<p>To people who got in with/without expensive Consultancy services
Being from a place which can be called a town, I don't have the luxury of guidance counsellors. There are many great educational consultancy services. Oh and their greatness is directly proportional to their price tag. The ones I'm talking about arent located in india. So the correspondence will be done via Skype. Are they really worth it ? Because if it really boosts your chances, I might as well consider it. People ?</p>
<p>If you are clear about the timeline and the process, I do not think you need to hire a Counsellor. And they will not write your essays either, if they do, are only doing you disservice, in my opinion. And the LORs are to be from your teachers anyway. So what you need to figure out is what exactly do you want to hire them for? Maybe once you know that the decision will be easy.</p>
<p>I did not seek the help of any guidance counselor and neither have many of my friends (some of who are attending HYPMSCC(UC)D). If you are willing to carry the stresses of deadlines and forms (and carry stresses, you will) and are alright with having to do your on research then not having a counselor will not hamper your chances. Having a counselor is more of a luxury, and if you are ever need of advice, there are several prolific CC’ers who carry at least as much experience as your counselor, just waiting to help you out.</p>
<p>Well I got into Drexel till now without a consultant - if that counts!! :p</p>
<p>But really, you Don’t need one!! :)</p>
<p>Me & my friends didn’t need one!! And I’m pretty sure we’ll end up someplace good!! In my opinion, it’s better if you do it on your own - cause then you know what you are doing & what your strong points are. It’s a great way to know more about yourself & at the same time see if the colleges are of your match!! </p>
<p>Anyway it’s up to you!!
Btw, on the UPenn website it is clearly mentioned that they don’t encourage students to use external counselors & to that effect they have a supplement question on the commonapp!! :)</p>
<p>All the best!!</p>
<p>These counselors are nothing but money-making-scams.
You don’t really need them. I made in at 2 unis already without taking any external help. You know what all stuff you need to do and by what time. These counselors won’t make your application look stunning or anything. You know who you are. And the fact that their previous clients made it big is nothing for them to boast about for it was the student’s app that helped him break through, not the counselor. So. Just don’t fall for these scams.
Besides you have the entire CC community to help you with!</p>
<p>The only thing that boosts your chances are the strength of your application and the your list of colleges which are a best “fit” in terms of your stats falling in the 25-75 percentile range of their last freshman class profile.</p>
<p>I applied to 19 colleges and never felt I needed a consultant anyway. I agree with what rew2402, rishav17, jak321 et al have said.</p>
<p>That was really encouraging 
websites likes these and helpful people here must be seriously harmperimg the counselling business.
There’s one consultancy called “3eq”. I had talked with them a few weeks ago. Their fees is 15 lakh !!! X_X I replied saying if they provide financial aid 
didn’t hear back.</p>
<p>15 lakh??? Are you f***ing serious?? LOL!! That’s equal to the tuition fees at some state universities!! :p</p>
<p>Even I couldn’t believe it ! I thought I was seeing extra zeroes. And the wording was so casual “we strongly believe this <em>SMALL</em> investement will really help you with the admission process”</p>
<p>If you start now, stick to a timeline, do your research well, do not waste time and are meticulous, you don’t need a consultancy. Even if you don’t do these things, you don’t <em>need</em> a consultancy. Don’t spend so much money, save for college! :)</p>
<p>I think you do need a counsellor, especially considering the fact that you come from a small school. I belong to a small town too and my school had no experience with US admissions. The teachers were not familiar with the idea of writing recommendations and it was a big headache to prod the school into writing a school profile (which is required in the common application). Assuming your school gives you negligible guidance and that you are aiming for a top college, I don’t think you will be able to manage that without any professional guidance. At the same time, it is important to be cautious while choosing your counsellor. 15 lake rupees is an absurd amount, and unheard of. I faced a similar problem but was lucky to ultimately come in contact with a very experienced lady who charged a nominal amount- fair for the amount of work that had to be done. Regarding guidance provided by college confidential users, yes it is informative, but you can never trust the source- so try not bending on that option. And so continue your search for a counsellor, I am sure you will find one who is experienced, reliable and will charge an affordable amount.</p>
<p>^^I wouldn’t do that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>^ Well. @istaar - doesn’t it hold true for you too?? :p</p>
<p>Anyway, did you get into a top school??</p>
<p>And the point is, a external counselor wouldn’t hurt … but fact is that you don’t “NEED” one per se!! :D</p>
<p>I agree with @rishav17. A counselor may be useful but you do not absolutely need one.</p>
<p>sounds trivial but those who need a counselor need a counselor, and those who don;t, don’t. </p>
<p>I have read some fairly awfully conceived and structured application files and some beautiful ones. Some are haughty to the point of off putting, while others are subtle and charming.</p>
<p>But the strength of the counselor really lies in the formative years, when little water has trickled underneath the bridge. By the time the application year is in sight, few students are able to make the sudden transformation to miracle maker. In those desperate situations, only the wealthy can make moves to avoid the pile of rejection letters that are sure to follow. </p>
<p>Best, TF</p>
<p>I ended up hiring two different counsellors for my college applications.</p>
<p>One a very famous and known guy for my safe universities:
- University of Michigan
- Virginia Tech
- Georgia tech
- UIUC - ( Didnt get in )
- USC</p>
<p>and one for my dream schools: </p>
<ol>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>UPenn</li>
<li>Berkley</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Purude ( he insisted on this - admitted ) </li>
</ol>
<p>Out of this the first one who is very famous and gets thousands of clients isnt a good one. He never made any effort to work on my app and left out all my achivements.
I had to take a college councillor as my case is diffrent and my grades are low but achievemnts are over the top. </p>
<p>I would suggest you should take a college councillour but only after researching
the first one charged me double the second one but the second one did a lot of work and made so much effort.
If today i get into MIT its his hard work in the application process.
If you are intrsted you can visit mnemoniceducation.com to know more</p>