The above is true but requires a caveat. Inasmuch as there is no need to start taking official SATs in the sophomore year, there is quite a difference between taking them in the Fall and … having to struggle to find a Saturday in the Spring of the Junior year.
We all know that the common sense USED to be that one should take the PSAT (cold) in the 11th grade, wait for the kind GC to share the scores around Xmas, and then use that yardstick to take a SAT in January of March without much of a preparation. Well, if you want to understand why the SAT remains challenging and normalized to 500, you have your answer! That works for many students who simply will enroll at one of their two top choices that hardly require a score much above the standard deviation of the median.
This does NOT work very well for students who plan to apply to highly selective schools, and especially not students whose family plans to hire fancy consultants. Why spend a lot of money but handicap the chances with a non-sensical program of standardized testing?
The key is to MAP the entire process entirely and identify the pockets of available time and attention. Most schools that pretend to be college preparatory school will allow the 10th graders to take the unofficial PSAT. That is your green light to start looking at where a student will emerge. No need to go overboard but that first test will pave the way for the next steps which should culminate in the NEXT summer with an objective to present BOTH the PSAT and October SAT with an optimal preparation. Is there a better time than the summer between the 10th and 11th grade? I doubt that time will become less precious after the start of the Junior year.
For many who made the effort, the results are that both PSAT and SAT might work out just fine. If a higher score for the SAT is warranted, there will be opportunities later in the year. For the totally dedicated --or obsessed if you want-- there will be the time to add the ACT in September and a final SAT in October and November.
The issue here is not so much to dedicated plenty of time to the SAT but to eliminate worries about the scores and allow a student to focus on school work (and other tests) during the ever so important end of the junior year and first semester of the senior year. In other words, get rid of the SAT requirements as soon as possible and move on to better things. But do not waste time sitting on multiple admins WITHOUT the adequate preparation. One of the dumbest things students do is to use the official Saturday administration as a “let’s see what I can do cold.” There are enough released tests to ascertain that unprepared score. Again, that is not for the JoeSixPack who is applying to a school that accepts 80+ percent of its applicants, but is for your typical CCer.
Lastly, if you think that there are brownies or plus points attached to the “Took cold without prep or took the SAT only one time” … think again! It does not work like that! Only your final --and often superscored-- results matter.
There has been something like a three-fold increase in the number of college admissions consultants in the last few years. There is an industry trade group and membership would be a positive sign but I’m sure there are some marginally qualified consultants if not outright crooks out there. Any college list should be some mix of reaches, targes and safety schools. IMHO opinion there are several “types” of consultants - the nationally recognized, Ivy focused, big ticket consultant like Hernandez College Consulting or Ivy Wise and the regional consultants who focus on one major metropolitan area and provide more hand-holding. If the consultant has actually worked in a selective college’s admissions office in the past that would be a positive, assuming this can be independently verified. There is a difference between being a voluntary reader of admissions files and being an admissions officer. We have not used an admissions consultant but have considered doing so. They can be extremely helpful in coming up with an appropriate list of colleges. They can oversee all the deadlines and paperwork required. They can critically read essays and review applications to identify gaps or highlight strengths. To answer your original question though - some admissions consultants are not qualified to guide students in college admissions, the barrier to entry in this industry is not very high and parents with lots of money are trying to do everything possible to help their child with college admissions
I find the whole idea of hiring a person just to coach someone in college apps interesting. I guess that ranks with multi-thousand dollar SAT prep courses and other such expenditures. I hope it pays off and the kid gets in somewhere great.
A question for anyone who has experience with a college consultant. I have a friend whose son has a consultant. and when i read his essays they seemed very “processed” they did not reflect the spark of his own personality. Is this a common issue when a consultant is involved ?
Also, some college apps ask if the applicant is using a paid consultant, how does that effect how the application is viewed ?
@Singersdad Well, maybe they’re just curious, for statistical reasons or something, and there’s no real impact on admission. I wouldn’t know - the schools I applied to didn’t need essays lol.
How could anyone of us know how to answer this? From my vantage point, it seems that the people who have hired consultants are usually a pretty happy bunch. Right here on CC, you have parents who have hired consultants who have been great contributors to the debates on admissions.
My take is that the consultant/student/family relations are a bit like dating vs getting married. It always look promising in the first days or months, but might not be a perfect match. I am sure that some students are relieved that the consultants deliver a fully developed essay and others might find it more rewarding to push to protect their own voice. I also think that the consultants who take great pride in their work follow a practice of directing vs actually writing and softly pushing the student in the right direction.
Fwiw, the issue of the “voice of the student” is, in my opinion, a very subjective one. Actually, I believe that the overwhelming majority of essays I have read happen to have a HORRIBLE voice and that comes from the student directly. Most often, the essays are impersonal, stilted, and attempt to “impress” the reader with a florid style loaded with thesaurus gems. “My life can be summarized as a plethora of accomplishments and a myriad of awards. I started shadowing my doctor when I was six as my passion for service to humankind was already evident. At the tender age of 8, I declared to my parents that I would attend an Ivy League school, and no Ivy is better than Harvard.” Well, you know the style!
In the end, nothing precludes a student who benefits from a paid assistance to rewrite and edit ad nauseam all the while finding a way to protect the freshness of the voice or the personality. A good consultant will surely approve.
I went to a free talk given by a local college consultant. There was a small group discussion afterward and he asked if I’d been through the college process with an older child or if I worked for a college. I told him “no” that I just picked up a lot of knowledge through College Confidential. He went on to say that he’d never heard of CC and quickly changed the topic. I wouldn’t hire a College Consultant that had never heard of College Confidential. I don’t believe he’d never heard of CC and I also won’t hire someone is not honest with me.
I wholeheartedly agree with Xiggi’s suggested testing schedule. My D took the PSAT in OCT 10th grade and the SAT in March of 10th grade, subject test in May. She got scores that were high enough but she wanted to do better. She really pushed for the PSAT in 11th grade and then took her second and last SAT in Nov of 11th grade. This way she prepped for her SAT and PSAT at the same time. Now she’s free to concentrate on her AP’s in May, start on her essays and continue with EC’s. It’s so nice to have the stress of PSAT/SAT behind her! She hopes to have her college apps turned by September of 12th grade.
I also wonder how kids can make realistic college lists with out having firm SAT/ACT test scores?
I agree with MAB222 and xiggi re: testing earlier. My S took SAT Dec. of junior year, my D in Jan. My S was going to re-take in March - but got sick. He took ACT April and again in June - and was happy w/ scores. May & June were reserved for SAT subject tests. My D took ACT in April - then SAT again in Oct. There’s a lot more pressure when everything is riding on test scores fall of senior year - if you can get out of junior year w/ scores you are happy with it allows you to concentrate on applications in the fall of senior year. As xiggi pointed out, you rarely hear someone say they wish they’d started testing LATER. We know some people who even took SAT for the first time in spring of Sophomore year …
We used a college consultant based on a recommendation from a friend who used him for their sons. I had never heard of or thought of using one before but they were so pleased with the process that I decided to set up at least an initial appointment to investigate. We had a good first session and decided to continue - we paid by the session so we weren’t committed to a large financial outlay. Also, the more prep my son did prior to his sessions, the more effective they were and the fewer we needed. The counselor was also always happy to follow up via e-mail or phone without additional charges and he frequently went over the hour we paid him for each session.
The main advantages we got out of using a consultant was being able to narrow down the list to ones that fit his stats, interests and personalities. He pointed us to some wonderful safeties we would never have thought to investigate on our own. My son had most of the sessions on his own with the counselor and I think it helped to have a third party to talk with. Also, because the counselor stressed the importance of staying ahead of deadlines, my usually unorganized son actually did stay on top of his applications (all 15) and was far ahead of his friends who are generally much more organized but did not use a counselor. My son completed all applications on his own (neither the counselor nor I saw any of his applications) and received feedback on essays. This counselor did keep stressing how important it was to have his individuality emerge in the essay.
We spent about a total of $800 on the counselor and I feel it was a very worthwhile investment. We have been quite calm through the process and the admissions and scholarships are coming in as predicted by the counselor. It’s been worth the peace of mind and I needed the handholding since my dh has not been interested in the process.
Plenty of juniors don’t take the SAT until June, and then take the subject tests in October. That works out just fine for college applications, including early decision. The only issue would be if a student wanted to take a test more than once, but I think you’d know that you were among these students based on your PSAT score.
@singermom4. It sounds like you found a gem of a college consultant !
And to OP, perhaps the key is to find someone who will look out for and bring out the best in your child, rather than achieve some predetermined result. It sounds like my friends kid and your relative may not be getting that, but plenty of other students have good experiences.
Sister used a counselor for her daughter’s application process and was very pleased: She and her spouse have demanding jobs - this enabled them to bring a third pair of eyes and hands into the process. She wanted to ‘save her bullets’ with her daughter for important issues rather than nagging her over all the little moving parts of the process. Their relationship was already a bit contentious (whose isn’t with a teen-age daughter) and this wasn’t how she wanted to spend their last year together. She also had to manage expectations with an ex-spouse - her daughter’s father - and the counselor was useful, as an objective third party, in that process as well. Finally, her daughter really liked the counselor and found it easier to open up to her and share than she did with her mom.
For any one of these reasons, as well as those stated above, a good counselor can be a tremendous source of value in the process.
I know a family who used a consultant because the parents did not attend college and were unfamiliar with the process. I think it was a really smart move. So, it all depends on individual circumstances. If someone has one and only one trip to the opposite coast, and wants to plan well, maybe some good advice helps.
One friend of mine had an English teacher review her son’s essay. This happened to be the same teacher my daughter used and many people in the area use. I thought she did a great job of making few small changes that resulted in a big impact. It was still my daughter’s essay, her humor, her personality. My friend’s son is applying to Ivies. They later hired a college consultant, who said his essay “would not do” and they had to scrap it. This consultant might have saved the kid’s Harvard application, or might have made unnecessary work. It is so dependent on the student and the consultant.
As far as timing of testing, we lucked out. My daughter took the ACT in the spring of junior year and did pretty well in it. She took subject tests in June and one in October. However, had she not done well on the first try, I can see that the summer would have felt much more stressful and there would have been uncertainty with her application plan. Her school offers the PSAT junior year, it is almost unheard of in her school to take the PSAT sophomore year, or an early SAT. I now know kids in other schools who moved the whole process up 6 months to a year. And yes, maybe they are taking more tests than more daughter did, but they are more assured of having an easier application season.
Edit - The APUSH class had a trip the day before the PSAT and arrived home late at night. When the kids and parents questioned the teachers about the timing of the trip ahead of time, they and the GC stated the PSAT is just “for practice” and has no meaning.
$800 or $2500 would be cheap. Friends paid 25k, per kid- and each ended up happy and productive at schools rarely discussed on CC- I think the highest one ranked around 50 in USNews (you know I’m not a fan of USNews, but it gives you an idea.) Nice family with lots of money. A lot of “success” is about helping the kid be happy, steering him toward ideas.
You want to watch out for those who promise more than they can deliver. Most can’t get you into a tippy top if the right material isn’t there. If a kid is a “maybe” for a highly competitive, make sure the advisor knows his/her stuff, not just that he or she has “helped” X kids or has happy customer excerpts on the web page. Or says she worked for an Ivy 11 years ago.
Some do know how to polish an essay or phrase ECs. Not all.
Depends on how good the college consultant is. Hard to assess. Word of mouth is the way it usually works. I think in time, in upscale areas, they’ll become nearly as prevalent as test prep.
As for when to take the tests, earlier is better, I agree, if you can get the prep in earlier. The more intense parents tend to start at 8th grade. But time does help in getting better scores, along with prep, so to just blindly taking it early may not be a good idea as you then could have some low scores in your records A lot of schools want ALL of your attempts on ALL of the tests, and those tend to be the more selective schools. Because we did not start the prep process until the summer before Junior year, my kids tended to take the tests later. My one son who made a final effort on the test in January of senior year, really came up with a huge improvement with no prep at all between that test and his attempt before that. I;d read years a go that it does make a statistically significant difference with maturity and later high school under the belt. But in this area, there are those who prep in middle school or earlier for the talented and gifted programs and recognition, so it’s a tough go.
We did well with one late junior year strike, no SAT2s which we would have done this month had the early results not be as they were, so minimal time and money on test prep. Often the strategy has to fit the student, circumstances and schools, and involves luck. My one kid who just doesn’t test well, despite efforts and prep, I held off on his test till late too, and got a bit of upward movement.
Add me to the “early testing is better” camp. My daughter took her Math II subject test after finishing sophomore year while the material was fresh. The summer before junior year, she prepped for the ACT. In her case, nothing she learned in Junior year was going to help her ACT score. She took it in September and October and she is done. SAT 2 CHEM in June after she finishes AP CHEM. She takes the SAT saturday because she got a high PSAT score. All her testing will be finished before senior year for sure. Now she can use the summer to fill out applications, do essays, etc. and have no worries in senior year. Did this same schedule for my son and it worked out great. He had no worries while all his friends were freaking out at deadlines.
Unless, of course you can afford Steven Ma of Think Tank Learning in SF. Some parents are paying upwards of 500K, (whoa, kinda extreme) although I think his fee averages between 25-40K.