People who spend huge amounts of $ on private college consultants are wasting their money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To counter the influence of paid consultants I think you will see an acceleration of the trend already started to accept more minority, low SES, first in the family to attend college, Questbridge kids accepted -- and you can see why. At least they aren't literally buying their way in.

My impression is that schools are already accepting as many of these as they can afford (using that loosely) and have been for quite some time. Now that Pell numbers affect the US News ranking, numbers of Pell recipients may increase, though that may come at a cost to those with need just above Pell-eligible level.

I agree with you completely, but whereas I have heard some grumbling and criticism of the schools for doing this, now I think they will be well-justified since the rich are seen as trying to buy their way in after this scandal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Holy shit people-stop the helicoptering! Follow your kids lead. Drops deadlines or applies to school that doesn’t provide YOU with bragging rights, so what. Talk with them about expectations and finances, but that should be early and often.

Signed,
[b]Parent to keep to kid who handled their own college process and got into their dream school[/b].

Humble brag.

+1 - humble brag written poorly-

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We spent $8K on a consultant for our DS and he got into every school he applied to. She didn't have him aiming too high- no real reaches. She got him to focus, write his essays and get everything done and submitted in a 30 day period. We didn't use her for DD- it seemed like too much $ for what would have likely been the same results. DD wrote her essays- we spent $100 to have them reviewed by a writer and then she submitted all her apps. She too got into all of the schools she applied to except for one. I don't think a consultant is needed- the online applications are pretty straight forward and there are a bunch of good youtube videos that demonstrate completing applications, essay writing, etc. I do think that having essays reviewed is worth spending money on because sometimes the writer (and parents) don't see grammatical mistakes, etc.

Yes, you're right. There are a lot of online applications and they are pretty straight forward, and a lot of youtube videos, as well. We also had a website, where we were explaining how to do all of the above ... step by step. But few months after we've started to maintain our website, we've decided to consider on the question - how much does it cost to build an app (a separate iOS app) ? So, we've got a contact with a really good developers, and got really profitable options (talking about quality/price).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To counter the influence of paid consultants I think you will see an acceleration of the trend already started to accept more minority, low SES, first in the family to attend college, Questbridge kids accepted -- and you can see why. At least they aren't literally buying their way in.

And what is Questbridge? A free college counselor service:

Awards for College Prep Scholars may include:
A full scholarship to a college summer program at Stanford, Yale, Emory, UChicago, and more. Scholarships cover travel, tuition, and room & board.
Quest for Excellence Awards, including up to $1,000 for a new laptop and other resources to enhance your college application (online courses, test preparation, test registration fees, and more).
An invitation to a QuestBridge National College Admissions Conference at Penn, Vanderbilt, or Pomona.
Personalized feedback on your college essay.
Campus visits to QuestBridge college partners.
One-on-one admissions telementoring from Amherst College students.
Specialized guidance and resources for the college application process.
Access to an online community of peers who are also applying to top colleges.

How is this different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having done admissions interviews for my Ivy alma mater... I promise that admissions staff can tell the difference between an essay written by a kid and an essay written by a consultant. They can tell the difference between padded resumes and genuine intellectual interest. And they don't care at all about recommendations from famous people. Yes, legacy preferences and athletic preferences are real, and corrupt, and yes, test prep can help, on the margins, but if you are planning to hire a consultant, don't waste your money, people. Take the money you'd have spent on that and put it into a fund to help your kid buy their first home or whatever. It's a much better investment.

Op with all due respect as soon as I hear someone say “I do admissions interviews for my ivy,” I tune out and wonder how you could be so gullible.