Please share here. Please don’t give names or detail identifiable information . If you have opinion that they are not worth it (agreed already!) thank you!
I would not have hired an advising company. They are outrageously expensive and I don’t believe their claims at all when they say they will get your kid into one of their top three choices (if this is the company I am thinking of.) No advisor or advising company can make up for subpar grades and test scores. If they make that guarantee, it will only be for colleges of their suggestion, based on what they know your kid can get into. I am guessing you are looking at tippy top colleges if you considering going with this option. A private advisor has only your kid’s interest in mind, and there is no incentive to give “money back” offers. They work only for you and what your kid needs, and is able to realistically achieve. I think they are probably more affordable than an advising company. I especially used my advisor because she would do a few sessions. Many wanted thousands for a full-service package.
Was the private advisor worth it? Probably not, because she mostly confirmed what I already knew. (This is for the benefit of readers who might be considering this.) Here is what was useful: she helped my D get over her mental block about the common app essay. She steered my D towards a couple of colleges that she knew would be good fits for my D. I believe they are, and D got into one of them. Most important thing she did was guide my D through the Common App and prioritize things. I suppose there is one more useful aspect: a private advisor can crack the whip and be the paid “bad guy” during the application process. Mind you, her whip had no effect on my stubborn D. I say truthfully, I could have learned it all from this website.