OP: In answer to your question : “Is it better to enlist the services of college consultants ?”
In short, depends upon two crucial factors: expectations & communication.
We interviewed several college consultants for sophomore D and we have decided to just use them on an hourly basis to answer questions, review essays as needed. They charge between $200-250/hr. So you need to use them wisely. If we bought the “package” they would guide us through the process for $6,500 (1.5 years) which my W and I thought was not worth it. I believe savvy parents and student don’t really need the help if they are very proactive about the college admissions process and have time time and organizational skills to go it alone. It’s just so competitive now for getting in to top schools that the more knowledge you have the better.
Lastly, the one thing that our close friends kids have done successfully when using a consultant was targeting a college, making sure the student checked all the right boxes sophomore and junior years and applied ED. They all had great results but then again these were strong applicants near the top of their high school class. So the question is did they get in to their top school because of the consultants help or in spite of the help? That’s the million $ question…
Our family knew next to nothing about college admissions until I started reading every admissions book I could get my hands on and also discovered CC. We were fairly confident that we were on top of the game but, out of caution, we hired a consultant to review our oldest kid’s application. Thirty minutes later the consultant told us we didn’t need her services and refused payment.
IMO, families with the time and inclination can do it on their own.
NO kid should send their essays in without an adult reader taking a look, especially if they can find someone who might be able to view it as admissions might. Things like whether any humor used works when read by an adult, whether the writer explained something in enough detail (or used references that someone reading might not be familiar with), whether the essay overall gives the impression than that writer hopes it will, etc. I actually tried to avoid mechanical suggestions – as I said, I did tell my kid if I still saw typos. And my kids had to come up with their own ideas, supporting details and stories, etc. Otherwise it isn’t their voice.
I’m sure there are parents who can’t resist stepping in and rewriting for the kid. I agree, that is unethical. And would infuriate most kids, rightly so.
Hmm. See the range of opinions here? Twas ever so. It comes from our different perspectives on what works.
"I’m sure there are parents who can’t resist stepping in and rewriting for the kid. I agree, that is unethical. "
Indeed. Consultants who use Google Docs see this all the time. Dad, I can see you logging in and crossing lines. We need to talk.
Anyone I knew who used a consultant for their oldest child opted not to use one with their other kids. I guess they were comfortable with the process by then.
Interesting. My experience suggests that parents who are happy with a consultant will use the consultant with siblings and will refer other family members to the consultant, as well.
In the end, I guess the answer to all great questions in life is, it depends. 
I hired someone who we had a relationship through math clubs. We meet with them (husband and wife) every few months. Although I keep up on all the deadlines and details it has been fascinating to me to see the different way my daughter responds to the consultant then to me. If I ask my daughter if we want to set aside time to look at various colleges she says she doesn’t have time, then we get into an arguement. She tells me, not now, I don’t need to do that now, yadda yadda yadda. If our consultant says next time we meet I would like a list of 10 schools you are interested in then she has it done. The consultant is just like another teacher to her. A few other things we wouldn’t have done if we hadn’t worked with a consultant, class choice and tests. They suggested we take SAT II Math in sophomore year right after pre-calc. Her friends took it junior along with a lot more AP and SAT tests, glad that is out of the way, they suggested AP World as oppose to AP Psych (daughter didn’t care). Said it looked better to some admissions. Gave us a list of summer programs they thought my daughter should apply to (she is going to MIT in a few months), So for me, it has been worth every penny (and I have a modest income). Being a single parent, I like to keep the relationship between us positive. I don’t want to ask her if she thinks she is going to be an officer in a club or to get to know a teacher that might be able to write a future recommendation. She is just at the beginning stage of writing essays and I hope to be spending my time just supporting her rather then tell her that a sentence doesn’t sound right.
No. Or at least not if they want more than $1K.
I had a very close friend whose husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness when her daughter was a sophomore in high school. My friend engaged a college consultant to help with the selection and application process, because she knew her husband’s health was going to be her priority for the next few years. They could afford it, and she felt it was absolutely worth the money. The husband/father passed on during the daughter’s senior year. This was a very talented young lady attending a top local private school. She had excellent admissions results – and is an HYP grad. She might have had the same results without the consultant – but it took a large burden off my friend at a very difficult time.
“the different way my daughter responds to the consultant then to me”
A lot of moms ask what my secret is. I say, “She doesn’t have a developmental need to prove that I’m not in charge.”
I wish I could tell you I’m a genius! I’m just not her mom.
I am looking for someone to help my DS with essay and majority of apps over the summer. He is a major procrastinator. It would be worth it to step aside for this part.
Can this be done over phone/ skype/ email?
If so, anyone have recommendations?
We live in central florida so there are only limited consultants around.
TIA
All depends on the parents’ and child’s savvy about the process. It would have been a total waste of money for us to engage a consultant. We knew the admissions scene and our children’s strengths. The route to an application list was easy in both cases. This was partly due to the kids and partly to us. No last moment agony.
@fritobandito, yes, consultants work over Skype, phone, email, text, etc., so there are no geographical limitations on who your son works with.
We did not use a consultant for S18, and where we live it’s very uncommon to do so. In fact, I had not even thought of it until when griping to my east coast sister about S’s lack of follow through on apps, she told me I was crazy not to have hired someone!
My experience is this: If you have a good school counselor ((we did not), or have the time and inclination to research colleges yourself, that part is doable without help. I think I came up with a great list (we were also seeking merit, so that was more research).
Regarding the actual writing, and turning the apps in on time, that will depend on your child’s maturity level and your relationship with your child. This is the part that caused great stress bc he just wouldn’t do the apps in time. So, some with supplements, he didn’t do, and those he did write were written at the last minute (so no review) and submitted at at 11:59pm. He even failed to submit some test scores for months. It really put a strain on our relationship and family.
Luckily, the results turned out fine. But, I would have hired maybe an hourly person to keep him on schedule with supplements and writing review, and to check he’d submitted everything.
My other 2 will be fine with just me.
And, I don’t think it matters what level you’re aiming for. S applied to 1 ivy (he was allowed to choose 2 full pay options that we’d consider depending on his maturity). He got a TO to the ivy. I don’t think this was due to what was probably a shabby supplement dashed off last minute but his bad first semester grades when he stopped doing work because he “thought [he] was done!”
For me, it isn’t about being savvy enough or on time. I just am so glad I don’t have to tell my daughter directly, “I am not sure that sounds good” to some essay question. If there is something I am not sure about I let the consultant do the dirty work. If she is trying to please me and applying to a school she doesn’t want to apply to, there is a third party who can talk to openly about that. I have a lot of time, and my daughter is very schedule oriented, so I am sure everything will be in on time. But sometimes with my daughter it is checking it off the list. We all know today, those essays need to be competitive. I am so glad I don’t have to be the person telling her that something she wrote, wasn’t interesting or thoughtful enough.
LIke @luckybooth the only service we used was someone to help D. figure out how to approach her common app essay. Hourly basis. Helped her brainstorm and draw out ideas. I don’t think my D realized how personal it was supposed to be and would have tended on her own to talk about something more superficially. I think it made a difference in her admissions outcomes b/c her essay was very insightful about who she is and what motivates her. As a parent I don’t think I could have helped draw it out the same way just b/c I’m too close to the subject, as they say.
I say this recognizing how privileged we are to be able to pay for any help and guilty it puts students on unequal playing fields. 
D and I managed the rest of the process just fine in terms of selection, deadlines, nagging, etc. My S21 might be a bit more difficult as hates to be nagged and will resist the more we remind. So we shall see.
I found CC while I was researching private college counselors. It’s early for us, but I had heard that private counselors like to work with the students as early as possible. Also, her high school is rather large and I’m not confident we’re going to see a lot of individual attention. After seeing all of the advice here on CC, I opted to hold off on the full package. I’ll probably hire one to run mock interviews and perhaps proofread essays, but paying for that by the hour makes more financial sense for us than buying a full package.
Where we live, quite a number of families use consultants. I’d be a liar if I said I did not think about it, but my kid was a motivated College application preparer; he was happy to finally come to the end of his high school period and be the one who had some control over where he would end up in future. He also trusts that his dad has a good insight to how the college admission process works. I can definitely see some families might need one. Ultimately, we chose not to retain one because I wanted to teach my kid to do things himself and use this opportunity to bond more through this process. Yes, I realize it could put strains on the relationship if not handled properly, but I felt I had a pretty objective take on the strengths and weaknesses of my kid that no consultant would be able to see as well as me, his own dad. The end result is that we did end up bonding more, and he trusts me more because I kept on telling him “I really believe you have more than perfect GPA and test scores to offer to colleges.” His GPA and test scores, while good, are just so-so for top colleges. I had him really focus his application on not showing what a wonderful human being he is but on portraying certain aspects of himself which would be a definite plus to his future college community. Looking back, I think he nailed it and got into all colleges he applied to, including Stanford without hooks.