Expensive Private College Counselors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know anyone who hired one this cycle?
Think $15-50k/year?

How has it worked out for them?

I know someone in NYC who is paying at least $50k for one. I think Koppelman.

It is a full-service deal. Hired as a Freshman, her appointed advisor is available basically 24/7 via text or phone. They cultivate her classes, arrange volunteer activities that look impressive, arrange internships that look impressive...will help incorporate a business or non-profit if it makes sense, etc.

You have to realize that the counselors that charge a ton and have great success get to work with kids that are rich, probably attend the most prestigious NYC privates or Magnet programs, probably have legacy, etc.

People may find this repulsive...but it seems like better value than many that spend say $15k and all you got was a mediocre college list and minimal help.

I agree hiring someone mid level is often a waste of money.

Depends on what you intend to get out of it. If your intention is to keep DC on track with essays and applications then the per hour ones might work.
But if your intention is to get your DC to a highly selective school, you have to go the whole way and pay to hire someone who will work with your DC starting 9th grade (if not earlier) to do candidacy building. You cannot do this in 11th grade. You will be surprised at the internship opportunities, summer programs, competitions, volunteering projects some of these kids have--all connected to build a cohesive story. This is planned by professionals (or parents who have a lot of time on their hands).


We did not hire a 50K consultant--we supported DC in building ECs according to his interests and researching with him. DC got into a very selective college but it is not T5/HYPSM.

[Anonymous]

Son got in everywhere. No private counselor. Frankly, like with real estate, I felt I could do it better than the 'professionals'. I educate, educate, educate myself first. Read voraciously, listen to podcasts, etc.

I had a good 'base' to work with. My sons are straight A, high test scoring, student athletes--so it was really just essay help. They just did what they loved for activities and community service--no thought of it 'looking good'.

My son started his main essay in English class spring of Junior year. That thing was reworked, revised and edited a gazillion times. I kept all of the drafts. It's pretty amazing to see the progression. By Fall, it was really, really good. I am in STEM but was English minor w/ creative writing focus--so I had the ability to offer advice along the way.

That--and a month of test prep was all that was needed.

He didn't even apply to any of the schools suggested by his HS counselor. They all ended up about a tier or two below what his record warranted. I think they are really big on playing it safe. We took the opposite approach--what good are a bunch of safeties you aren't thrilled about. He had two 'sure things' and the rest were considered reaches merely for their low acceptance rates.

He's been getting in everywhere so I'm really glad I didn't hire anyone but our test prep guy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know anyone who hired one this cycle?
Think $15-50k/year?

How has it worked out for them?

I know someone in NYC who is paying at least $50k for one. I think Koppelman.

It is a full-service deal. Hired as a Freshman, her appointed advisor is available basically 24/7 via text or phone. They cultivate her classes, arrange volunteer activities that look impressive, arrange internships that look impressive...will help incorporate a business or non-profit if it makes sense, etc.

You have to realize that the counselors that charge a ton and have great success get to work with kids that are rich, probably attend the most prestigious NYC privates or Magnet programs, probably have legacy, etc.

People may find this repulsive...but it seems like better value than many that spend say $15k and all you got was a mediocre college list and minimal help.

I agree hiring someone mid level is often a waste of money.

Depends on what you intend to get out of it. If your intention is to keep DC on track with essays and applications then the per hour ones might work.
But if your intention is to get your DC to a highly selective school, you have to go the whole way and pay to hire someone who will work with your DC starting 9th grade (if not earlier) to do candidacy building. You cannot do this in 11th grade. You will be surprised at the internship opportunities, summer programs, competitions, volunteering projects some of these kids have--all connected to build a cohesive story. This is planned by professionals (or parents who have a lot of time on their hands).


We did not hire a 50K consultant--we supported DC in building ECs according to his interests and researching with him. DC got into a very selective college but it is not T5/HYPSM.

BS. Disagree. My kid was admitted to a few Ivies last year and we did not hire anyone. His grades-courses/test scores/activities are what made him desirable--not fake non-profits and a bunch of stuff that every kid 'crafted' by a private counselor looks like. The kids like that are devoid of personality. They look like robots--all the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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).

McNeal College Consulting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Son got in everywhere. No private counselor. Frankly, like with real estate, I felt I could do it better than the 'professionals'. I educate, educate, educate myself first. Read voraciously, listen to podcasts, etc.

I had a good 'base' to work with. My sons are straight A, high test scoring, student athletes--so it was really just essay help. They just did what they loved for activities and community service--no thought of it 'looking good'.

My son started his main essay in English class spring of Junior year. That thing was reworked, revised and edited a gazillion times. I kept all of the drafts. It's pretty amazing to see the progression. By Fall, it was really, really good. I am in STEM but was English minor w/ creative writing focus--so I had the ability to offer advice along the way.

That--and a month of test prep was all that was needed.

He didn't even apply to any of the schools suggested by his HS counselor. They all ended up about a tier or two below what his record warranted. I think they are really big on playing it safe. We took the opposite approach--what good are a bunch of safeties you aren't thrilled about. He had two 'sure things' and the rest were considered reaches merely for their low acceptance rates.

He's been getting in everywhere so I'm really glad I didn't hire anyone but our test prep guy.

Wow. That’s great.
Can you post where he applied and has gotten in and where you are waiting to hear from?

[Anonymous]

I think PP’s point about the really expensive counselors is interesting and I guess if you have money to burn and are hellbent on HYPS it may seem worth it to you. But how do those people feel if their kid decides somewhere along the way that they don’t want to go to those schools? Kids change a lot between 9th and 12th grade. Or if, despite all that money, they still don’t get in? Do those parents consider it a waste? Or do they just pressure their kids to go Ivy even if they don’t want to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you know anyone who hired one this cycle?
Think $15-50k/year?

How has it worked out for them?

I know someone in NYC who is paying at least $50k for one. I think Koppelman.

It is a full-service deal. Hired as a Freshman, her appointed advisor is available basically 24/7 via text or phone. They cultivate her classes, arrange volunteer activities that look impressive, arrange internships that look impressive...will help incorporate a business or non-profit if it makes sense, etc.

You have to realize that the counselors that charge a ton and have great success get to work with kids that are rich, probably attend the most prestigious NYC privates or Magnet programs, probably have legacy, etc.

People may find this repulsive...but it seems like better value than many that spend say $15k and all you got was a mediocre college list and minimal help.

I agree hiring someone mid level is often a waste of money.

Depends on what you intend to get out of it. If your intention is to keep DC on track with essays and applications then the per hour ones might work.
But if your intention is to get your DC to a highly selective school, you have to go the whole way and pay to hire someone who will work with your DC starting 9th grade (if not earlier) to do candidacy building. You cannot do this in 11th grade. You will be surprised at the internship opportunities, summer programs, competitions, volunteering projects some of these kids have--all connected to build a cohesive story. This is planned by professionals (or parents who have a lot of time on their hands).


We did not hire a 50K consultant--we supported DC in building ECs according to his interests and researching with him. DC got into a very selective college but it is not T5/HYPSM.

BS. Disagree. My kid was admitted to a few Ivies last year and we did not hire anyone. His grades-courses/test scores/activities are what made him desirable--not fake non-profits and a bunch of stuff that every kid 'crafted' by a private counselor looks like. The kids like that are devoid of personality. They look like robots--all the same.

PP here. I did not say anywhere that you cannot get into a selective college without a private counselor. But rather that going half way and choosing a mid-tier consultant in 11th grade and hoping to get DC into HYPSM might not work. Unfortunately, college AOs still fall for these professionally crafted resumes. We have seen quite a few get into HYPSM from our private school. Again, all these kids have baseline good stats to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think PP’s point about the really expensive counselors is interesting and I guess if you have money to burn and are hellbent on HYPS it may seem worth it to you. But how do those people feel if their kid decides somewhere along the way that they don’t want to go to those schools? Kids change a lot between 9th and 12th grade. Or if, despite all that money, they still don’t get in? Do those parents consider it a waste? Or do they just pressure their kids to go Ivy even if they don’t want to?

The OP's thread is about expensive private college counselors. Yes, there are plenty of very wealthy people where $50,000+ is nothing to them. Their attitude is why would I pay $25,000 to someone where I the parent still have to be involved. I want a "full-service" counselor and I can outsource literally everything to this counselor.

The counselor knows all the curricula at Horace Mann, Dalton, Trinity, etc. and will curate their schedule. The counselor has hooks at leading NPOs, hedge funds, IBanks, etc. for internships and volunteer opportunities. The counselor will incorporate a business or NPO on the kid's behalf. The counselor will generously edit all the kid's essays. The counselor will be at your beck-and-call 24/7. The overall firm will have former Head AO's from Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc., as well as the worker bees all recently graduating from top schools.

I mean, if I work for a hedge fund and make $20MM+ a year...either, I am so wealthy that I don't care at all where my kid goes...or I pay up to outsource the entire effort.