<p>We're considering whether we ought to hire a consultant. Friends spent $5,000 and ended up applying to schools where they had little chance of being admitted and also ended up spending hours and hours researching on their own. I'm sure there are good and bad consultants, but (1) what would a consultant do (2) any personal experience that makes you feel hiring a consultant was a good/bad choice. Thanks.</p>
<p>Wow, you must be rich. If i were you I would spend that money putting my kid in an SSAT prep center and apply to 20 schools. It will take some time to have all of those interviews and what not but it is definantly worth it in the end. OR alternatively you could just tell fun is fun what type of kid your son is, what e likes etc and he will give you his suggestions. Fun is fun is never wrong.... ever.</p>
<p>If you hire a consultant, it would be best to find someone who specializes in secondary school placement, and not therapeutic schools. There are many college consultants who claim to know the prep school market, but I suspect that just staying on top of the college market is more than enough for most people. </p>
<p>If both parents work long hours and/or there is a specific type of school you want, then a consultant would be helpful. For example, if you are looking for a specific sport, then a knowledgeable consultant can point you in the right directions. </p>
<p>If you have time, no specific requirements, and have created a balanced list of schools, then I think you can do this on your own. If you don't know of any consultants who specialize in secondary school placement, call local day schools that end in 8th or 9th grade. Their placement director might moonlight or have friends in the business.</p>
<p>We considered hiring a consultant before we started the process. I got a few names from friends and made a few calls. We asked specific questions regarding exact "steps" of the process and how long do them spend working on/for each child. In the end we decided to do it on our own and here are the reasons: (1). We knew we want our child to stay in New England (2). We practiced a bit on the "interview" questions to make sure my child will not give only "one word" answer. He was fine with it. (3). We didn't think he needs any help on SSAT. </p>
<p>We have now concluded our school tours and I don't regret not using a consultant. I would suggest that you do what I did, call up the consultant and ask questions first before commit the money.</p>
<p>theharpist - great suggestion, thanks.<br>
Sounds like you were in the same position. It's a very important decision - not only for our son but for our family, and we just don't want to regret not being thorough enough. I'd die if things went badly, and someone said, "oh, didn't you know . . . "
I will make some calls. Frankly, I'm not completely sure what these professionals do, and I'd guess that the answer varies from person to person. We sure do feel like we're in over our heads.</p>
<p>Sometimes consultants do have pull when it comes to getting their clients into schools they normally wouldn't get into. This may not be 100% true for all, but it all depends on if you think it is worth spending the 5k for the consultant. Often times, a consultant is used for kids who are weak in some area (ex. testing scores) which might make it harder for them to find a school within their reach that is challenging too.</p>
<p>I would save the money and spend more time here. You may get more up to date info from parents on cc than from many consultants. There are parents and kids here from all the schools that are happy to give you the inside scoop. Be careful if a consultant says he has the inside track to a top school.</p>
<p>I should chime in here since I am at the heart of this topic. Consultants can be extraordinarily helpful. As long as you choose a consultant who specializes in boarding schools (as I do), you will find someone who has visited all the schools, knows what each school is looking for, what their strong points are, what the culture is likeetc. Consultants are "students of schools" and if you are going to pay $40k a year for a school, paying a few thousand to get good advice is important.</p>
<p>I think consultants do their best work with kids who are struggling, are uninspired, or need more structure. For the other end of the spectrum---the top students, consultants are valuable since they have gone through the process successfully, many times over. We have the benefit of seeing what has worked in competitive situations, and to help the student put his or her best foot forward.</p>
<p>Some people mention to beware of consultants who promise an inside track to a top school. I have never heard of a person who does that, and it is against the rules of the consultants association. </p>
<p>And although this site has some good information and some smart posters (burbparent, linda, dyer maker)--there is also a lot of misinformation out there. (like the perception that a 90th percentile SSAT is the norm.)</p>
<p>My last comment here is that if you would like to find a consultant, go to the website for IECA, the consultants association, IECAonline.com</a> | Home and search under schools. You will find one who specializes in boarding schools. (most charge less than $5k, actually). I don't think you will regret it. Good luck</p>
<p>to the harpist, I think that it is too early to know if your decision not to hire a consultant was the right one! You'll have a better opinion on this on March 10th. :)</p>
<p>newyorker22 and raisincane,</p>
<p>I don't mean to give the impression that a consultant is not valuable. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>We know many people that have kids currently in the top boarding schools, we can trust their honest opinion about the school they are attending.</p></li>
<li><p>We feel that we know our child the best. Out of the 6 schools we visited, only one school we knew would be very wrong for him, hence dropped from our list. We didn't want to apply to tons of schools just so he can go to a boarding school. (raisincane: we do live near many of the top day schools in the country and am applying to one of them. Also, our town offers excellent public school, though I know it will not be nearly as good as the top bs. If going to bs is your only option, maybe you shouldn't take my advise. :-( )</p></li>
<li><p>One of my child's ECs (not sports related) requires him to travel from time to time to compete (to different states and he represented our country internationally). If he goes to bs he might have to stop for a few years. As this is not the only activity he loves, he is ok with focusing on couple of other things while he is at bs. (Going to bs is his wish, not ours.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>raisincane, I really don't think you should worry so much. I told my son that any of these schools would be lucky to have him. If it doesn't happen this year, it's because he is meant to stay home (not so bad) and develop this specific talent further. </p>
<p>newyorker22: I am sure your service helped many and I enjoy reading your advise on this forum. However, I am very certain we will not regret not hiring a consultant, March 10th or not.</p>
<p>It may be useful to view the NAIS/Salisbury presentation that was floating about this forum a while back. I forgot who originally posted it but thanks because it's informative in a number of ways. When examining the denial stats in the pie chart on page 42, there appears to be some value in using a consultant in the admissions process. Granted, this is only one school but I'd imagine there are some strong similarities across the admissions spectrum. I AM NOT weighing in on whether individual families should use consultants so please, do not be offended. I simply want to point out that there APPEARS to be a strong value added component when incorporating this level of advocacy, at least when examining these rejection rates for Salisbury.</p>
<p>what exactly does a consultant do?<br>
Newyorker22 - Is there an accepted scope of duties among the professionals, or would we arrive at a list of tasks we need help accomplishing? So far, I've heard that they would: help narrow your list, interview prep, maybe ssat prep.</p>
<p>New Yorker: I have a question about using a placement organization like ABC, for students of color. Does ABC have greater influence with admissions or give a child an edge? Our current plan is to apply to ABC and also apply directly to schools she is certain she wants to attend. Because this process is a new one for our family, I am occasionally hit with waves of doubt, are we applying to the right schools, are our expectations realistic, can we afford this, is the ABC process even worth the time, etc. </p>
<p>Any input is appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks NewYorker22
I did go onto the site, and I actually found someone not too far away that specializes in high school placement. I'll call them and see what they can do. I'm glad for the advise here because most boast that their services are comprehensive, and I would guess that they're very busy this time of year with college apps.</p>
<p>Emdee- Check your PM folder.</p>
<p>newyorker, I had a friend who used a consultant that in the past had been associated with the admissions dept of two top founders league schools. Friend was under the impression phone calls would be made etc, etc, and after the check was paid upfront, the consultant said the goal was for the app to look like no help was given. She thought it was a little bit of bait and switch. I am sure it is not common but did happen once.</p>
<p>We're trying it on our own. If there are no acceptances on March 10th, we'll seek out a consultant. At that point I will have No More Patience for the whole process. I assume a reputable consultant will be one of the first resources schools will turn to, in order to fill seats without advertising to the world at large.</p>
<p>I do know people who have been happy with their consultants. If both parents are working, it can be worth the money to simplify the process for the family. Good word of mouth is important, though, and that can be hard to find. </p>
<p>I do not want to panic anyone, but you should realize that the pre-preps, Eaglebrook, Fay, Fenn, etc., have offices which specialize in secondary placement.</p>
<p>I would say that if you hired a consultant, only listen to a fair amount of what they have to say. Remember that family decisions are very important as well. Whenever our family wants to make a decision regarding anything important, we always discuss it amongst ourselves first before seeking out help from a professional.</p>
<p>Periwinkle has a good point. Most boarding school applicants use a consultant of some kind---very few people go it alone. Applicants from k-8 private schools have a "secondary school placement officer", applicants from programs such as ABC or the other 8 major educational programs, all have consultant-type help too. Most international students use a consultant from their own country, and then there are many people who don't fall into any of those categories who hire consultants. I've asked a few admissions officers about this, and they said that more than half of applicants use a consultant of some kind. At some schools it is closer to 75%. Other schools don't fully know since many applicants never tell them that they used a consultant.</p>
<p>Leekleek, I think it is good to discuss things as a family, but a consultant doesn't take away from that, and in fact gives you lots of good nuggets to discuss. I sit down with families and learn about them, their goals for boarding school, review testing and grades, do an inventory of interests. Then we talk about the schools--what students have loved and hated about particular ones, and what admissions committes are likely to think of your application. Families usually leave these meetings talking a whole lot more than when they came in. </p>
<p>Regarding the poster who mentioned a consultant who was affiliated with a school--that's too bad that there was a misunderstanding. Generally, when an admissions officer leaves a school and goes into consulting they are pretty clear that there is no inside pull. But in that case, maybe he/she didn't, that's too bad.</p>
<p>I don't agree with the above post's statement that most boarding school students use a consultant.
The primary purpose of a consultant is to have a knowledgeable person to speak with about schooling options. The consultant should be knowledgeable about both the schools & the applicant, of course. To state the obvious, there are good, bad & mediocre consultants; much depends upon the personalities involved as to whether a consultant is good, bad or mediocre for you & your family. To me, a good consultant listens well and advises carefully. The selection of a boarding school, and even the decision of whether or not boarding school is an appropriate option, is a very emotional process for all family members. It is important to communicate to any prospective consultant what the client expects for their time & money.</p>