College Counseling

[Anonymous]

Just received an email this morning that Prepmatters is closing down the college counseling arm of their business, effective end of the week. It seems rather abrupt since many kids are still deciding. We have had good experiences with their tutors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Areas where I think we could use expert guidance
Course selection
Summer activities
Curating a list
Drafting/editing essays

Anything else we should consider in this process? Also what type of cost is associated with counselors? I've heard some crazy high numbers which would be hard to swing on top of tuition.

You are right that by the time you start talking with the school guidance counselor the path is largely set. However, you can do some of the footwork yourself unless your kid has a specialized interest like applying for musical theatre in college.

Speak to parents of seniors now that the college dust has settled and instead of asking for specific names of outside counselors ask what things they think was helpful in the college process/outcome and what things if they knew then what they know now they would have done differently. I spoke to two senior parents that I knew well enough from activities / common middle school etc. and they let me know what I could expect from guidance office and where I needed to do legwork. One also gave me the suggestion to have my kid get involved in leadership outside of the school - the time commitment was bigger than the in school clubs but the experience had been amazing. I did my own legwork for the summer programs, based on cost, timing, my kid’s interests and the school being someplace on the potential list. Not expecting any boost for getting in, but to see if they liked the campus and the subject matter and also to demonstrate interest in both the school and topic. We did hire someone for the essay brainstorm and topic for one because we knew between guidance office and this being our second time, we didn’t need more than that.

We thought this but found mid-10th grade it was immensely helpful to talk to someone about course selection, essays, ECs. They sort of redirected a few things for the better which in some cases we knew already but needed confirmation and in other cases it was news to us, but welcome news.

For me, I was worried that the outside /full service college counselor, would be like working with a personal shopper at a high end store - going for full price options without consideration of costs. If I planned to pay full price for two overlapping in college and ED was part of the application strategy, I probably would have pursued it.

Now there are some less expensive, packaged service that could include suggestions for activities, classes etc, and if it costs the same whether you start as a rising senior or rising sophomore, that could be worth it in my situation but you would need to weigh in about the list if looking for schools with merit/not only need based aid or that are OOS or out of country options that are less expensive than private 80K plus/year.

Nope, an excellent college counselor will help you find the right schools that you can afford. They are (should be at least) experts at helping you find places that give good merit (typically a tier or 2 down from your kid's reach) or that also give good FA (if you will be eligible). We didn't need merit, but our counselor was well versed in which our kid applied to would offer merit or not (and they were 100% right).

[Anonymous]

Imagine paying for private school and then still needing to spend more money to package your kid.

[Anonymous]

If it's not your first kid going through this, I think it's worthwhile to consider deconstructing the process and just hiring an essay coach - which are easy to find online, on wyzant w/ review etc.

If you have a kid who needs tons of outside nudges, then an outside CC can help.

Otherwise, as DMV area private school parent, while I found school CCO lacking, the outsider we had also was lacking. Once we switched just an essay reader/editor type, it was an unlock for us.

This is what I plan for my next two kids to go through this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have children attending an independent school and starting to wonder if just using the school's college counselors will be enough in this new ever evolving college admissions landscape. If you utilized an outside counselor how did you go about findig them? Did you use someone local to where you are that has a good understanding of your local high school market, did you use a more national couselor or one located in a specific area of the country. I've tried asking other parents at our school and heard a mix of things and very few are willing to give actual names. One used a counselor specializing in the California Schools, another that specialized in Ivys, another more familiar with the local landscape and others that just used the school. However, I don't feel like we will be getting any attention until late Junior year which seems late in the game and would like guidance a little earlier in the process to make sure the most options remain open.

Areas where I think we could use expert guidance
Course selection
Summer activities
Curating a list
Drafting/editing essays

Anything else we should consider in this process? Also what type of cost is associated with counselors? I've heard some crazy high numbers which would be hard to swing on top of tuition.

I don’t know why you would pay good money for an “expert’s” opinion, when on DCUM you can get unlimited free advice from bored federal bureaucrats & wine-drunk stay-at-home moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have children attending an independent school and starting to wonder if just using the school's college counselors will be enough in this new ever evolving college admissions landscape. If you utilized an outside counselor how did you go about findig them? Did you use someone local to where you are that has a good understanding of your local high school market, did you use a more national couselor or one located in a specific area of the country. I've tried asking other parents at our school and heard a mix of things and very few are willing to give actual names. One used a counselor specializing in the California Schools, another that specialized in Ivys, another more familiar with the local landscape and others that just used the school. However, I don't feel like we will be getting any attention until late Junior year which seems late in the game and would like guidance a little earlier in the process to make sure the most options remain open.

Areas where I think we could use expert guidance
Course selection
Summer activities
Curating a list
Drafting/editing essays

Anything else we should consider in this process? Also what type of cost is associated with counselors? I've heard some crazy high numbers which would be hard to swing on top of tuition.

I don’t know why you would pay good money for an “expert’s” opinion, when on DCUM you can get unlimited free advice from bored federal bureaucrats & wine-drunk stay-at-home moms.

and strange, childless men in basements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine paying for private school and then still needing to spend more money to package your kid.

Welcome to America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just received an email this morning that Prepmatters is closing down the college counseling arm of their business, effective end of the week. It seems rather abrupt since many kids are still deciding. We have had good experiences with their tutors.

Did they give a reason for why they were closing down their college counseling services?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it's not your first kid going through this, I think it's worthwhile to consider deconstructing the process and just hiring an essay coach - which are easy to find online, on wyzant w/ review etc.

If you have a kid who needs tons of outside nudges, then an outside CC can help.

Otherwise, as DMV area private school parent, while I found school CCO lacking, the outsider we had also was lacking. Once we switched just an essay reader/editor type, it was an unlock for us.

This is what I plan for my next two kids to go through this

Yes same here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have children attending an independent school and starting to wonder if just using the school's college counselors will be enough in this new ever evolving college admissions landscape. If you utilized an outside counselor how did you go about findig them? Did you use someone local to where you are that has a good understanding of your local high school market, did you use a more national couselor or one located in a specific area of the country. I've tried asking other parents at our school and heard a mix of things and very few are willing to give actual names. One used a counselor specializing in the California Schools, another that specialized in Ivys, another more familiar with the local landscape and others that just used the school. However, I don't feel like we will be getting any attention until late Junior year which seems late in the game and would like guidance a little earlier in the process to make sure the most options remain open.

Areas where I think we could use expert guidance
Course selection
Summer activities
Curating a list
Drafting/editing essays

Anything else we should consider in this process? Also what type of cost is associated with counselors? I've heard some crazy high numbers which would be hard to swing on top of tuition.

I don’t know why you would pay good money for an “expert’s” opinion, when on DCUM you can get unlimited free advice from bored federal bureaucrats & wine-drunk stay-at-home moms.

Thats the best post ever--and I have really gotten the best advice on dcum!! Even though I find most of the people annoying here in some crazy way they really have helped alot...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have children attending an independent school and starting to wonder if just using the school's college counselors will be enough in this new ever evolving college admissions landscape. If you utilized an outside counselor how did you go about findig them? Did you use someone local to where you are that has a good understanding of your local high school market, did you use a more national couselor or one located in a specific area of the country. I've tried asking other parents at our school and heard a mix of things and very few are willing to give actual names. One used a counselor specializing in the California Schools, another that specialized in Ivys, another more familiar with the local landscape and others that just used the school. However, I don't feel like we will be getting any attention until late Junior year which seems late in the game and would like guidance a little earlier in the process to make sure the most options remain open.

Areas where I think we could use expert guidance
Course selection
Summer activities
Curating a list
Drafting/editing essays

Anything else we should consider in this process? Also what type of cost is associated with counselors? I've heard some crazy high numbers which would be hard to swing on top of tuition.

I don’t know why you would pay good money for an “expert’s” opinion, when on DCUM you can get unlimited free advice from bored federal bureaucrats & wine-drunk stay-at-home moms.

Thats the best post ever--and I have really gotten the best advice on dcum!! Even though I find most of the people annoying here in some crazy way they really have helped alot...

Have you though? I think there's some good advice here, occasionally, but it is often well concealed behind a huge wall of BS

[Anonymous]

No one has weighed in about costs. $5k? $15k? 5 billion? I would love to know the range. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one has weighed in about costs. $5k? $15k? 5 billion? I would love to know the range. Thanks.

You can find what you are looking for based on your budget. You can work with a counselor for one hour ($250+/hour) or for a comprehensive package. Comprehensive packages in this area are in the $5k-$15K range. Do not work with a 5 billion counselor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have children attending an independent school and starting to wonder if just using the school's college counselors will be enough in this new ever evolving college admissions landscape. If you utilized an outside counselor how did you go about findig them? Did you use someone local to where you are that has a good understanding of your local high school market, did you use a more national couselor or one located in a specific area of the country. I've tried asking other parents at our school and heard a mix of things and very few are willing to give actual names. One used a counselor specializing in the California Schools, another that specialized in Ivys, another more familiar with the local landscape and others that just used the school. However, I don't feel like we will be getting any attention until late Junior year which seems late in the game and would like guidance a little earlier in the process to make sure the most options remain open.

Areas where I think we could use expert guidance
Course selection
Summer activities
Curating a list
Drafting/editing essays

Anything else we should consider in this process? Also what type of cost is associated with counselors? I've heard some crazy high numbers which would be hard to swing on top of tuition.

I don’t know why you would pay good money for an “expert’s” opinion, when on DCUM you can get unlimited free advice from bored federal bureaucrats & wine-drunk stay-at-home moms.

Hall of Fame post.

[Anonymous]

Both people I know who hired counselors had really disappointing results. I don’t know if this is because their expectations were too high, but their kids ended up at schools arguably “worse” than other kids with similar profiles.