College Counseling Consultant -- Worth It?

[Anonymous]

DS is a sophomore in high school, and we have begun thinking of college choices. He has mild ADHD but goes to a mainstream private high school and utilizes minimal accommodations (extra time for tests). He is carrying many honors courses and doing well. A college counseling consultant has been recommended to us (her speciality is learning differences). She has a one time fee of $7,500 which covers multiple meetings and lots of support throughout the process, up to the point of getting settled into course selection, etc. She comes highly recommended.

My question is do you think this is worth the investment? Has anyone else used a consultant? We can definitely afford it, but it is still a steep price tag imo.

[Anonymous]

It is a steep price tag, but I've heard worse. One friend of mine spent $10,000 on SAT/ACT prep courses for two kids. I guess it depends how worried you are that your child's special needs i.e. ADHD might require some extra help in finding a college fit or in staying organized.

I have some friends who swear that having an independent third party guiding the process has been a lifesaver in their homes. The counselor found colleges their kids might not have considered that ended up being good fits and helped them stay on schedule with deadlines so mom and dad didn't have to nag.

We've gone it alone with twice now and that has worked too. My first child probably picked some reaches that a counselor would have not included on the list, but these were dream schools she would have regretted not applying to. My second child refused to even talk about college till the summer before his senior year and I worried he'd be horrible about getting all his stuff in, but in the end he took surprising ownership of the process and has been accepted into his top choice. Both my kids had issues (less than perfect grades, so-so essays that I suppose a counselor might have marketed as things she could help with) but in the end it didn't matter.

What I've found personally from going through this twice recently is that things have changed, and yet they haven't. A college counselor isn't a necessity-- particularly if you know your kid and don't mind doing a little research. There's a lot of info out there. Even when my #2 was dragging his feet, I was able to come up with a nominal list of schools that might be fits -- I seriously doubt a counselor would have brought much added value in our case.

[Anonymous]

The information is out there. It depends on how much time you have. The ones I have come across have a very definite tool bag and if your DC is slightly different the recommendations will not really fit- even the ones that specialize in learning differences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a steep price tag, but I've heard worse. One friend of mine spent $10,000 on SAT/ACT prep courses for two kids. I guess it depends how worried you are that your child's special needs i.e. ADHD might require some extra help in finding a college fit or in staying organized.

I have some friends who swear that having an independent third party guiding the process has been a lifesaver in their homes. The counselor found colleges their kids might not have considered that ended up being good fits and helped them stay on schedule with deadlines so mom and dad didn't have to nag.

We've gone it alone with twice now and that has worked too. My first child probably picked some reaches that a counselor would have not included on the list, but these were dream schools she would have regretted not applying to. My second child refused to even talk about college till the summer before his senior year and I worried he'd be horrible about getting all his stuff in, but in the end he took surprising ownership of the process and has been accepted into his top choice. Both my kids had issues (less than perfect grades, so-so essays that I suppose a counselor might have marketed as things she could help with) but in the end it didn't matter.

What I've found personally from going through this twice recently is that things have changed, and yet they haven't. A college counselor isn't a necessity-- particularly if you know your kid and don't mind doing a little research. There's a lot of info out there. Even when my #2 was dragging his feet, I was able to come up with a nominal list of schools that might be fits -- I seriously doubt a counselor would have brought much added value in our case.

OP here. Thank you for the thoughtful response. One thing that has me thinking is your comment about staying organized. This is his biggest challenge. He manages to get good grades, but would probably do better if he had stronger executive functioning and study skills. He is a major procrastinator, and this is the thing that has me worried in terms of our home life. Being able to eliminate our need to nag him to get his essays done or whatever else is necessary in the process is priceless in my opinion. The consultant works with the student to help him organize himself in the application process and gives him deadlines in bits and pieces. This alone may be worth it.

I would like to interview a couple of consultants, but right now we only have one recommended to us. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

We aren't that far along yet, but so far I'm satisfied with the consultant we hired.

What's been worth it is that the person discussing college with my kid is not me.

I have found him good value so far with making choices about classes and with making the whole process seem less mysterious and scary.

Now, my son is at a big suburban high school with a crappy guidance counselor, so I'm not sure I would need this extra service if my kid attended private.

[Anonymous]

I thought it was worth it for our kid. He was not engaged at all with the process and would never have done it on his own. We also didn't have the time.

It was expensive. $6,000. I don't know if it was worth it for my kid, but I do think it's worth it.