It seems that a lot of people are hiring private college counselors this days. Will my high stats kid aiming for a top schools and / or top scholarships be at disadvantage if I don’t hire one soon (parent of the senior here)? I picked up a lot of knowledge here on CC for the past couple of years and was able to do a pretty good job so far. Just don’t want to put her in disadvantage position now competing with children guided by professionals. I just learned that people hire help for every step in this game: counselors, essays coaches, Interview coaches, etc. People invest a lot to play this “holistic approach” game.
Both my husband and I got our degrees from European universities many years ago and not familiar how it works here.
I feel like you could get all the info you’d receive paying big bucks for a college counselor right here on CC. There are threads about literally every aspect of the college application process, and she could message her essay to trusted CC editors for review (I did that; it was so helpful).
In the little private school, helicopter parent bubble that might be the norm, but I’ve definitely never heard of anyone from my school doing that.
Yes, your daughter will be at a disadvantage if she doesn’t receive solid help from an expert in college admissions.
That said, if you do a lot of reading about admissions (articles, book and CC) then she won’t be at much of a disadvantage. Moreover, the price of even the cheap experts can be staggering.
If you have money to burn and feel it’s very important that your D get into one of a certain set of schools then it might be a worthwhile investment but for most people, especially those active on these boards, it’s not.
Sometimes people don’t know what they don’t know, until its too late. The nuances of this process, understanding enrollment management, big data, and the strategies that can be helpful during this process, the availability of the counselor for questions and guidance, etc. can be very beneficial.
I agree with @jym626 that sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know until it’s too late. We used a private counselor who was a local retired guidance counselor from our high school, so she wasn’t very expensive, The biggest value she provided in my opinion was helping us know not just what to do but when to do it. At the end of sophomore year she helped us formulate a basic game plan and timetable for stuff like college visits, test prep, and timing of taking of tests. I felt like it helped D hit the ground running in fall of her junior year. Also frankly it was easier for her to tell D to do something than it was for me. Having an independent 3rd party relieved some of the parent/child relationship stress.
Also, we didn’t always agree with or follow all of her recommendations so I’d agree with @BatesParent2019 too. Some of her recommendations D just outright rejected. Going to Girls State was one example. D could’ve gone and it would’ve looked good on her application but D just figured she’d hate it. Right or wrong, it was D’s decision. D also did her own test prep, using books that I helped her pick out after reviewing the SAT and AP test prep forums here on CC.
I have one but feel like its a waste. It’s more than a luxury than anything else. It’s nice having someone do all the research on which colleges may be a fit for you and it’s helpful getting some advice but I could’ve done it all by myself
There are firms mostly in NYC that do this often by skype. They charge like $200/hour. They usually pay the counselors well, but there is some markup. Obviously, these are oriented towards a wealthy clientele. Those should be a safe bet, but I am sure you can find similar level counselors cheaper directly.
I see so many people here posting big mistakes in applications and schools applied to. A decent counselor would at least help avoid big mistakes.
A long time ago, my parents took me to a counselor who was really a recruiter and shill for certain colleges. This created problems rather than solved them, as would be expected. However, I don’t think that there are too many like that.
private college counseling is a waste of $$$$.! your family should pick a handful of schools outside of the schools you know or think are the ones you want. go and visit realistic options that you think your child will enjoy attending, learn and thrive at.
as far as the “holistic approach” schools are not actually referring to a student who plays the flute and finger paints it is the new term for “diversity” which was the new name for affirmative action…so unless your counselor can change your ethnicity or race they are just selling you fluff on being able to help you with the holistic approach! and the interview coaching and essay coaching is of questionable value in my opinion.
“Some are really, really good. Many are charlatans.”
Yes, way back when, my parents took me to someone who was really a recruiter for mediocre liberal arts colleges. I don’t know how common this sort of thing is, but such counselors will only do harm.
I am familiar with “Ivy” counseling services, as I looked for SAT tutoring work with them. My impression is that they are pricey, but safe in that you will get quality and honesty.
@ballerina16, your “high stats kid aiming for top schools and / or top scholarships” will be at a considerable disadvantage if she does not present herself well in her applications and/or makes any number of strategic mistakes in the application process. These include, but not are limited to: poor time management of the application process, spreading herself too thin, targeting the wrong types or ranges of target schools, poor editing or highlighting of her activities and accomplishments, overestimating her accomplishments, poor essay and interview preparation, and wasting time on things that won’t improve her chance of success.
As a recent applicant (rejected at 15 top schools) posted in the “lessons learned” sub-forum:
Those who do a great job of building themselves up but a poor job of packaging themselves are at a significant disadvantage.
A good counselor can help with this. A bad one can waste your money, or worse. You can certainly achieve the same thing by taking the time yourself and using the available resources, but it is a time consuming process. Those who have the money and don’t want to take the time, or don’t have the confidence in themselves, find counselors. If you go that route you should probably check out a couple to make sure you get a decent one.
Plenty of great kids get accepted to fantastic schools by doing all of the work themselves.
My son, a rising senior at Columbia, tells me he knows kids who have used professionals, and more kids who have not, but most kids it is not something they even discuss.
@marvin100 How would you define a really good college counselor? Besides managing time and polishing essays, what other uses do really good counselors have?
The most important thing for a counselor to do is help you come up with a list of schools to apply to with appropriate reaches and safeties; schools suited to you and what you want to study, and which you would have a good chance to get into.