Wake up call about private counseling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many parents pay 25-50k for private college counseling and the kids aren’t getting into Michigan. Or Wisconsin.

A friend showed me her DC app. Whoa.
The major choice sucks.
The essays are not distinguishing enough.
The activity lists are generally blah.

Why are people paying this?!? For these results? Is this year an anomaly?

It’s shocking.

I haven’t paid a stand-alone counselor and DC has gotten into both OOS.

What is your kids test scores, AP classes and GPA? maybe those kids who are doing the private college counseling need help with that? I paid for private one-on-one testing but it was nowhere near that amount. Also, college is so much different than when we went to school.

[Anonymous]

Skip the private counselor. Evaluate your kid's story. Look at your school's Naviance/SCOIR, get an essay coach. Especially if you're in one of the large publics in the DMV, the private counselor can't do much to influence results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend showed you her child's COLLEGE APPLICATION? That's bonkers. These poor children.

+1. What an invasion of privacy.

OP here. My friend shared it with me. She's shocked by the subpar results so far and my kid (without a counselor but I do hang out here, subscribe to App Nation, and listen to a TON of podcasts) has had incredible results, given test optional.

It's one of my closest friends. I adore her kids. The positioning was just all off.
It's almost like the counselor just let the kids do what they wanted.
She's paying A LOT (higher end for what was quoted here). She had no idea the common app was poorly done.

PP here. There's so much more to this entire process than a critical review of a single application by another gloating mom, even if a supportive friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HYPSM independent education consultant scholarship research

Huh?

[Anonymous]

Perhaps take a critical eye to anything someone “sells” you. Do your own research, even if you hire someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not assume so many parents pay that much, because as you said, that's just nuts.

+1. DC picked a counselor who is by the hour. Richard Montauk. Total bill was $3,000 and worth every penny. She's now using him. again for advice on law school apps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if counselors always recommend a major. My ds did not list one as he is undecided, and got in everywhere he applied (top 50 to 100 so didn’t have huge ambitions) He also wrote a sport essay which was really his most authentic topic to describe who he is.

My kid also said undeclared and got into a top 10. Declaring would have been an issue because her Hs transcript and ECs were all basically something she had decided she didn’t want to pursue, and she wanted to study something she really hadn’t done in HS. She specifically looked for schools that let you float a little as freshman. (Which used to be all schools except engineering, really.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can get a fantastic private counselor for a fraction of that amount.

+1. I couldn't imagine paying that sum of money. We worked with Dave Bergman for our oldest and plan to enroll our second once 10th grade wraps up. We'll spend less than $25k on both combined.

[Anonymous]

I’m helping a kid this year for free. Worked major choices and essays/activity list. With a month, has interviewed with each of HYPSM. There’s good ones out there. Don’t hire someone to get your kid into HYPSM if they have 0 clients who have got in!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many parents pay 25-50k for private college counseling and the kids aren’t getting into Michigan. Or Wisconsin.

A friend showed me her DC app. Whoa.
The major choice sucks.
The essays are not distinguishing enough.
The activity lists are generally blah.

Why are people paying this?!? For these results? Is this year an anomaly?

It’s shocking.

I haven’t paid a stand-alone counselor and DC has gotten into both OOS.

I thought the whole point of a college counselor was to avoid having to send a kid to Michigan.

omg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many parents pay 25-50k for private college counseling and the kids aren’t getting into Michigan. Or Wisconsin.

A friend showed me her DC app. Whoa.
The major choice sucks.
The essays are not distinguishing enough.
The activity lists are generally blah.

Why are people paying this?!? For these results? Is this year an anomaly?

It’s shocking.

I haven’t paid a stand-alone counselor and DC has gotten into both OOS.

I thought the whole point of a college counselor was to avoid having to send a kid to Michigan.

omg

That must have been a troll. Right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used a counselor for DS. Spent about $12k from beg of Soph year to the end and she managed to get him into UVA and W&M with a 1300 SAT and ok GPA.. his ECs were non existent at the time. Crafted a whole plan for ECs, projects, etc….

Your DS got himself in. Be proud of him. You don’t really need a college counselor. Your money is better spent on other things.

1300 SAT and OK GPA is similar to my child but people here have posted that they’re brilliant kids with 4.2 GPA, 10 APs and 1500 SAT didn’t get into UVA. I bet her counselor helped. I think they help students the most who don’t have the highest scores or grades. Otherwise I can’t imagine needing one.

[Anonymous]

A good college counselor can help with the narrative framing for a cusp or borderline candidate (sometimes test-optional, sometimes in an overcrowded field from a private HS etc).

If it's an already super-strong kid, top of the class, high stats, a counselor won't help that much.

Conversely, the bottom 1/3 of the class likely needs a lot of help standing out in the process too - if applying to private colleges from a private high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if counselors always recommend a major. My ds did not list one as he is undecided, and got in everywhere he applied (top 50 to 100 so didn’t have huge ambitions) He also wrote a sport essay which was really his most authentic topic to describe who he is.

Right. But wouldn't the private college counselor have reviewed the final pdfs of the Common App, and said hey kid, this might not work in committee? You want to be business (or CS or engineering) and there's no compelling evidence. It will be a hard uphill battle so you might want to choose a major you have evidence for to have a better shot of admission.

I see the same thing happening in my circles. Senior mom here. maybe it's bc there are too many applicants this year? More than ever before? A lot of disappointed boys this year - all applying business to schools like Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan, CU-Boulder. The ones who've gotten disappointing news don't seem to have a strong story about their interests in business. The ones who've gotten in (direct business programs) from our private do have that story. It doesn't seem like rocket science to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m helping a kid this year for free. Worked major choices and essays/activity list. With a month, has interviewed with each of HYPSM. There’s good ones out there. Don’t hire someone to get your kid into HYPSM if they have 0 clients who have got in!

Nor if your kid has 6 Cs on the transcript with a 1550 SAT.