The consultants OP is looking at are in the 20K range from sophomore year for a complete package. There are consultants outside of NYC that are more reasonable and are probably just as effective. We (it was we, the CC was as much for me as for D2) worked with someone on the other side of country. We did everything through Skype. Sophomore year is the right time to start with counseling because the CC would assist with course selections, EC planning, and summer program selection. If you start end of junior year then the only things the CC can help with are the college list and the application.
1 Like
Asking a counselor to guide on EC/summer program/course selection assumes you want your kid’s HS life guided by their college ambitions. (Fine if you do, but we didn’t.)
Except for following the generic advice that he should do something and also be more rather than less aspirational (show engagement rather than just dabbling, take honors/APs etc. where possible), my kid’s EC/summer/course choices had exactly zip to do with college ambitions, just stuff he was interested in and enjoyed. I’d argue that you usually don’t need a counselor for that.
Which is not to say a counselor isn’t useful. As others have noted, there are lots of reasons they can be helpful WIth another kid in the pipeline, I’ll never say never, but so far I’m not seeing the need. Check back in a few years.
My kid was heavily involved with few ECs. She couldn’t do it all and she needed some help with cutting some back. The CC was very helpful in letting her know what some of those top tier schools were looking for. Some valued editor in chief more than the class president, and some liked performing arts than others. D2 also had few summer program options and with the CC’s help she was able to narrow it down. Her CC also helped her with junior and senior year course selections. She was in the IB program, but was not a STEM student. Her CC advised her to take SL for math and physics so she could spend more time on he courses of interest. I was concerned if she didn’t take HL for everything then she wouldn’t be a good candidate for schools she was interested. It was good to have the CC’s assurance because he was working with a team of ex-adcoms. I think if D2 was in HL math and physics, she would have struggled and her other courses would have suffered. Her CC thought it was more important for her to preserve her GPA.
I pretty much worked alongside my son in the same capacity as a College Counselor for nearly a year.
IMO, hiring the right College Counselor is a wise investment if you do not have a lot of first-hand, in depth previous experience with the overall application process. It is quite intimidating these days.
Our son was awarded a 4-year full tuition scholarship at a top-tier private university. Effectively communicating “who he is” through essays, reco letters and interviews was just as important as his academic performance (“what he achieved”). In other words, WHO is just as important the WHAT, and there is a lot of strategy, transparency and honesty required for your student’s personality/gifts/character to be revealed on paper. Helping him stay on track, keep organized, prepare for interviews, review essays, seek recommenders, etc. is a lot of work, but very rewarding and worth the time investment in our case. Very blessed!
@Missss Did you decide to go with one of those counselors? We are also looking at Top Tier Admissions, Ivy Wise and a few others but I’m having a hard time finding reviews on any of them.
You won’t find reviews if these super-expensive private counselors like Ivy Wise and Ivy Coach - but, hey -someone should really start one! There is nothing preventing them from make wild claims and selling snake oil- it’s not like they publish their track record. An admissions officer I know at a ‘little ivy’ says she can smell an application from one of these places a mile away. Her advice: “The more self-promotion a private consultant does, the farther you should run.” Better to get a recommendation from your kid’s school!