<p>I think Aries' comments may have been misinterpretted. I really do not think she is suggesting that a private counselor compose a letter to colleges which is a no no for sure. I think she was suggesting that using a counselor to help her navigate this process and give some advice may be beneficial. The GC is the one who would write on this student's behalf. As well, the student will need to enclose a statement that addresses the question: "Is there anything else you would like to tell the admissions committee?" I think the quote by Aries above has more to do with how this letter may be used by some colleges and not some others. I don't think she was suggesting that a private counselor ever write on the candidate's behalf. </p>
<p>I'll be the first to tell you that the CC forums are so helpful and for many many students and parents, they can navigate the college admissions process on their own and also use the forums as a resource for information to obtain terrific advice by others who have gone through this process. Some students may benefit from ongoing individualized assistance and reasons may vary for that need. The forum is not the same as that kind of ongoing one to one help, in most instances. Not all parents, for whatever reason, are knowledgeable, available, willing, supportive, etc. to help their child through this like so many parents ARE on CC. My daughters who have already gone through the college process used to tell me that they WISH their peers at school had someone like me to help them through it as most were clueless and so were their parents. Not all students and parents are of the sort we see on CC. Many really do need some help with it all. Many have special circumstances of one sort or another. </p>
<p>The OP MAY be able to do most of this process on her own and only need some Hourly counseling to select colleges and to handle the issues around the illness factor and then do the rest on her own. Hourly counseling works best for those who want or need help with a particular facet or two of the entire process, whereas a package of unlimited help through the entire process is more fitting for some people. I'm glad highheels will look into the various possibilities rather than just settling for someone who may not click with what her needs may be. The initial contact with that counselor should have been to discuss what the student was looking for with regard to counseling and a discussion of various options and fees and then going from there. No fees should have been involved in this stage. Once they got going, a lot of information gathering by the counselor should have been the case, not the counselor telling the student what to do just yet. </p>
<p>I agree with Marite that a private counselor should be in the background and have NO contact with the colleges. And of course, the school GC still plays a role in writing the reports to colleges and sending materials, etc. as thumper indicated.</p>