Sara Harberson Application Nation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure she gets some results for families who want to outsource this stuff, but I am incredibly turned off by the lack of diversity on her website and among her staff. In this era, it's pretty appalling to see zero diversity.

Good point. But almost every parent posting is diverse (all Asian parents and kids or hyphenated kids)….but interesting point you make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone pay for the 1-1 essay topics and 1-1 essay review?

Was it worth it?

I mean, based on the comments here, I'm guessing it is NOT worth it.

How much does she charge for this?

I think it is worth joining for the summer and fall before college apps. don't expect it to get your kid to a highly selective college unless already qualified but the forum is useful for answering questions that you want a quick answer and or don't want to bother your school counselor.
TWO THINGS THAT SHE DOES NOT GIVE ACCURATE ADVICE:
1. Not reporting AP scores above 5. Sometimes you have to report a 4. otherwise the AOs will think you got a 2 or 3.
2. She makes a blanket no-no to all paid summer programs. This is NOT true. Competitive summer programs even if paid is definitely worth it. emphasis is on "competitive" like SSP, USB RMP, RSI, Ross, MITES etc.

and one more thing--please be wary of her essay editing services. the edited essays provided as examples all sounded too polished and bit same.

What do you mean too polished? I read some of the essays she recently posted and thought they were quite good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone pay for the 1-1 essay topics and 1-1 essay review?

Was it worth it?

I mean, based on the comments here, I'm guessing it is NOT worth it.

How much does she charge for this?

It’s a lot. I think $1000 for first 1-on-1; then $1250+ for PS editing.

I did pay about $2k for multiple essay edit help for elder kid (random essay editor on Wyzant) so maybe that’s a better option? I’m torn and was hoping someone had used the service

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone pay for the 1-1 essay topics and 1-1 essay review?

Was it worth it?

I mean, based on the comments here, I'm guessing it is NOT worth it.

How much does she charge for this?

I think it is worth joining for the summer and fall before college apps. don't expect it to get your kid to a highly selective college unless already qualified but the forum is useful for answering questions that you want a quick answer and or don't want to bother your school counselor.
TWO THINGS THAT SHE DOES NOT GIVE ACCURATE ADVICE:
1. Not reporting AP scores above 5. Sometimes you have to report a 4. otherwise the AOs will think you got a 2 or 3.
2. She makes a blanket no-no to all paid summer programs. This is NOT true. Competitive summer programs even if paid is definitely worth it. emphasis is on "competitive" like SSP, USB RMP, RSI, Ross, MITES etc.

and one more thing--please be wary of her essay editing services. the edited essays provided as examples all sounded too polished and bit same.

What do you mean too polished? I read some of the essays she recently posted and thought they were quite good.

I found the examples over edited and too stylied. lacked rawness. but they were good essays.

[Anonymous]

I used her group for my older child and I found it very helpful. I feel pretty knowledgeable but for the price it’s great having access to her and her staff for questions and I absolutely think her step by step help on the common app is worthwhile. She goes section by section and tells you how to word and order things. I did not pay extra for any of her 1:1 sessions. I did have a local essay person my child worked with, but Sara helped us hash out the best angle for the essay story and topic.

I do think she can be somewhat conservative about where your child may get in, because she wants them (and her) to have the most success of course. She definitely pushes away from the T20 schools as much as possible even for tippy top kids.

I actually think she’s a genius with this business model. Not only that, because she works with such a large group of students she gets what I feel is much greater information on what’s happening in admissions than a counselor who works with 5 or 10 kids a year. I plan to use her group for the next kid too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ummm, are you also paying attention to her social media which shows inside her massive closet and Gucci shoes? And Caribbean vacations. You don't think you're paying for that!

Not only her! Her youngest daughter is always out in Fendi outfits and whatnot. ANd this is exactly my thought - she must be doing SO well to be able to afford her lifestyle (I think her hubby is a medical professional so much make good income too. But just the fact that she *can* buy all high end name brands must mean their income is really, really good).

$69-79 per person per month in each AN group. IIRC AN2024 had 400+. Conservatively, that's $27,600/month just for that group - not to mention AN25/26 and the private sessions.

That being said, I don't begrudge her her lifestyle and I'm not one to judge people for the clothes they buy.

I’m a member of this cohort. Trying to decide which add-one to purchase this summer.

800+ people in this cohort (AN2025).
The essay editing is now $1200/personal statement.
$1000-1400 for supplementals editing
$1-2k for 1-on-1 activities description review.
$1000 for 1on-1 interview prep.

Looks like most people do at least one of these add-ons. Many do 2-3 (so 3-4000 in addition to 80-100/month). The earlier you sign up, the lower the price.

Also, she’s aggregating the data into a database it appears. So maybe she’s monetizing the data?

Seems like a smart model.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Had no idea it was that pricey

[Anonymous]

Her basic membership to the FB page is useful and a bargain. Her book is super helpful and if you only invest in that, it’s worth it.
Her add ons pricing is comparable to or less than quality counselors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure she gets some results for families who want to outsource this stuff, but I am incredibly turned off by the lack of diversity on her website and among her staff. In this era, it's pretty appalling to see zero diversity.

Good point. But almost every parent posting is diverse (all Asian parents and kids or hyphenated kids)….but interesting point you make.

That's not what "diverse" means, for two reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Her basic membership to the FB page is useful and a bargain. Her book is super helpful and if you only invest in that, it’s worth it.
Her add ons pricing is comparable to or less than quality counselors.

I thought the book repeated what could have been said in 1 sentence…maybe a paragraph with her own personal example and some added stuff. The rest was on repeat and unhelpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ummm, are you also paying attention to her social media which shows inside her massive closet and Gucci shoes? And Caribbean vacations. You don't think you're paying for that!

Not only her! Her youngest daughter is always out in Fendi outfits and whatnot. ANd this is exactly my thought - she must be doing SO well to be able to afford her lifestyle (I think her hubby is a medical professional so much make good income too. But just the fact that she *can* buy all high end name brands must mean their income is really, really good).

$69-79 per person per month in each AN group. IIRC AN2024 had 400+. Conservatively, that's $27,600/month just for that group - not to mention AN25/26 and the private sessions.

That being said, I don't begrudge her her lifestyle and I'm not one to judge people for the clothes they buy.

I’m a member of this cohort. Trying to decide which add-one to purchase this summer.

800+ people in this cohort (AN2025).
The essay editing is now $1200/personal statement.
$1000-1400 for supplementals editing
$1-2k for 1-on-1 activities description review.
$1000 for 1on-1 interview prep.

Looks like most people do at least one of these add-ons. Many do 2-3 (so 3-4000 in addition to 80-100/month). The earlier you sign up, the lower the price.

Also, she’s aggregating the data into a database it appears. So maybe she’s monetizing the data?

Seems like a smart model.

Wow! Her prices have gone up quite a bit since last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ummm, are you also paying attention to her social media which shows inside her massive closet and Gucci shoes? And Caribbean vacations. You don't think you're paying for that!

Not only her! Her youngest daughter is always out in Fendi outfits and whatnot. ANd this is exactly my thought - she must be doing SO well to be able to afford her lifestyle (I think her hubby is a medical professional so much make good income too. But just the fact that she *can* buy all high end name brands must mean their income is really, really good).

$69-79 per person per month in each AN group. IIRC AN2024 had 400+. Conservatively, that's $27,600/month just for that group - not to mention AN25/26 and the private sessions.

That being said, I don't begrudge her her lifestyle and I'm not one to judge people for the clothes they buy.

I’m a member of this cohort. Trying to decide which add-one to purchase this summer.

800+ people in this cohort (AN2025).
The essay editing is now $1200/personal statement.
$1000-1400 for supplementals editing
$1-2k for 1-on-1 activities description review.
$1000 for 1on-1 interview prep.

Looks like most people do at least one of these add-ons. Many do 2-3 (so 3-4000 in addition to 80-100/month). The earlier you sign up, the lower the price.

Also, she’s aggregating the data into a database it appears. So maybe she’s monetizing the data?

Seems like a smart model.

Wow! Her prices have gone up quite a bit since last year.

And the number of enrollees has doubled from 400+ to 800+

[Anonymous]

Does she personally help with the essays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she personally help with the essays?

Either her or someone on team, and then they all review/discuss (or so she says)….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does she personally help with the essays?

Either her or someone on team, and then they all review/discuss (or so she says)….

Well, that’s a big difference whether it’s her or it’s someone on her team.