I hired one for both of my children and it was the best thing that ever happened to them. My son at first was very angry with me for hiring one but in the end he thanked me and said she was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Also, essays definitely matter. The Dean of Admissions at ND told us at his info. session that out of 17k students they get 6k applicants with 1500+ SAT (M/CR) and are the top1% of their HS class but there are only 2k spots. He says they read every essay to determine if you fit THEIR culture. That is how they decide who gets admitted or not. So yes, the essays are a BIG deal at some of these colleges.
I also met with a smaller LAC - 1100 in size - admissions officer. He told my D to really spend time on her essays. He
said he gets some really bad essays and he gave her lots of tips.
Tulane has an optional essay but guess what it isn’t really optional! Ha ha.
So I would say essays are crucial for all colleges especially if they ask for them. I think it is all about FIT. Not only are you trying to find colleges that fit you, they are doing the same thing. They hope you’ll stay for all 4 years!
Often families going though this process don’t know what they don’t know. A counselor can help them navigate this process, help keep the student on track, on time and prepared, and help to identify an appropriate list of schools. However, a good consultant is not going to do this “for” a student, they will do it “with” a student.
^ ^ ^
Isn’t this precisely what Guidance Counselors are supposed to do “with” their students? Shouldn’t students/parents/taxpayers demand their public schools provide these critical and normal functions, thereby obviating the necessity to pay twice (once in taxes and once for a private, for-fee counselor)?
^ My highly rated TX public schools averages 600 per class for a total of about 2400 kids. There are 7 counselors. My son is a junior and on his 3rd counselor because of turnover and reassignment of students. Our counselors manage courses and make sure students have the correct credits; they address students who might have some major problems in school or at home; they manage AP tests scheduling; and they write recommendation letters etc. But the counselors don’t have time to help students through the college process. I live in an affluent community where parents have the wherewithal to guide and help their children. It must be very difficult for many students to navigate the college admission process if they are the first person in their families to attend colleg or don’t have any funds to pay for college.
We didn’t use one. I found certain books helpful, and then college confidential helpful to get the basic facts. My kids’ school required the kids to write common ap essays that were reviewed by their English teacher.
It became clear to me that my kids didn’t want to do some of the things that the books recommended (stick with an EC all 4 years, take hardest courseload, etc). They also didn’t want to be “packaged” and would have preferred being rejected to being packaged. They refused to take test prep classes and studied from the books using the Xiggi method. Basically they did nothing for the sake of looking good on their applications. They were both happy with their results.
That said, if neither parent has time to research, or if the kids don’t respond to parents suggestions because they are, well, parents, then a private counselor can be very beneficial.
**** ETA: Current research indicates that one in 4 are now using an independent college consultant. My graduating seniors this year said they couldn’t have done it without the help, support and guidance.
@jym626 and @txstella: For those who correctly indicate inadequate number of counselors and their time, you’ve missed my point. What resources are allocated to “nice to have” – rather than critical – high school things and what money is allocated to provide unionized teachers/counselors – aren’t they supposed to be professionals? – with over half of every year off (vacations, “teacher work days,” holidays, personal days, sick time frequently taken for non-medical reasons, et al)? NO OTHER degreed professionals enjoy this sort of time-off-task.
All of this is permitted by “we the people” and our representatives, who could insist on massively altering the paradigm to the kids’ substantial benefit (think Wisconsin). I never indicated that the current approach was viable, only that we “should demand public schools provide these critical and normal functions.”
What could be more important than enhancing children’s futures? Isn’t the college selection process a fundamental – and a vital – part of that crucial mission?
Lets not turn this into another educator/union -bashing thread, toptier. I think you’ve missed OUR point. Regardless of what is ideal in the grand scheme of things, the reality is that the admissions process is getting increasingly competitive, and students and families can and should turn to resources to help them with this process. And before you suggest that this is only available to those who can afford it, many, including myself, offer volunteer services to those who might otherwise not have assistance from family familiar with the process or get sufficient assistance from their overstretched school resources
My neighbor paid $200 per school application to an admission counselor who is also a high school teacher. To me, it is a total waste of money. At the end, I helped my neighbor much more that person on her son’s college application for free.
We’ve seen plenty of posts here exemplifying that school counselors may not be=e familiar with many schools or carefully review a students list for the reality of likelihood of admission
My kid was admitted (or waitlisted) to 13 of the 14 colleges she applied to. In the case of 4 of them, the AO wrote personal letters remarking on her essay. They count.
That said, I considered hiring an admissions counselor at the very beginning…some of them are quite successful…but I decided to become an admissions expert myself by hanging out way too much at CC.
Much like @txstella, our kids’ high school counsellors are each responsible for approx 500+ students. Their job description is to manage students’ course selections, their progress towards graduation, helping draft IEPs and being present at IEP/504 meetings, coordinating college presentations, working with various alternative high school scenarios (part home school for medical reasons, “fresh start” programs), writing recommendations, etc. They really do not have time to offer the kids much help in the college process aside from referring them to resources where the motivated student can find all the information available. Really, the kids are often more internet savvy than some of the older “counsellors”. My kids did their own research, and utilized all sorts of sources for winnowing down their lusts. Much input from us, friends, relatives, college mailings, tours…
It would have been nice to add another voice to the chorus, but not having input from a guidance counselor had zero impact in our situation. In an inner city school, I can appreciate that this might be more important. But then again, in an inner city school there are far more pressing issues that may consume a counsellors time.
I’ll take a stab at it. We never hired a consultant or even looked into it. I made a guess that things would probably work out for my kids, and they would certainly get into some reasonable schools, because they have some ability and were pretty strong applicants. I also do not know how much consultants cost. If, on the other hand, I felt in some way worried that my children would need more support through the process than they would get at home and school, and money was available, then I would look for the very best college expert I could find.
While it is fine to discuss elsewhere whether high school guidance counselors are providing enough expertise in this area, that is not what the OP asked. I think no one would argue that the quality and availability of high school guidance counseling in general and for college admissions advice in particular varies widely and wildly across the country. That’s a completely different discussion as far as how widespread the problem is and what to do about it. But it is a fact that it is the case and so only impacts this discussion to the extent of how much the existence of that situation at any given school would impact the decision to hire from the outside. We cannot know what it is like at the OP’s school. So let’s focus on discussion of when a consultant might be useful and when they might be a waste of money. And as always, avoid getting personal.
While there may be some advantages to hiring an admissions consultant, I believe 95% of the people should self-educate themselves about the Process and handle it on their own. The knowledge is out there and you just have to dig a bit to get it and know how to take some of the info with a grain of salt.
Essays definitely matter, and the most effective ones speak from the heart and convey some essence of who the kid truly is and what they can bring to a student body.
Like many of you, our college counselors at school were ill-equipped to handle anything beyond the mainstream. So as with finances, you outsource to a broker or you educate yourself. There are always advantages to empowering yourself with info and knowledge compared to passively buying it. And with college costs so high, there are incentives in this knowledge when being smart can save you a ton of money and ensure a good successful fit.
I feel the same way about these Talent Search programs that cost so much but really do not give a preferential advantage in admissions. If you have a talented kid you will get inundated with these from Northwestern, Duke etc. Save your money and use it to enrich your child’s experiences in other ways through travel and exposure to unique things.
Nobody knows your kid, his/her needs and your own situation better than you. You can be your own best advocate and be smarter than most college consultants with just a bit of homework. As in investing, it is more important to be contrarian and value-focused sometimes and ignore the madness of crowds.
Good luck to everyone! Put some boots on the ground this summer!!
In my case, the high school guidance counselor told my kids to apply to Rutgers and RIT. I asked her why and she said she recommends all of her students to apply there. Great answer - right? She also told us to stay away from the smaller schools! I actually attended a smaller school that was 1600 in size and I realized she doesn’t know a thing about my children and doesn’t have the time. My son even told me she has way too many students and not enough time.
So I realized I had to help my kids. I tried to learn the college process and after several weeks, I realized how daunting it was and we were starting kind of late. I chose to hire a private counselor through a friend and she was the best thing that ever happened to us. She had 20 years+ experience of being an admissions officer at a top 10 university and also a guidance counselor - she had experience from both sides. She only has around ten students at a time which made a huge difference.
She was very helpful as far as which colleges would fit my children. She spent several hours learning what they wanted out of college, what they wanted to study, what kind of students they are, what their interest were, etc. She knew about a lot of colleges - their cultures and she would steer my kids away from places that were cut-throat or too politically liberal, etc. (which my kids didnt’ want). She also saved us money from visiting schools that usually don’t accept OOS students.
Basically, you are entering a world of what you don’t know you don’t know. It is like anything else in life, you have to learn, research, etc. It takes a lot of time. All these colleges are different. However, if you are just applying to state schools then you don’t need a private counselor. My kids both went the private route and they both did well. My kids knew they needed to be in a smaller school to thrive.
They both applied to nine colleges and they were both rejected to two out of nine. She also helped them with their applications and essays - making sure they were appropriate and detailed enough. She basically made sure there were no mistakes and that everything was completely filled out with a “fine tooth and comb”. She also told us when to apply which gave my kids a huge leg up. She was also there to answer a million questions and she motivated my kids to get things done. She had a timeline and kept the process moving because if you wait until the last minute it can get really stressful. I doubt my kids would have done as well without her.
We used a private admission counselor who was a retired GC from our high school, so her fee was very reasonable compared to the amounts I’ve seen mentioned on CC. She did not advise about the essays but had another consultant (retired English teacher) you could use for that if you wanted. She was very helpful at formulating D’s list over time and making sure D put together the info in her Common App (e.g., listing honors and awards and describing EC’s, and using the additional info section) in the best way possible for D’s situation. She gave useful tips about things like timing when D would take the SAT (right after the PSAT worked very well for D), demonstrating interest and contacting the local admission reps. Plus having regular meetings with her especially in the Fall of senior year kept D on track to get everything done in an orderly fashion. D ended up getting into her ED1 choice, but by the time she found out on Dec. 12, she already had all of her other apps finished and ready to go. She has had a good track record of getting kids into highly selective schools. She helped one of D’s classmates get into that kid’s ED1 school despite a less than stellar GPA.
I have a younger D (HS Class of 2019). I feel like I know the system much better now, but I would still consider hiring the private counselor if D19 wants to go out of state, just to avoid all the parent/child drama that would be very likely with D19.
It might be worthwhile for certain parents. I played division 1 sports in college so I travelled to dozens of schools and got to know plenty.
The problem parents have with the college process is understanding where a child fits. The parents of every B+ student with a 75th percentile test score has an initial list of every top 25 university and every top 25 LAC until they realize the kid doesn’t have a snow ball’s chance in hell. This is where the process breaks down and things get weird.
A professional will be able to match without getting punched in the nose.
Many parents also don’t realize that every kid that applies to Boston College from the same high school will not get in. No clue about this point.
The other thing that many parents fear is the kid going to a school that their friends have never heard of. That is a huge issue. “Middlebury??? Where is that, I’ve never heard of it”. Just imagine the embarrassment. The one that gets under my skin is " Colgate, isn’t that a small school?"
In my experience in this field, the benefit lies with helping those parents who have difficulty being objective. Understand that this does not apply to every parent. I think I was realistic (if anything, ultra-cautious) about my own children, and I have met similar down-to-earth parents, but many, many parents are not. By “realistic” I do not mean that they do not know their own children. (Of course they do, which is why I really, really want parental input and why I know how valuable it is to the process.)
However, probably more than half of parents fall into the trap of tunnel vision. While they can rattle off the student’s strengths and weaknesses, they are not calculating that profile in the context of that high school, that county, that region, that State, the nation, and the planet. They approach admissions in an “absolute” way, not a comparative way. But today, all college admissions is comparative – yes, even for most publics. The supportive yet more objective and comprehensive viewpoint of a counselor can be enormously beneficial in creating a desirable college list, limiting excesses yet locating where that student might have an edge vs. other “similar” students in his or her class.
