Private School Consultant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curiosity is killing this cat. How much does a such a consultant charge and what’s the scope of work?

We were offered a couple of options based on the level of service we wanted. We wanted a hands-on approach, so we chose the highest level, which was $5k. This was for a year of work, and while we don't need handholding, I knew I would need a lot of information. We were coming from a big public middle school and all the private school info was completely new to us. For those who say we didn't want to do our research, sorry that's BS. There are so many things that insiders can tell you that you can glean from a website or online research.

Our consultant (Clare Anderson) met with our child, really got to know them, helped us hone our list of schools based on their needs, advised us for hours about the process and how everything works, recommended test prep resources, walked us through the application process, and ultimately made some calls to the admissions office of DC's favorite school. The right consultant knows all the players and might be able to tip the scales.

I feel like I'm barely scratching the surface of all the things Clare did for us but I truly feel like the service was more than worth it. And that's all that matters. If you can afford it and you feel like you need it because it will make you feel better, do it. Don't listen to the anonymous on here who have a chip on their shoulder for whatever reason.

[Anonymous]

Search Clare Anderson and you will find these threads pop up from time to time. Many have believed that Clare originates and populates them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's already a privilege to go to a private school. You people need even more of a leg up to make sure your kid goes to the "right" one? Obnoxious. Do the private school admissions yourself. Trust me, it's not *that* hard.

+1

[Anonymous]

We used Clare for her initial package is, which was essentially meeting with us and kid and spending time getting to know him, and then recommending schools based on that. She gave us a lot of info about the schools that went well beyond what we had learned ourselves from our own visits and research. We ultimately applied to 4 schools based on her suggestions, and kid got into all of them (including 2 that are called Big3 on here). She didn’t help with the essays or make calls to the school as that wasn’t the package we paid for and we didn’t feel like we needed that help. For us (immigrants) it was more about understanding the different options and very helpful to have someone tell us which schools they thought would be good for our kid.

[Anonymous]

In my opinion. Consultants can help. But only a idiot would waste their money on one. There are forums like these that can help with questions and everyone on here who successfully used one sounds like they are perfectly capable of doing it themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's already a privilege to go to a private school. You people need even more of a leg up to make sure your kid goes to the "right" one? Obnoxious. Do the private school admissions yourself. Trust me, it's not *that* hard.

+1

Umm yes. For some of us, if we’re spending the money which is not nothing to us, we want to make sure our child goes to the right one. And that doesn’t mean Big 3 or whatever you think it means. It means the right fit for our kid.
And a consultant doesn’t do the admissions process for you. They guide you and give you information but you and your kid still have to show up at the events and schedule the appointments and complete the application.
You all need to get over the chip on your shoulder. Why do you care what is valuable to other people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Umm yes. For some of us, if we’re spending the money which is not nothing to us, we want to make sure our child goes to the right one. And that doesn’t mean Big 3 or whatever you think it means. It means the right fit for our kid.
And a consultant doesn’t do the admissions process for you. They guide you and give you information but you and your kid still have to show up at the events and schedule the appointments and complete the application.
You all need to get over the chip on your shoulder. Why do you care what is valuable to other people?

Finding the right schools for kids can be done without one. It's called doing research, looking at websites, applying for shadow days. Anything a consultant does the family can do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Umm yes. For some of us, if we’re spending the money which is not nothing to us, we want to make sure our child goes to the right one. And that doesn’t mean Big 3 or whatever you think it means. It means the right fit for our kid.
And a consultant doesn’t do the admissions process for you. They guide you and give you information but you and your kid still have to show up at the events and schedule the appointments and complete the application.
You all need to get over the chip on your shoulder. Why do you care what is valuable to other people?

It's concerning hoe people can't do anything for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Rich people have the money to consult their kids to success. Poor people are taking their shot in life in the dark and will work full time hours in manual labor as well as study hard while rich people will hire consultants, never work manual labor and study simultaneously, and manipulate the systems to get ahead. In the end will rich people will get the good jobs and no debt and poor people will get the sht jobs and high debt without anyway to pay the debt. Welcome to third world America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi. We are starting to think about MS for our kid, who is currently in DCPS and has a 504 plan (ADHD). I am trying to streamline all the private school information and figure out what might work for them. But this is all a lot of new information for us, and we are thinking of talking to a private school consultant. We found one through some friends, but they were not impressed with the services much. Is there anyone that you have used who was very knowledgeable and helpful?

APPLY to WIS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich people have the money to consult their kids to success. Poor people are taking their shot in life in the dark and will work full time hours in manual labor as well as study hard while rich people will hire consultants, never work manual labor and study simultaneously, and manipulate the systems to get ahead. In the end will rich people will get the good jobs and no debt and poor people will get the sht jobs and high debt without anyway to pay the debt. Welcome to third world America.

What’s the point of working hard to be successful and wealthy if you can’t use your money to ensure your child’s success. Sorry, life is not fair. For someone with $1M+ HHI, $5K-$10K to save their family time and stress is invaluable. And before someone claim that these parents don’t care enough about their kids to do their own research, you obviously don’t understand the concept of opportunity costs and the value of time for wealthy people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of working hard to be successful and wealthy if you can’t use your money to ensure your child’s success. Sorry, life is not fair. For someone with $1M+ HHI, $5K-$10K to save their family time and stress is invaluable. And before someone claim that these parents don’t care enough about their kids to do their own research, you obviously don’t understand the concept of opportunity costs and the value of time for wealthy people.

This shows that rich people don't have enough money to spend so they spend it on stupid things because they are too lazy to post themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of working hard to be successful and wealthy if you can’t use your money to ensure your child’s success. Sorry, life is not fair. For someone with $1M+ HHI, $5K-$10K to save their family time and stress is invaluable. And before someone claim that these parents don’t care enough about their kids to do their own research, you obviously don’t understand the concept of opportunity costs and the value of time for wealthy people.

This shows that rich people don't have enough money to spend so they spend it on stupid things because they are too lazy to post themselves.

It sucks to be you and poor.

[Anonymous]

We hired a consultant, and she did her best, but it didn’t work out. We applied to four schools and were accepted into only one. Looking back, we don’t feel she was particularly helpful. She did assist us, but ultimately, consultants don’t have the power to influence admissions.

These private schools are extremely careful. They manage millions of dollars and generate significant revenue. Their admissions offices would never risk their reputation, or that financial stability, by admitting students just because someone asked or pulled strings.

If a child gets into all of the “big three” or just one, it likely would have happened with or without a consultant. If consultants truly had that kind of power, it would amount to paying your way in, which would be a major scandal.

I used one too because I was stressed, and I wanted an easy pass, but now I just feel stupid when I think about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We hired a consultant, and she did her best, but it didn’t work out. We applied to four schools and were accepted into only one. Looking back, we don’t feel she was particularly helpful. She did assist us, but ultimately, consultants don’t have the power to influence admissions.

These private schools are extremely careful. They manage millions of dollars and generate significant revenue. Their admissions offices would never risk their reputation, or that financial stability, by admitting students just because someone asked or pulled strings.

If a child gets into all of the “big three” or just one, it likely would have happened with or without a consultant. If consultants truly had that kind of power, it would amount to paying your way in, which would be a major scandal.

I used one too because I was stressed, and I wanted an easy pass, but now I just feel stupid when I think about it.

+1