<p>What particular sort of help and services would you want from an outside college counselor? A friend of mine who has done college counseling for many years for an independent school is going to branch out on her own. She has lots of expertise and is trying to figure out how to package her services. What would you like to see? Hourly help? Or the whole package? When would you want to first meet? When your student was a freshman? sophomore? or not until junior year? Do you want face to face time yourself? Or just for your student? What don't you get from public high school counselors that you'd be willing to pay to get from an outside person? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Experts are meant to tell us about all the possible mistakes before we make them. Show me a track record and be honest. I’ve always hated counselors pitching themselves as infallible life coaches. </p>
<p>Remember the story about the independent admissions counselor who claimed to have an influential friend on Brown’s admission committee? He hand selected gifted students with strong academic backgrounds and took ten grand from their parents. He promised that if the students he mentored didn’t get in, the money would be returned - in full.</p>
<p>So, one in about five of these students would get in. He’d return money to the other four. He never knew anyone at Brown. Net result: ten grand in the bank!</p>
<p>Good luck to your friend, it’s a very crowded field! There are a lot of jokers out there calling themselves counselors but there are a few world class ones who have worked in college admissions offices and really know the game. These folks make their big money through 4 year guidance packages.</p>
<p>I think it would be tough for someone whose credentials are at the HS level. At top private high schools the college counselors are former top college adcoms!</p>