This is a really old thread, but I had experiences with Mr. Pope, and creepy is an apt description. My parents took me to his College Placement Bureau in Washington DC in 1975. He didn’t provide any sort of advice on applications and where to apply; except he told me that high SATs and low grades was a terrible combination, that I couldn’t get in anywhere good, but should consider certain colleges in that book.
My high school education and record had been really messed up by various things that had nothing to do with my abilities or dedication. I didn’t get in anywhere I applied. I didn’t apply to many schools, and not safe enough safeties, and perhaps didn’t understand that some schools had more severe quotas. I was kind of depressed and confused, and I didn’t do anything about getting in somewhere. My parents and guidance counselor didn’t help with this.
Anyway, so my parents took me back to Mr. Pope, and he got me into this Knox College in western Illinois, probably one of the Colleges that Change Lives. I didn’t want to go there, but my parents were worried about my going to some college and insisted I go. When I got there, I found out that it was almost a state school with state scholarships and that 85% of the students were from Illinois. They would pay premium fees to deliver out of state students, so Mr. Pope pushed them the most.
My parents thought Mr. Pope had done a great job, so recommended him to some friends. They took their son to College Placement Bureau, and Mr. Pope also got him into Knox College. I know my record was messed up, but I think I could have gotten into somewhere better, either on my own, or Mr. Pope could have found a better one his schools that would take me, but paid lower fees.
After 1 1/3 years at Knox, I decided I couldn’t take it any more and didn’t go back. I knew that I could transfer somewhere significantly better based on my test scores and grades at Knox. I contacted Johns Hopkins and they indicated that they were really interested, particularly that I had an 800 on one of the harder to get 800 SAT IIs. They accepted me at mid year. The school was excellent and extremely intense, but this was also a mixed experience for various reasons.
Mr. Pope wrote articles in the Washington Post Magazine. They basically pushed his colleges, saying you don’t need to go to an Ivy, and why it was good to go to colleges in the midwest.
Mr. Pope was a predator, who was a recruiter pretending to be a college adviser. He took advantage of young people, and hurt a lot of people. You see similar things today in less extreme ways; for example on the Internet, sites push other sites they get fees from. I don’t know if there are similar “college placement” operations today.