<p>We're considering seeking the services of a private college admissions counselor for our 11-grade son. What should we look for in a counselor? What questions should we ask? Also, what kind of experiences have you had with them?</p>
<p>This is just my personal bias speaking, but I don’t think anyone truly “needs” a private college admissions counselor. The one from your son’s school is oftentimes more than sufficient and you can often get good advice from the people here on CC. The more important question is, what are you looking for in a college admissions counselor? What would be his/her purpose? There is no college admissions counselor out there that can make your son more attractive on paper than he already is, but they can give you advice on which ones might be a good fit for your son or guide you through the admissions process. Both things that your high school guidance counselor is already paid to do. So, personally, I think you can get as much out of a high school counselor and some helpful advice from parents on CC without paying for the extra costs of a private one. But that’s just me.</p>
<p>I echo shawnspencer: The more critical question is what specific things are you looking for this person/service to do, and what results do you expect? </p>
<p>My wife and I were talking about this last night. I’d seen an advertisement for a a company where at the top of the webpage, it strongly suggested that the company would get your kid into Harvard. That’s almost a quote. If Harvard had a nickel for every time they got mentioned on this company’s website, they’d double their endowment, LOL. In much smaller print, the promise was to find the right college that fit your student. Those seem to me to be two wildly different goals for most folks.</p>
<p>Maybe, a good private counselor might be able to achieve the latter goal. But with effort on the part of the student, his parents, and his guidance counselor, they can probably do a better job than most paid private counselors. What are your reasons for engaging a service like this?.</p>
<p>I think some students can benefit from a private admissions counselor. If your high school is large and has very few counselors, or if the counselors you have are not suitable for your child for some reason, it can make sense to hire someone to help ease the way.
I would argue that a good counselor can help a student present themselves in a way that puts their best foot forward. No, they can’t reinvent your kid, nor would you want them to. But they can help your child understand what is wanted on these sometimes mysterious-looking applications. They can help identify strengths and weaknesses and help your student showcase their strengths. They can provide a good sounding board for essay writing, and if they are very good, they can help you child discover things about themselves that might lead to an interesting topic. They can help project a coherent and cohesive picture of a student that shows how they might fit into a particular campus. They can help with financial aid questions and help create a list of schools that are both affordable and are a good fit academically. They can also take a load off of the parents and ease some of the stress that can surround the process, which is sometimes worth the cost by itself.
Some parents have the time and interest to do this for their kids. I didn’t use a counselor for either of mine- but they went to a private school where the counselor was quite knowledgeable and only had 40 students to worry about.
That’s not typical, so I wouldn’t feel somehow inadequate if you feel an experienced counselor who can take the time to know your child would be worthwhile. </p>
<p>Personally, if I were picking a counselor out of the crowd, I’d want someone who 1) was an excellent writer and who could recognize good writing, 2) had a lot of experience working with high school students 3) was familiar with colleges and universities and experienced using available resources to find out pertinent specifics, 4) and was someone who liked and could relate well with my child.
Some counselors have certification in a college counseling program, which is a sign that they are committed and have some knowledge, and some have worked at colleges or high schools before going out on their own. The important thing is that you have confidence that they can help your particular situation. Interview and ask a lot of questions with your child present. Find out the fees up front. Good luck!</p>
<p>Two years ago, I attended a presentation in regards to College Admission counseling. They gave you a free 1/2 consultation after attending the presentation. I decided to hire the counselors after attending the consultation. They required a lot of documentation in regards to our finances, which schools to target and how to try for the best FA and merit aid. My sons were both insistent on attending in-state California schools, so I of course did a lot of research on my own. The counselor really did not help much or tell me anything I didn’t already find out on my own and was trying to push both boys for OOS schools. I knew going in our EFC was high and we were not going to get any financial aid but they were using some “creative financing” to try and shelter some our income which I felt was somewhat illegal?? It was a pay for fee arrangement and after a few meetings just stopped consulting them. Ultimately they went out of business… Do not waste your money.</p>
<p>OP, I work very part time as a consultant, mostly with homeschoolers, but also with friends, and my 2012 son worked with a consultant, who gave us her time for free. (Long story) It was a huge blessing.</p>
<p>What did we get from our consultant? I would say three main things:</p>
<p>-Help with brainstorming for, and editing essays. That was critical. My son was a good writer when he started applying to colleges. He became a better writer as a result. There were times when he’d write a great essay, only to have the consultant send back his essay and tell him to rewrite. Why? Because he DIDN’T ANSWER THE QUESTION.</p>
<p>So, lesson number one:</p>
<p>1.Answer the prompt</p>
<p>-Help in learning how to demonstrate interest. He was able to make contact with schools he didn’t visit, either via email or phone. She was the impetus in teaching him how to do that. After a while, he understood how to better communicate with schools.</p>
<p>So, lesson two:</p>
<ol>
<li>Demonstrate interest. It really does matter to some schools.</li>
</ol>
<p>-Help with constructing workable resume and other documents such as my homeschooled counselor letter, etc.</p>
<p>And lesson number three:</p>
<ol>
<li>It’s good to have a resume. Your child will need it in a variety of situations, not the least of which is, it makes filling out applications a whole lot easier when the information is already organized.</li>
</ol>
<p>Other things we got were help with constructing a college list and someone to answer questions along the way, someone who was very familiar with college admissions.</p>
<p>What I do is similar, but not as detailed, since I get paid a whole lot less. :-)</p>
<p>I love editing essays and helping students come up with little ideas and stories on which to write their essays.
I also help construct resumes and other documents (for homeschoolers) so that applying is that much easier.
I help construct college lists, and I will help teach communication to colleges.
I also help keep students on track, making sure they don’t miss deadlines.</p>
<p>Yes, plenty of students and parents can do this themselves, but there is no shame in hiring outside help. Sometimes, students just work better with someone else besides a parent, and some students just need the organizational help that comes from a consultant.</p>
<p>I’ve never paid for one, though, and I know they can be outrageously expensive. I really don’t know if you get what you pay for. I just know our consultant taught us a great deal about the process, and I would guess my son benefited greatly from her help.</p>
<p>@moonchild,</p>
<p>My wife gave many of the same reasons as you did when we were chatting about this.</p>
<p>However, I responded to her: </p>
<p>Our sons’ guidance counselor wasn’t very good for either of them. He had two hundred students to serve. He’s had many years of experience, but his knowledge is mainly about applying to schools for the broad middle of kids. His knowledge of applying to the most highly-selective schools was woefully deficient. He told both my sons that they would be accepted at every school to which they applied, which included, between them, multiple Ivies, MIT, and other top schools. Well… they got into some, and not into others.</p>
<p>So, they managed to do okay without a decent guidance counselor.</p>
<p>In terms of helping a student put his best foot forward, my own view is that my wife and I had a clearer view of our sons, having known them for a while, than someone from the outside. </p>
<p>In terms of learning about schools and financial aid, this information isn’t too tough to come by, and we all researched it together. We went to a fair number of open houses, we used search tools that showed schools that were realistic to which to apply, my kids had to think long and hard about what they might study in school, and then had to match up to schools that met those requirements. We used net price calculators madly.</p>
<p>This did take some time. And I suppose that might be a reason for some folks to hire someone else. But frankly, except for increased activity in August as they entered senior year, and to a lesser extent, in September and October, it was only a little bit of time, a little bit of time there. The most time-consuming part of the process outside those three months were going to open houses, getting the kids to interviews, and taking them to visit colleges. Not sure a private counselor would be cost-effective for those sorts of activities for most folks.</p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that anyone should feel inadequate if they decide to hire a professional counselor. Just the opposite - I’m encouraging folks to realize that as moms and dads, they probably are already fairly-well equipped to do a pretty good job of the process on their own. But as in all things, YMMV.</p>
<p>I agree that one area where a counselor could be helpful is with the essays. There are potentially a LOT of essays fory your student to produce – I think my D2 did maybe 15 total. Obviously there is the Common App essay, but then many colleges have one or more of their own supplemental essays. And a few scholarship essays, too. I offered her the possibility of using her Quiz Bowl coach, who is also a private college counselor, for essay brainstorming and editing if she would prefer that to working with me. She elected to work with me instead. That is the only part we considered ‘outsourcing’, everything else we needed was available via this site and a few other resources. Now… 95% of the essay work between us was done via email, except a couple of brainstorming sessions. I would email her a prompt with a target date for a draft. She would send a draft, I would send comments. Rinse and repeat. Never discussed them face to face – it worked well for us. :)</p>
<p>I used to think hiring a private admissions counselor was a waste of money, but then I learned of two cases where it seemed to have made all the difference. The first was a friend of my daughter’s who had middling SAT scores because she didn’t test well. However, she is a very original thinker, a breath of fresh air, who asks the questions others don’t think of. So her parents hired a counselor to help her come up with a list of schools and to polish her resume. For example, he told her not to apply anywhere that did not interview, or that didn’t give significant weight to the interview. She got into some very good LACs, including Bowdoin and Wellesley, and is now at Hamilton College.</p>
<p>The second example is the daughter of a friend of mine who partied her way through her sophomore year, then started taking school seriously. She was also an excellent debater. Her family hired a counselor to do damage control with her transcript (this is how my friend put it). She got into USC as a spring admit, but on a $160,000 debating scholarship over 4 years.</p>
<p>So if your situation is too difficult to sort out on your own, it may be worth hiring somebody. Good counselors don’t necessarily get kids into schools, but they do have the experience to know what particular schools are looking for in an applicant. For example, they may learn from their experience that certain schools weigh the interview more heavily than others, even if they only state on their website that the interview is required.</p>
<p>Absolutely, Massmomm. I worked with a young lady several years ago with very middle SAT scores (something like 1700) She got into USC and UCLA. Four things made the difference: Great essays, great arts portfolio, getting to know the schools very well (she’s at USC), and she is a URM. Having the outside help from me really gave her the focus she needed.</p>
<p>"He had two hundred students to serve. " - That’s all? At our schools they have 300-400 students. There are clerks to help with college paperwork, but it is hard for them to know the students very well.</p>
<p>A good college counselor can help a student find the right fit. I’d use them for fit and finance advise. For parents seeking an edge on Ivy (perhaps not the case for OP), I’d say spend some time on these threads first. There are MANY great colleges for top students. </p>
<p>I agree that a college counselor is best for finding the right fit vs. a pathway to getting into very selective colleges. I did end up using a counselor after getting overloaded with all the information I was finding. He is a reference from a friend and charges a modest amount ($100/hr) with no minimum and does not charge extra for all the time he spends over the hour, on the phone, or consulting via e-mail. I think we had a total of 8 sessions to help with a resume, feedback on essays, and finding the colleges that would be the best fit. While CC is a great resource, each child has different needs and I felt the counselor took the time to learn about my son and about his strengths and weaknesses. He is mostly applying to schools where he will definitely get in (the reaches are low reaches) and he is also happy to attend any of the schools on his list. Sometimes it helps for a third party to be involved - the counselor kept him on track (well, for the most part, he has been delaying getting his final few in) and I didn’t have to nag him. I will report back on how accurate the counselor was at assessing where he would get in. </p>