework's essay like "oh, that sounds a little childish" or "improve your grammar, for heavens' sake!" but actually hiring a professional, who will come to supply proffessional advice, might be going a little too far. Remember, this is a high school, not a college. In the end, it doesn't matter what sort of environment or school system he grew up in as long as <em>he</em> is willing to work for his success.</p>

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<p>I don't understand the foundation for this debate. That's because I believe an educational consultant understands these boundaries as well as anyone out here. And if they know, then 1) they will communicate any limitations or deviations from what their client expects of them and what they can deliver; AND 2) they will not compromise themselves or their clients by crossing those lines.</p>

<p>Even if baseballmom's intentions cover a gray area -- or cross a clearly marked line -- the plan is to work with an educational consultant. So that means she's not trying to do something unethical -- because you don't hire unwilling conspirators. And if there's a better approach than what she described -- one that complies with the applicable parameters to essays or any other parts of the application process -- that's where things will shake out.</p>

<p>However, if the need for an educational consultant is all about mo' better writing, then prpdd is spot on. Tap into any of the available resources for writing help: a learning center, a private writing tutor, extra instruction, etc. It's probably cheaper and they're probably better able to help a student write well than an educational consultant.</p>

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<p>IluvA's - Not to start/continue an argument here, but what do you think about the Jr. Prep schools that do practice interviews? It's the same thing. Or take it a step further. The parents practice interviewing with the kid. Is THAT "cheating?" </p>

<p>Helping a student come up with a topic for an essay by brainstorming WITH the student does not mean it is not the studen'ts work. I never said the person would say "you should write about this." But sitting down and saying, "ok, here is the question...let's come up with a list of things that fall in that catagory that you could write about." And then with that list, asking, which they feel most strongly about...something along those lines. Helping to guide them to pick the topic they could be most successful in writing. Not TELLING them what to write about. </p>

<p>As D'yer stated, Ed cons know the line and good ones don't cross it. Also, the schools get the SSAT essay and will know if the essay submitted on the application isn't the kids work.</p>

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<p>Consider this: If hiring an Educational Consultant indicates that the applicant did not do the required work, then Educational Consultants would have a poor placement record because schools would know to avoid applicants using them.
Generally, a consultant will make contact with the schools, so they know which applicants have a consultant.<br>
In general, Educational Consultants have good placement records and good relationships with schools. They must be doing something right and acceptable.</p>

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<p>When kids write essays for the SSAT they often don't have the opportunity to edit their own work because of the time element involved. Any good writer edits and rewrites many times over before they come up with a finished product. The same is true for kids writing an essay. Kids have plenty of time to edit their own work when writing an essay for an application. I'm sure that these schools understand that difference.</p>

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<p>One prep school admissions officer (with whom I was really impressed) told us that he loved our Educational Consultant because she was very honest with the school about whether the student was a good fit and what the student's strengths and weaknesses were. This was Cushing, by the way, which is not where my son went, but a school that really impressed us.</p>

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<p>Actually, a lot of lesser known schools like Cushing depend on educational consultants to send students their way, and court them with lunches, tours etc. Their role in the boarding school admissions process is different than the college consultant industry.</p>

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<p>I'm just curious -- Would you mind explaining the difference between boarding school admissions process & the college admissions process? I've been through one but not the other. Thanks.</p>

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<p>I'll let MOWC answer that one as I'm only familiar with boarding schools. My overall impression is that at the high school level, it's more about "finding the right fit," while at the college level it's more about packaging a student to give them an advantage in the process. Correct me if I'm wrong!</p>

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<p>BP...you asked about the difference with the processes. I'm going to address the difference with the educational consultants who navigate those separate processes. It may get to the heart of what you are trying to explore. (Then again, it may not.)</p>

<p>In terms of selecting an educational consultant I think that there's a big difference in terms of the knowledge base, expertise, relationships and interpersonal relationships.</p>

<p>The skill sets required of a college-focused ed con and a BS-focused ed con would be strikingly similar. But I found that using a highly-regarded, highly-successful college-focused ed con for a BS search was a huge waste. What we needed most was someone who knew the admission process and the cultures at the schools. What we got was someone who trailed far behind this message board in terms of the knowledge base.</p>

<p>I think relating to how an 8th grader will impress a BS admission committee and how a high school senior will impress a college admission committee would be a big difference. They certify teachers for high school and others for middle school. In many ways they do the same things, but I would think the difference is that the knowledge level is different and the ability to relate to the peer groups is different -- enough to require separate certifications.</p>

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<p>Thank you, PARENTS, for getting this thread back on track! I should have requested only adult responses at the start.</p>

<p>Forge ahead!</p>

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<p>I have done both college and boarding school with my kids- two in college now (an Ivy and a conservatory). The process was quite different. However, we have never used an edcon because my kids were going from one private school to another for bs, and from a bs to college.</p>

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<p>I think that what most of the students are trying to say, (or at least me), is that going through all the fuss of hiring an educational consultant for the mere sake of looking over essays is a bit excessive. Like the others said, if it's for comprehension of the admissions process, then I suppose it's ok (without any beforehand knowledge of prep schools I handled the entire process by myself, from online research and CC, and am now attending the perfect school for me) Why not be the essay reviewer yourself? After all, you know your son the best.</p>

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<p>There are similarities, of course, in the two processes. The above comments are correct, that with BS, it is much more about the right fit. If you are talking about a 9th grade applicant, you are dealing with a really young student, and the right environment is crucial. It can be a real disaster if too much independence is given, not enough nurturing, too much of a change in culture, etc. By college admissions, the student is older, has had more experiences and has a better idea of his or own personal needs. In the case of BS admissions PAST 9th grade, you are looking at getting one of very few available spots, so the EC can be a big help in keeping you from wasting your time. In my son's case, our EC was able to tell us certain schools that would not even consider him (board of directors mandates etc) which saved some time. Our EC also had some good advice re: entering a highly selective school like Exeter or Andover in later grades and the disadvantage it could put you regarding the college application and admission process. As I said, the BS my son ultimately graduated from was one I honed in on myself and made a contact that remains a true gift in the life of my son and our family. </p>

<p>The BSs do rely on the Educational Consultants, especially when they are trying to expand their applicant base to certain other geographical areas. In Texas, no one heard of Cushing, the MAPL schools, Williston, NMH etc., but gifted ECs were able to steer kids that way which led to many happy kids and families.</p>

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<p>I think Mom of Wildchild said a lot of good things. Consultants for boarding schools are not concerned with "getting you in". I am a consultant, and what we are looking for is a good fit. Probably about 10-15% of the kids I work with are applying to the top 10 schools, so it is a small number. For the most part we are dealing with kids who aren't doing as well as they could, and the goal is to find a place where they will improve. I've seen wonderful changes in students.</p>

<p>And yes, one thing that is missed on here a lot is that schools are looking for a good fit, lifestyle-wise. In college, they aren't as concerned with the personality, maturity, etc. But the boarding school admissions officers are going to be living with these teenagers in a dorm, so maturity and personality are a huge part of it. I had one client who was a 12 year old 8th grader with off the charts scores, taking college level math, very smart. He also looked about 9 years old and his parents did all the talking for him. I knew that he wasn't ready for boarding school, but they felt his numbers said it all. I encouraged them to consider some day schools too. In the end, he was rejected by all the boarding schools, although some recommended he apply later in high school. He was admitted to all the day schools. So you see, a consultant isn't just trying to get kids in, we look at the big picture, try to do our best for the child. As the poster above said, we also save people a lot of time applying to schools that would never consider them or would not serve their needs.</p>

<p>A note on editing: Even professional writers have their work edited. Many book authors have several people read it before their editor even sees it. Journalists also read each others work. In college and boarding schools, "re-writing" is considered one of the finer points of learning to write well. Write and re-write, get feedback and make it better. No one jumps in and writes it for the student--it's a learning process. The admissions committees don't consider the essays to be a "test" or a "timed writing", although they do get that on the SSAT. Feedback, review, and re-writing should be a part of everyone's essay writing experince, in my opinion.</p>