<p>Hello!
I am a long time reader of the site, and a new poster and I have a question for the parents; </p>
<p>Have you considered using an independent academic consultant? If so what sort of credentials do you want them to have? Also were you looking just at admissions help, or more long term?
What do you think is a fair price to charge for their services? </p>
<p>If you have any thoughts or recommendations, please reply, I would love to get some insight from everyone. </p>
<p>I agree with Marian. Now, some friends of ours did hire one for their DD. The counselor got her looking at schools that were a much better fit for her than what her parents thought were good fits :D. I could have told them that for a lot less money. She is a good student but one that has to study, A LOT, for the grades she gets. They were focusing only on Ivy’s. When she got a 25 on her ACT, the counselor pointed her toward schools that were a much better fit—for $3500 they got that advice.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why anybody would pay a couple of kilobucks for information that’s free. Doing your own research + spending a fair amount of time here on CC will serve you just as well.</p>
<p>if your school counselor is not available or “good” then yes. I do not mean a counselor sipping tea in some swanky office in Manhattan . but, a person who can guide past the barriers you or your family may have set up in your minds abut what is the right or wrong for you… school costs etc… finding the right person is hard, and you may find somebody out of state and you need to Skype but I would say use one(and possibly save money)</p>
<p>I can think of a couple of reason why I would have considered a private consultant:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If I truly did not have time (or inclination) to do the research myself. As others have said, CC is a GREAT resource. Just wish I had found it sooner for D1, although her search turned out well anyway. D2 is a HS senior, and we are “do it yourselfers” pretty much all the way this time.</p></li>
<li><p>I think a lot depends on your relationship with your kid. If your kid would not want you to review your essays and pooh-poohs your opinion on other subjects, I would say it is money well spent.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Since we haven’t hired one, can’t tell you what credentials to look for. One of D’s coaches for an academic EC happens to also be a private college counselor, and I would definitely hire him if we needed one. I would think word of mouth and someone with experience either as a high school admissions counselor or in a college admissions office (the type of college you would hope your kid would go to) would be useful to consider.</p>
<p>A friend used a consultant because her daughter would not listen to reason about financial limits. The daughter was happy with the consultant and came out of meetings excited about some new ideas for where to apply. The consultant didn’t listen to financial limits, either, and ultimately Mom agreed to work until she is 80 and pay loans for daughter to have it her way. (Yes, Mom also paid the consultant.)</p>
<p>An attorney I know recommended one she had used. My D and I met with him. He talked a good game but the schools he kept mentioning were a notch below where my D saw herself. His contract called for a cut of grant aid that “he” would be able to get her!</p>
<p>We didn’t end up using him and I’m so glad we made that decision. My D is in a great school and she did it on her own. Having been through the process once and educating myself, for my younger child I wouldn’t dream of it.</p>
<p>I have worked in higher education for most of my career in everything from admissions, to student activities and Greek life to most recently academic advising. Having been at small private schools, large public state universities, and community colleges, I have found that I just love helping people go to college. Especially low income/first generation college students like I was. There is so much information out there and it seems like a lot of places (consultants and schools alike) are just out there to sucker people and make money. And I don’t think that’s fair to take advantage of those who might not have a parent or sibling who can help them with the process. I want to fix this. </p>
<p>I really want to be able to help with everything, not just the admissions piece. More of a personal academic advisor who can assist with not only finding the right school, but major selection, mapping the degree and setting a timeline for completion, identifying student organizations and career planning, etc. I get to do a lot of this now, but being an employee of a university it limits what I can do/say in a lot of instances. I want to be able to work for the best interests of my student not for an organization. I don’t need to bank a million dollars but it would be really nice to be able to eat, and maybe eventually leave my day job to work with my students full time.</p>
<p>A bit of my background, I have a masters in education (college student affairs) with a graduate certificate in career counseling, an MBA (tracks in management/marketing/sustainability), and a bachelors degree in business and social/industrial psychology. I have worked as an admissions counselor, in a dean of student’s office, as a fraternity advisor, and most recently as an academic advisor at both the CC and Univ levels. I am also a behavioral analyst and am certified in DISC, Myers Briggs, and Strengths Quest, as well as the LCI and am an NCBI diversity trainer. I volunteer with my Junior Women’s club and my local Mensa chapter and have had the opportunity to speak at a variety of academic conferences. I hope to be able to inspire other students to go out and chase their dreams and show them that no matter where you come from, if you want it you can achieve it.</p>
<p>In researching other consulting companies, it appears they 1)charge an arm and a leg (and with the population I want to help that’s just not nice) and 2)seem to leave you high and dry once you actually get in to the college. Also the organization that many join is pretty pricy for not getting much out of it but being able to say you are a member. </p>
<p>I have spoken to a a few friends of mine, and they said that if I charged significantly less than other consultants (like $25/hr instead of $300) that it might look like I am not as qualified or “worth it”. I just feel that the rates of most are astronomical and I would not feel comfortable taking that kind of money from someone who is trying to better their life. (Aside from being horribly unethical to ask for a cut of someone’s grant aid, I am pretty sure that’s against federal regulations.) College is already a huge cost and I do not want to add to that burden. I want to help!</p>
<p>Oldfort; thank you for that link, I have been reading it (on page 3 now) and it gives alot of insight to what the parents are feeling. Thanks!</p>
<p>I just really wanted to get some insight from some involved and knowledgeable parents who are in the thick of college issues with their students and hear from them about what they want. This forum has been invaluable and I thank everyone for their advice. :)</p>
<p>4kidsdad–I’m sure THEY think it is money well spent because, well, they like to tell everyone they hired a college adviser for their child. The rest of us think it’s a waste of money because like I said earlier, we all could have told them she would never get into the schools she was considering, even with her 4.0. She dropped all EC’s so she could study more and then the test results sealed the deal. </p>
<p>I have no idea what the credentials of this person is, never cared enough to ask I guess.</p>
<p>May I suggest you begin by setting your pricing at a point that you think is a fair price for your time, and charge that price to those clients who are in a position to pay it. </p>
<p>You can then also offer free group advice sessions through youth organizations, particularly those which serve students who may not have parents with the time, knowledge, and inclination to help them with their search processes. </p>
<p>You may choose to work with some students one-to-one on a sliding scale (perhaps one that slides down to nothing).</p>
<p>DeskPotato; that’s great advice. I have been working pro-bono for the last year and that has been what has spurred me into really look at doing this seriously. I will be doing a free workshop at our local YMCA this month, and am coordinating with a lady who works with foster kids in our state to do some reach out and mentoring there.
I am also in the process of launching a website and blog (as soon as I get together the money to get someone to build it for me) that I can use to post free tips and tricks, etc on college topics. Hopefully it will be up soon.</p>
Hopefully it will be up soon.</p>