<p>Hi, I'm a senior in high school and I recently found a private college counselor and now I'm in a sticky situation with her.</p>
<p>She comes very highly recommended by other parents in my area. I called her to find out about what she does, get a feel of what kind of person she is, etc. SHe called back and we spent about 45 min talking. She basically thinks and talks really slow, and hates to be interrupted, so I ended up listening to her give me info about colege that I had already gathered from CC, like most colleges want 2-3 sat ii's, extracurriculars are important, stuff like that. I consider myself very informed about college admissions, since I've been a cc'er lurker for three years now. </p>
<p>So now (since she is experianced and is a very good college counselor and everyone else is full) Iwould like to work with her, BUT at the end of the call she decides that if she wants to work with me, I will be charged like $60 for this "initial" consultation. She never mentioned this initial consultation would be charged. I am far from rich and even getting a college counselor is tough for us, bu a necessity since my school GC is a very clueless guy. She says that it's only right I pay her for this, becuase she spent so much time giving me important info. but the thing is, I already knew it, and only listened to her talk becuase talks connected and slow and it'shard for me to get a word in. </p>
<p>how should I
1)confront her about this
2)ask if she could talk faster?? I don't believe she's doing it on purpose, tho.
3)say I won't pay the $60</p>
<p>well did she inform you in writing or verbally of the fee before the discussion? If not, I don't think she has a legal right to charge you. Unless you liked her and want to continue with her, I wouldn't pay. I don't think these people are worth it. The only thing you may need altering on, if anything, is your essay and there are plenty of much cheaper services for this (check google). You don't really need to waste money on just finding out about colleges, just look around cc and I'm sure you'll find all your info for free.</p>
<p>I think if she is planning on charging you $60 for a quick testing-the-waters phone call without telling you first, she is going to be asking for a lot more money later on. </p>
<p>Like foodisgood said, I don't think this is worth it. As a senior there is no way she can make any real difference in choosing activities or classes that would be beneficial and look good on an application, and you can have your essay and app edited elsewhere (probably for free by school English teachers). </p>
<p>IMO, someone who is going to charge you for information you could have found off the college's web site isn't worth it.</p>
<p>And $60 for 45 minutes? At this rate you might spend all your college tuition money before you get accepted.</p>
<p>^ I agree. Tell her you won't pay and get someone else. It sounds like a real rip off.</p>
<p>BTW, highheels. you said that you've been a CCer for 3 years, but your join date is August 2006 and this is only your fifth post. why is that??????</p>
<p>I agree also. If she didn't tell you she was going to charge you $60 for the initial consultation, then you totally do NOT have to pay it. Don't sweat it :) It sounds like a real rip-off.</p>
<p>The real question is...do you want to work with this person? If, as you indicate, it's really too late to find another good consultant in your area, you may want to suck it up and pay the $60. The last thing you want to end up with is a situation where you're depending on a consultant who thinks you're a cheap jerk. If she feels shortchanged she may not give your application process the attention it deserves.</p>
<p>These kind of "initial consultation fees" are standard in the educational consulting business. My sense is that they are meant to keep unscupulous clients from talking to a lot of consultants and sucking information out of them for free, then failing to hire anyone. </p>
<p>If you do chose to work with this woman, make sure you get her fee structure in writing (the final amount may be a lot more than you realize!).<br>
Some consultants will roll the cost of the initial consultation into the final cost, e.g., $2,000 for the full package, $60 for initial consultation only.
Most consultants charge a flat fee. In that case all you'll be wasting is a bit of time. However, if she charges by the hour, you may want to structure your consultations a bit. One way to do this would be to email her a list of specific questions and limit the time available to talk ("Sorry, I've got a community service program and that afternoon, so I'll only be available from 2-3:00"). </p>
<p>I had a situation similar to yours when dealing with a consultant (in this case for my son who was applying to prep schools). The guy kept droning on, giving me information he clearly felt was highly valuable, but which I already knew. He just wouldn't shut up! I found myself finishing sentences for him in an effort to get him to move on with it. At the same time, I have to admit that most of what he was telling me would have been new to most of his clients. AND, while I could have done without a lot of his pontificating, he did have one or two real pearls of information to impart about specific schools to which my son was spplying. These alone were worth the money.</p>
<p>And a postscript-
It may be worth it to cast a wider net in your search for a consultant. There may be more in your area than you realize. For instance, although she may be the hot consultants among families in your town, there may be a consultant whose reputation is just as good two towns away.</p>
<p>If she never informed you that there was a $60 charge for the initial consultation, you don't have to pay. You should be aware that this incident may be a preview of things to come - hidden fees and more dishonesty (if she was being dishonest and it wasn't just an innocent mistake... idk).</p>
<p>To be honest, I don't think you need a college counselor. The college counseling dept. at my high school was pretty bad, but I don't know anyone that hired outside help. Since you consider yourself "very informed" about college admissions, you should think twice about getting into something that's going to cost you and your family a lot of money; is it necessary? You can always get in touch with the admissions departments of colleges to ask about their requirements, request an application, etc. I don't see why you would need to pay someone else to do those things for you.</p>
<p>If it was an honest mistake, she will acknowledge that and not expect the $60, that was her error,( if it was an error), if she insists on being paid the $60, as suggested above, then you have to question her integrity</p>
<p>wow if you hire her this will probably be the start of hidden fees, she cant just charge you without telling you....dont call her again, if she calls back just say u cant pay</p>