<p>My question deals with hiring college counselors/consultants to read essays. From your experience, how much help is it?</p>
<p>I am looking to apply to top-tier private schools where essays might hold a lot of sway in the application process. I currently know a college consultant that is very experienced and has gotten many people into their "dream school". However, he charges about $150/hour, an amount I don't know if I would be willing to pay since I already have a relatively experienced teacher and parent willing to read and revise my essays.</p>
<p>If anyone has hired a college consultant for purpose of essays, can you give me more insight as to your experience? Do you believe it helped and was worth the money?</p>
<p>Zumai asks a good question about the value of hiring an educational consultant. As Executive Director of the Independent Educational Consultants Association you might expect me to be urging Zumai and others to hire someone. But not so fast. Zumai wonders if hiring a consultant will help a student get into a dream school by assisting with the essay. So the first critical caution is to be aware of what an ethical consultant can and cannot do. A consultant cannot “get a student in.” A student is accepted–or not–based on years of heard work, academic success and more. A consultant’s greatest value comes in helping a student to identify colleges that are a great match for them: academically, socially, communally and more. A consultant helps expand the universe and keep a student on track. They don’t take over the process they guide the student through their own research, exploration, etc.
An ethical consultant can be helpful in the essay phase, but a consultant should never ever be writing or even heavily editing a student’s essay. Where they can be helpful is in helping a student to explore topics that will be illustrative of what the student is all about. Can they assist in editing, yes–but no more than a school counselor or parent should, which means very little. The advice I give new consultants: don’t even have a pen in your hands when reviewing a student’s essay to better resist the urge to edit.
I hope this helps better understand the role consultants play–its a great help, but only for the “right” reasons.</p>
<p>A good question and MS says it well - the candidate’s profile (built through hard work and dedication) has much more to do with college admission than the help of a consultant. Bottom line, I am generally not a fan of those providing these services. My belief is this unregulated industry of “college consultants” should be approached with great care. It is important to note that anybody can carry the title of “college consultant.” Students and parents paying thousands for those in this industry should be extremely careful and understand exactly what advice they are seeking and how the consultant is qualified to provide such advice.<br>
Jamie</p>