<p>This is a really interesting article in Businessweek about Hernandez's College Admissions Business. (She wrote A is For Admissions and has been criticised by colleges)</p>
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Michele Hernandez boasts that 95% of her teenage clients are accepted by their first-choice school. Her price: As much as $40,000 a student
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If the notoriety sometimes bothers her, Hernandez is not about to let on. To her critics, she says: "I'd be an idiot to charge half of what I can. Parents can always hire a lesser person." That might sound arrogant, but she is clearly proud of turning her one-woman operation, Hernandez College Consulting, into what amounts to a luxury brand. Her clients, mostly people of some means and great ambition, rave about the personal service: the regular phone calls to their kids (you have to go above and beyond); the academic help (read the book Poetic Meter and Poetic Form); the "brand" positioning (classics would be a great angle); the advice about which colleges to consider and where not to bother; the hours she devotes to each application
<p>What she does is no different than what Dave Berry and consultants do. It is advertised in the Home Page of CC. I believe there are different "levels" of this type of counseling. It is geared to a specific population of course: those who can afford it.</p>
<p>I bet that article is further advertisement for her services.</p>
<p>Though there may be families out there that can afford thousands of dollars to send their precious darlings to top colleges, I would never turn my life over to a college counseling service to get into school. There is a big difference between doing personal research and turning to forums (such as College Confidential) for help and support, but... $40,000? That's more than the annual tuition at the (public) university I truly want to attend... more than two or three years' worth of tuition, actually.</p>
<p>What do those students do once they get to that ultra-prestigious college? If they didn't believe in themselves enough to get there on their own, how can the students expect to perform at the high level demanded by that university?</p>
<p>I realize that the parents view the counselor as an "investment," just as they view the private college education as an "investment" as well. Furthermore, I realize that college admissions are now such a lottery that even the most talented of students can make a sure bet on admissions. I just don't see how it helps the student in the long run to use mommy and daddy's money to go to the school that they want... if the student was that motivated and that determined, they could make a success of themselves without paying tuition-prices for coaching advice.</p>
<p>"You have 0% chance of getting into Harvard early decision. Don't apply,'" she says. "People pay for accuracy. I know exactly what it takes to get into Harvard."</p>
<p>How arrogant! She knows EXACTLY what it takes to get into Harvard... hmmmmm.</p>
<p>Also-</p>
<p>"And she earned a quickie doctorate in education from Nova Southeastern University in Florida, where she had moved in 1998. About that degree she is candid: "It's kind of crappy compared to my other ones. But I figured it would be good to have. I am a doctor. It gives me some credibility."</p>
<p>Also, IMO, her book was terrible. Se came off as an arrogant B*tch and it offered few real insights.</p>
<p>I would never spend $40,000 like that. I'd rather the money go towards some organization that helps kids from low-income families get into any college.</p>
<p>$40,000!!! Wow, just wow...it's amazing that some people never even have to consider money. You can get into your first choice without shelling out that much.</p>
<p>I am not sure if she was the one I was reading about, but at least one of those fancy counselors makes you apply for thier services. Heck, I could do the same thing - just accept 2 really obvious choices each year, and I could afford to pay for my son's tuition :-)</p>
<p>Like louis vuitton, mercedes, and seven jeans it's just another brand name for our brand obsessed and consumerism society. Mommy and daddy just want junior to get into harvard so he can be a good brown nose so maybe junior can finally stop mooching off of mommy and daddy and pay for his own gas to drive the hummer out.</p>
<p>Hah, from the estimated cost per year provided by my top school (Columbia) I calculated it will be a little over 180,000 for my undergrad education, which is probably a conservative estimate. That is already a high cost for college, my parents would never pay 40,000 to get me into Columbia, even though they techincally probably could.</p>
<p>I don't think I would go there even if I did have the money, which I definitely do not. I wonder how many of those top schools of students would still let them in if they knew they were clients of her.</p>
<p>It's all about willingness (and ability) to pay. For most people, shellling out $40K for this service seems absurd. But how many CCers have paid $2-5,000 for a 3 week "summer experience" at CTY or similar, or pay for an SAT prep course? My guess is quite a few. Many people would consider those to be a pure luxury. Let the free market prevail, and let people spend their available resources as they see fit.</p>
<p>There are a lot of people out there without the time or inclination to research college admissions for themselves. Throw in a certain level of wealth and, voila, you have the college consulting industry.</p>
<p>bluejay: I dont think you can compare CTY to this. CTY is an experience in itself, and judging by my daughter, a particularly fine one. SAT prep classes and expensive college counselors are used by people who think that paying money will make something more valuable and easier to attain.</p>
<p>This is a farce. 18 year olds need to find their own niche and sometimes make their own mistakes to grow. Fit in where you think you fit in, not where some over paid self promoting guru thinks you will!</p>
<p>I tend to agree with bluejay here. In many cases, the "motives" are just the same as the purpose intended by the expensive counselor. As a matter of fact, school adcoms are becoming more aware of the fact that "going to Peru to build a village for the poor" sponsored by XYZ, may be nothing more than another expensive vacation as the ones advertised by Outdoor Magazine or Outside.</p>
<p>Just another way of buffing up someone's application.</p>
<p>yea id agree with the peru deal...i d think tho that she has some great ideas like the emailing scientists about the nanotech project one of her students had...40 k is a bit ridiculous but u can get both of her books on amazon for 20 bucks</p>