I am currently in the process of applying to college, and am really hoping to gain acceptance to either Cornell University or Barnard College of Columbia University. I believe that I am the caliber of student that would do well at a top 10 university, buy my ACT is a 29, putting me two points lower than the average ACT at both of these schools. I have very extensive EC’s, being the president of the two largest organizations at my public high school (Speech and Debate and National Honors Society) and have competed on a state and national level of debate for four years (which is especially helpful considering Cornell’s focus in debate). I’m thinking about investing $2000 of my own money into an admissions counseling team that has had a lot of success in getting their clients admitted into ivy schools and has members on their team that has been on the Cornell admissions team. I’m wondering if anyone has invested in a program like this in the past and has had success or regrets with it?
Do you mean applying for Cornell and Barnard RD this year? Time is very short and I am not even sure an independent counselor would take you on this late…have you asked this team you mention above if they could take you on?
What are you thinking they would do for you?
Is your GPA and course rigor at the level of Cornell and Barnard? Have you been accepted or denied any where yet?
Edited to add: Are Cornell and Barnard affordable for you? Have you run their NPCs?
I’m going to say it’s not worth it at this point in the admissions cycle. We hired one for our D20 in the spring of her sophomore year and they had a whole plan to follow. We had great success with an ED acceptance to a highly competitive school. With the holidays fast approaching and deadlines in 2 weeks, I think anyone willing to take your money at this point really isn’t able to offer you anything of value.
It would cost you more than $2000 (think 10 times). Even with the best counselors, you would need to have good enough stats to be considered. ECs won’t make up for subpar stats. I would focus on finding some good matches.
The best effect college counselors have is when they work with you from at least sometime during junior year. I agree, both that it’s just too late for them to make a difference, and that anyone taking you on at this stage is more interested in $$ than actually helping you.
What’s your gpa?
Also being realistic, 29 is not 2 points below the average for those schools. The middle 50 for ACT at Cornell is 32-35, for Columbia 33-35, and for Barnard it’s a little lower at 30-34. Those schools are all reaches. Do you have a good spread of matches and safeties on your list?
@Mwfan1921 Yes they have a greed to take me on to apply for RD for both schools. It’s a counseling team and not just an independent one. Also, I already have drafts of all of my essays so they would start right away on first round edits. I have been accepted into Miami University and John Carroll, but no other top 10s. I got deferred from Duke. I am hoping that they will be able to provide an inside approach to creating my story and what to focus on in my essays, as the team is comprised of past admissions officers from Cornell and Columbia.
My GPA is high and I’ve taken a full AP/ honors course load for all four years of high school. I already got into the one school that I wanted to go to that was considered a safety so now any other admissions I get are just extra. I was just hoping to get in somewhere a little more competitive
How many hours of meetings/work/editing are they going to spend on your apps for the $2,000? What does the contract say?
I am skeptical that there is an ‘inside approach’. What do your parents think?
Did they lead you to believe the essay would make or break the application? I’m struggling to see exactly what you’re paying $2000 for, especially if it’s just 2 colleges involved. … and I say that as someone who hired a counselor for my kid.
I would run the other way. You have two weeks and no matter how good your essay, it’s not going to compensate for a low ACT score.
I hired a college counselor team, and am so happy I did! A great decision for my son and I. You might want to see if they can work with the price a bit. Also, prices vary significantly by area of country, $2k would be a pretty good deal for the Seattle area.
I hate to agree with this, but I do. I don’t think, unless you’re an URM or have a major hook, that you have a shot at either school with a 29 on your ACT. There are a lot of very good schools who would love to have you. If you were my child, I would encourage you to put your efforts toward those.
“They have agreed” to take your money. Of course, why would they not want your money? No, it’s not worth it, especially at this late date. They can’t make your test score disappear. You give your application your best effort and let the chips fall where they may.
If the counselors agreed to take your money saying that they will help to get your into Barnard or Cornell with a 29 ACT I would run in the other direction. The odds of getting into a super-selective college as an unhooked applicant with an ACT below the 25th percentile is very small. It is fine to apply and give it your all but you need to understand that these schools are major reaches. Even in holistic admissions academics (including standardized tests for schools that require them) are a priority. Note that in the common data set Cornell regards standardized test scores as “very important” while Barnard regards them as “important.”
If, on the other hand, the counselors took your money saying they can help you to find some great match schools you love taking your ACT into account (perhaps even some test optional colleges) then it could be worthwhile.
Greed, indeed.
No. Not for your goals & situation.
@iskhdbfva.
What college at Cornell you want to apply to? Besides being highly competitive, Cornell gives a lot of weight on fit.
Other posters have given you very good advice. Don’t be blinded by prestige. This counseling group you want to hire love to have your money but $2,000 is a lot of money to pay for a long shot.
I would see if they would agree to an hourly rate to just give your essays another look. At this point all the rest is what it is. But as a college counselor, I have found the most work is needed at the essay level or any other part of the app that needs writing. For a few hundred bucks for an essay editing session I say go for it. I admire that you aim high and have big dreams. Don’t see enough of that either. Good luck???
IMO paid college counselors are not worth it, and we were told that after the recent admissions scandal, many highly selective universities are taking a very jaundiced view of them. The most they seem to do is “craft” your personal statement (if you fear standardized tests, I would however recommend taking a test prep course). As for your “stats”, I would not worry too much about your ACT scores given the strength of the rest of your application. I just had a son accepted ED to Columbia with a composite ACT of 30. The indicative financial aid award was also fantastic and we found them very understanding and engaging.
As for Barnard, it is known for its holistic admissions and while they require test scores, they put less emphasis on them than many other highly selective colleges. It is known for having a very eclectic student body. While my son obviously cannot go there, when we visited many Columbia College students were taking BC courses and they said BC faculty were very supportive.
One other comment. We were told by my son’s college counselor and others that Columbia was a “very far reach” for my son given his test scores. They actively discouraged him from applying. He ignored their advice and got it.
If I was an Admissions Officer and knew that a student used a counselor it would be an automatic Rejection.