A lot of my friends have their own college counsellor, I really want one but it is quite expensive, I don’t know if it worths it to get into MIT or similar, please advise, thank you.
If your family can afford it, I don’t see why not. But if you are lower middle or working class, I don’t see why you should be wasting the money when there are lots of other resources out there.
Have you talked to your parents? Have they said they can afford one? A private advisor can be useful, but is not necessary. You are here on CC and if you are diligent you can get all of your questions answered here. Many stduents from all over the country and the world get inot top colleges without using a private advisor. A private advisor can’t make anything magically happen that you haven’t already achieved for yourself, but they can help you present a polished application. Getting inot MIT and the like is dependent on you being exceptional in some way, not on a private advisor.
It depends on what type of student/applicant you are. If you are very organized and on top of things, a counselor might be a waste of money. If you’re someone who needs a bit more prodding, then a counselor could come in handy (if it isn’t a financial stretch). But in terms of college admissions to HYPSM-type schools, it is not necessary at all.
Most of the advice you can get here. As long as you are organized, I see no need to pay someone.
I am a highly motivated student but my family hired a counselor to help me get into my top schools. She ended up helping me with all aspects of the admissions process and provided valuable information that I would not have found here or through my friends. She also kept me calm during the process and was someone I could talk to if I was having a bad day. You do not realize how stressful the entire process is so if you can afford do I would definitely recommend hiring a counselor. This is their job and they are going to know a lot more about the admissions process than a lot of other people do. In my experience a college counselor is really helpful and a great option if it is something you can afford!
I’m curious what they told you that you could not find here or for free. Not being snarky, but I think most of this is here.
You can get essay reading from a consistent source, tho for sure.
If you don’t have stats to get to top schools private college counselor will not be able to make it happen eather. If you do and your parents can afford it it can help, but only if you work with a good counselor. But honestly, if you and your parents be willing to invest time, all information is available here on cc for free.
Every college counselor isn’t worth your dollar but there must be some who are good. Our GC told my D that if one selects a good consultant in 8th grade who takes you through every step of customized resume building for four years then it’s worth it but by junior or senior year, all they do is paperwork that any smart student or parent can manage.
If you want a counselor it is better to find one who has had actual admissions experience (i.e., worked inside the admissions office of a college reading apps and participating in admissions discussions). Anyone else is just gathering info the same way we do - by reading various boards and materials on line.
We at first were interested to hire one since it looked very daunting to tackle with so much information that we didn’t even know where to begin. After reading a few articles online and attending some free presentations, one thing lead to another just finding more information. Books are so important and being in the know by joining some forums. We saved $$! So yes, anyone can do it. It may appear overwhelming at first but since you’re going to get involve anyway, you can’t help but read something along the way. If one doesn’t simply have the time, then it might be worth to hire one.
The vast majority of kids will get into school without the help of a private counselor, and if your funds for the application process are limited in any way, you’re probably better investing in test prep and visits to schools. Whether it’s worth it for you depends on a lot of things. If there’s something challenging that you need to address – you’ve had serious disciplinary or legal issues, have had health issues that interfered with/interrupted your studies, you have special learning or health needs – a private counselor who specializes in this can be very helpful indeed.
Personally, I think that the greatest value a good counselor can have is in helping you work out a good list of schools. In your case, since you want to attend MIT, you don’t need help on that. But how happy will you be with your back-ups if you don’t get into MIT? They understand fit (and they get meet you and get to know you, which we can’t) and they understand how your application compares to others. They can do this because they’ve seen hundreds of them for the kinds of schools you’re considering. As one said to me, “You know your kid, I know admissions.” And she did, having worked in admissions at several schools, from Ivies to LACs to a public. They can help you figure out how to use the essays, recommendations, etc. in a way that will make your application compelling because they’ve read thousands of applications – not just essays, but the whole package.
Those that I know make a point of visiting many schools each year (and different ones each year) and they know a lot of AOs so they’re more up to date on what’s going on at each school. They also have a good professional network for finding out about schools, and this includes knowing how their former clients fared at the schools they attended. What this can mean to you is that they can guide you to a school that’s a great fit for you.
There are counselors who get involved with kids as they are starting high school and advise them on how to be attractive to top schools. Personally, I hate this idea as it makes high school a long admissions test for college rather than four important years of your life to grow, but I’ve met parents who were very happy to have shelled out the $$ for this service.
If this a route you want to go, you should definitely do your research first. There are people out there who are true professionals at this – and there are others who are not. The pros don’t all offer the same services, they don’t all have the same areas of expertise, and they’re not all gunning to send all their clients to Ivies. If you already have your list and all you want is someone to read your essays, save your money.
If you want to hire a private counselor to increase your chances of getting into MIT or other elite institutions, don’t bother. I doubt that any private counselor can move the needle at all to increase your chances of getting in. The only reasons for hiring a private counselor is (1) to relieve your parents or other adults of some of the burden of having to work with you on the applications; (2) to provide some external motivation to complete your applications and keep you on task; or (3) the rare case where you have a unique situation or educational need that requires a specialist. If that’s worth the thousands of dollars that you will pay, go for it. But don’t do it thinking you are increasing your chances of getting in.
Consider, too, all the possible negatives: Your application looks too polished or packaged and is suspected by the Adcom to be put together or even written by a private counselor. That could be a black mark on your application.
Or, your school counselor gets wind of your using a private counselor and basically works at cross-purposes with the private counselor. Many school counselors (especially at private schools) resent private counselors and actively discourage their use. The school counselors don’t like the meddling, and they often are the ones who are writing your school’s recommendation, so you don’t want to be on their bad side.
You have to realize that the colleges have a basic visceral hostility to anything that makes it appear that the admissions process can be manipulated, gamed, bought or tilted in someone’s favor. They are not going to welcome any indication that you thought that you would increase your chances of getting into their school by paying money for that advantage.