What are the requirements to style oneself as a college admission consultant? I ask because a relative of mine has hired one, and some of her recommendations seem a little off to me–for one thing, the list she and the student have generated for initial visits is entirely made up of reaches. This kid may have a hard time coming back to the opposite coast for a second look. This is a likely high-stat kid (although he hasn’t taken his SATs yet, either, which also concerns me, as he’s a junior). But no matter how great the kid, it seems to me, he needs to look at schools that are likelies. Isn’t that part of the consultant’s job, to manage expectancies?
To be honest, that is between the relative and the consultant. It is possible that the parent asked the consultant for reach types of schools that could be possibilities. It is also possible that the parent wants all of the safety type schools to be closer to home than the opposite coast.
Re: qualifications…they vary. Some consultants actually have a " certification" of sorts, having completed courses related to college counseling. The best ones have a track record of placing students in colleges that fit the student profile. Some are excellent at things like essay editing and assistance. Many advise families and students on course selection as well as extracurricular activities. They all should be able to assess a student’s stats and other credentials and come up with realistic application lists…which could include reach schools.
Since this student has not yet taken the SAT, perhaps this is a speculative list based on hoped for SAT scores.
No SATs yet and a junior?
Note that perhaps he has safeties, but why bother with a consultant to help you apply to safeties? Some consultants guarantee a result / will get a bonus if the kid is admitted.
What is a college consultant, if you don’t mind the dumb question? Is it like a coach who trains you to apply to college?
I imagine that a college consultant is a guide to the process, who can help a student figure out what he wants in a college and where he should be aiming his applications. Like a good school GC, but with enough time. I guess I am worried because finding reaches is easy, but finding matches and safeties that work for a high-stat kid is hard. That’s where I, at least, as a parent, would have wanted help.
Why is it so unusual not to have taken SATs yet as a junior? Most take it from January of junior year onwards.
At at rate, he has some PSATs to guide him.
Perhaps the parents asked for “reaches” in order to motivate kid (not my thing but I know a lot of parents who feel that way) and how do you know they are all reaches? Are they all ivies?
They vary wildly in effectiveness.
There’s nothing stopping any Tom, Dick or Harry from putting up a shingle declaring themselves a “college counselor”. Then there are the ones like ex-Dartmouth admissions Michelle Hernandez who costs $60k.
I daresay a lot of the CC veterans here are better than your average paid college counselor.
He’s missed the January SAT date, so he can’t take it till March; in May I expect he’ll have APs and possible subject tests; he might retake the SAT in June, but that means no subject tests. So if he’s happy with his score in March, great, but if he wants to retake, he’s stuck with June, when he might want to take subject tests, or the following fall. It seems to me that the smart choice is to take your SAT in January.
Most kids around here take the first SAT in March or May. Some don’t retest until fall…and yes that date is early enough for ED applications…and EA too. It’s smart to complete as much of junior year courses as possible before the first SAT.
January is early for the SAT, in my opinion…for a junior.
My son didn’t take the SAT until June. He took the ACT in March and then both again fall of his Sr. yr.
A lot of students do not take the first SAT until Mar of Junior year, so this student is not behind. The family is kind of late in hiring a college consultant. Hopefully this consultant will help the student plan out standarized testing schedule/tutoring, select a meaningful summer program and map out a schedule when the student needs to get the essays and application done.
I am not surprised the consultant is having the students look at reach schools now. If this is a high stat kid, the consultant is probably trying to help the student to narrow down his ED/SCEA school. There is a strategy on where to do ED/SCEA. Most consultants will want to get their students in during the early round. The consultant will probably help the student refine the list as more stats come in.
The reasons to visit a safety/match school are, 1) to show love, 2) make sure it is a school student would attend. Since this kid is from the opposite coast, adcoms would understand if he couldn’t visit the school to show love. A good consultant should be able to find reach and safeties based on what a student likes about some reach schools. As an example, if a student should like Dartmouth then Colgate maybe a good match. The student could always visit after he/she is accepted also.
Good track record.
Preach! A friend recommended her son’s college consultant to me. Knowing almost nothing about the process, I considered it. $2500!!! NO, thank you! I found CC. Without starting a single thread of inquiry, I found answers to every last one of my questions. Should we have started earlier? Undoubtedly. But, it still worked out very well. All thanks to CC!! I must admit, though, that I put A LOT of time into it…time many parents don’t have.
I have to disagree about the SAT timing. Ever heard students stating they wished to have started later? Good luck! OTOH, the litanies in the Fall of the Senior year are endless. It might not be TOO late but there are very good reasons to focus on the FALL and WINTER of the junior year. Reasons that include growing demands for AP, finals, ECs and diminishing windows of opportunities.
Some day people might see the benefit for having ALL ducks in a row before the first day of the senior year. Most everyone should look at the calendar required by Questbridge.
The OP relative probably will need a magician as opposed to a consultant.
I agree with xiggi. It’s becoming much more common to prep summer before junior year , take SAT Nov or Dec, then again in Jan or March if necessary. That leaves March - June for concentrated AP and Subject Test review.
I hired a college consultant to take myself out of the process. Besides coming up with what I think was a great list ( she gave us a safety we never would have thought of …that my daughter loved and would have been happy at if she didn’t get into her reach…which she did), she helped my daughter come up with essay ideas and did true editing. More importantly SHE set deadlines for my daughter which my daughter was willing to follow in a way that would never have happened coming from me. The counselor believed in having all essays done by the ED date so that if you didn’t get in you didn’t add the burden of having to do a lot of work on top of the disappointment of not getting in. Even though my daughter got in she felt really happy that she was in that position.
There are also College FINANCIAL Consultants, who handle all the FAFSA and CSS paperwork for you, and can give you advice on how to handle your money, and how college FA offices view your monies when it comes time to award FA. This can be money well spent (no pun intended), as it is amazing how many people fill out financial information incorrectly and late, damaging their opportunities for FA.
Because this is all they do, they are also extremely accurate in predicting FA awards from multiple institutions, so this can be very helpful in selecting which colleges to visit and potentially apply to, based on predicted affordability.
These people are specialized, not crazy expensive, and excellent, IMO.
“No SATs yet and a junior?”
Yes. Completely normal. Unless one is applying for a summer program that requires SAT scores, it’s appropriate to begin taking the SAT as a junior and not before.
Oldfort, your point is a good one–that it is essential to identify the ED choice early on. We would certainly have been better off if we’d grasped that sooner.
As far as SAT timing goes, of course that varies by student. I’m by no means in favor of retaking the test several times, and perhaps that is what happens if you start early. Taking it for the first time in January, however, helps identify the areas to study, if in fact you want to study, so that you can take it again in March and, one hopes, be done with it. I doubt that a kid would learn enough in the three months between January and March to justify waiting till then to take it. And I think there’s a real value in getting it out of the way before the torrent of tests in May and June, when juniors are burned out anyway and ready for vacation. Waiting until fall of the senior year strikes me as tough, when there are so many other big decisions and so much Work to do as it is. And, of course, if you need to retake a subject test that’s your time.
I truly understand the value of a consultant, especially in the role of “Not Mom and Dad”; when one of my kids had a tutor I found that the job of nagging was one I did not miss, and my kid appreciated the emotional distance, too, I think. I’m just surprised at some of the choices that are being made–and I’m expressing my surprise here, rather than to my relative! Smile and nod is still a good idea, I’m sure.
It is my hope that the prep summer before junior year would be to prep for the PSAT (since the junior year PSAT determines national merit, hispanic, achievement, etc). I would not recommend taking the SAT before the in PSAT junior year. If you can wait to get the results back (which is usually late november, early december), you can use those results to determine your strengths and focus on your areas of opportunity before sitting for the exam.
When to test is also not a one size fit all timeline; if a student is taking the test using fee waivers, they only receive 2 fee waivers for the SAT, SAT subject test and ACT, so they may not have the luxury of taking the test multiple times. For these students they must time their test strategically. The AP exams are usually given in early May and take the subject test in June. Students using fee waivers should IMHO take the test April, may june so that they have the summer to review and still have time to register for the the September ACT test /October SAT exams.
Since student is a high stat kid, I would also look into having some SAT optional schools in the mix. One of the most important things to do is to have the money talk to find out realistically how much family is willing to pay/borrow. If they are chasing merit, now is a good time to see what the requirements for merit money are this year (even though there may be some slight changes next year). Also check the threads for automatic merit scholarships and guaranteed admissions. The hardest thing will be is to find a safety school that if it is the only financially feasible school standing that student would be happy to attend