Expensive Private College Counselors

[Anonymous]

I paid $4K and it was not worth it for us. Kid figure out own college list. Got some helpful advice about taking ACT/SAT early. Big help was advice on essay topic choices; in retrospect should have paid hourly just for that. I could have helped but kid did not want me to. Never saw essays (until after admissions decisions!) Probably helpful to have someone else involved as we would have bickered about that kind of thing. Kid is a self starter, etc. so probably did not need someone to keep them organized. Public school kid so hardly any school counseling, which is why we did it.

[Anonymous]

They have no "secret sauce" because none exists and are they are totally not worth it.

Big difference between them and the "by the hour" person you hire to help your kid.

But the truth is neither will make a substantive difference in the outcomes. Save your $$$, buy a book or two, it is not as complicated as you think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have no "secret sauce" because none exists and are they are totally not worth it.

Big difference between them and the "by the hour" person you hire to help your kid.

But the truth is neither will make a substantive difference in the outcomes. Save your $$$, buy a book or two, it is not as complicated as you think.

I disagree with this. We didn't need a counselor to help us put a list together or think of good ECs but it was helpful to have someone look over HS course choices and say which versions they thought were strongest. It also helped to have them brainstorm essay questions, even if we didn't use all their ideas, it was definitely helpful. We only spent a few hours with a counselor, not a whole package deal. I think that's for people with very little time (parents) themselves or who have a fractious relationship with their kid and need some kind of chaperone to keep an eye on the process. We didn't need that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have no "secret sauce" because none exists and are they are totally not worth it.

Big difference between them and the "by the hour" person you hire to help your kid.

But the truth is neither will make a substantive difference in the outcomes. Save your $$$, buy a book or two, it is not as complicated as you think.

I disagree with this. We didn't need a counselor to help us put a list together or think of good ECs but it was helpful to have someone look over HS course choices and say which versions they thought were strongest. It also helped to have them brainstorm essay questions, even if we didn't use all their ideas, it was definitely helpful. We only spent a few hours with a counselor, not a whole package deal. I think that's for people with very little time (parents) themselves or who have a fractious relationship with their kid and need some kind of chaperone to keep an eye on the process. We didn't need that.

And how did that result in different outcomes for you? Did you try reading a book on admissions first?

[Anonymous]

We hired one because we were insecure about dealing with the whole process for the first time. Having gone through it once, I think it was a waste of money. For kid number 2, I would rather invest that amount of money in test prep than in counselor services.

[Anonymous]

From experience, it wasn't worth the extra $4-10K unless you have the extra cash lying around. I wish I had saved it.

[Anonymous]

For those parents who want to stay out of the process as much as possible I think it is worth it, especially for crafting the essays.

[Anonymous]

💯 worth it for my kid who is disorganized and not likely to listen to us about deadlines. She also had unrealistic goals so she needed someone to push her on picking safeties. My DD ended up loving her advisor and says she probably wouldn’t be in college without her. Also, DD had a really hard time deciding between two schools and the counselor walked her through it - DH and I had a preference but she needed to hear the pros of one school over another from someone other than us. We have hired same person for DD number two who is much more organized and less defiant. I do t know if it it will be worth it.

[Anonymous]

The post is about expensive private college counselors. Sorry, but a $4k private college counselor is not "expensive" and I gather not what the OP is asking.

At some pretty high level...probably at least $50k...the level of service and micromanaging of your kid's life is extraordinary.

It goes above and beyond what any counselor charging $25k or below will provide...not certain what the $25k-$50k counselor is able to offer.

[Anonymous]

We used one and my DD ended up at a school they didn’t suggest. There’s a lot of fluff to the process that they charge for that isn’t necessary. Talk to your kid about what they want in a school and get organized. In Todays crapshoot of admissions, save your money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We used one and my DD ended up at a school they didn’t suggest. There’s a lot of fluff to the process that they charge for that isn’t necessary. Talk to your kid about what they want in a school and get organized. In Todays crapshoot of admissions, save your money.

Like everything else in life, it depends upon whom you hire. We were extremely pleased with ours and he was only $3k. Well worth it. And our DS actually enjoyed the process. It brought sanity back to our home

[Anonymous]

I paid $6,500 and it was worth it. I don't think we could have done much better if we paid more. She provided everything that we needed, advice on getting extra time, review of essays, time management, and college recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used one and my DD ended up at a school they didn’t suggest. There’s a lot of fluff to the process that they charge for that isn’t necessary. Talk to your kid about what they want in a school and get organized. In Todays crapshoot of admissions, save your money.

Like everything else in life, it depends upon whom you hire. We were extremely pleased with ours and he was only $3k. Well worth it. And our DS actually enjoyed the process. It brought sanity back to our home

Where did they end up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They have no "secret sauce" because none exists and are they are totally not worth it.

Big difference between them and the "by the hour" person you hire to help your kid.

But the truth is neither will make a substantive difference in the outcomes. Save your $$$, buy a book or two, it is not as complicated as you think.

I disagree with this. We didn't need a counselor to help us put a list together or think of good ECs but it was helpful to have someone look over HS course choices and say which versions they thought were strongest. It also helped to have them brainstorm essay questions, even if we didn't use all their ideas, it was definitely helpful. We only spent a few hours with a counselor, not a whole package deal. I think that's for people with very little time (parents) themselves or who have a fractious relationship with their kid and need some kind of chaperone to keep an eye on the process. We didn't need that.

And how did that result in different outcomes for you? Did you try reading a book on admissions first?

Shut up you patronizing F*cker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:💯 worth it for my kid who is disorganized and not likely to listen to us about deadlines. She also had unrealistic goals so she needed someone to push her on picking safeties. My DD ended up loving her advisor and says she probably wouldn’t be in college without her. Also, DD had a really hard time deciding between two schools and the counselor walked her through it - DH and I had a preference but she needed to hear the pros of one school over another from someone other than us. We have hired same person for DD number two who is much more organized and less defiant. I do t know if it it will be worth it.

I wish I could get your counselors information. DC is "smart but scattered" and it would be great to take a more neutral position (not because I don't want to be involved, more because I want to avoid driving DC crazy the last year or two they are home before college by being the taskmaster).