Did anyone get debriefed by Georgia Irvin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've done our independent research (talked to friends, neighbors, and colleagues, reviewed school web sites sites such as this one and ratings sites, attended various schools' events as guests of friends, and are planning visits to the schools this fall), but the additional view of a consultant may provide additional insight. So we spend some our our discretionary income in a way that others wouldn't. As with most services, its value in our case may be great, could be useless, or could remain unknown. Really, though, who cares that our family plans to do this and why the heck would we be embarrassed?

Excellent points! This post eloquently points out that we are talking about a business, a for-profit service. , and ever heard that makes sense about using an admissions consultant. Afterall, Irvin and crew are in the business of making money off of parents' fears and egos. And unfortunately it's a fact of the education industry (of which I am part, full disclosure) that consultants will steer parents to underenrolled schools or away from no-chance-in-hell schools with an eye on the "success rates" of their clients. Ethically, consultants cannot actually ensure your child gets in anywhere and should never claim or imply credit for the result.

Caveat emptor.

PS to parent of twins: go with sibling priority school. Every school has different policies and "preferences" for multiples placements. Not so hidden secret - schools get more money post-tuition by having 2 slots in a class filled by different families than two slots in a class from the same family. Some administrators are prejudiced against having twins in a class due to "disruptive nature" of their presence. Doubt a consultant will tell you this.

[Anonymous]

typo- ignore phrase and ever heard that makes sense about using an admissions consultant.

[Anonymous]

We used Georgia Irvin, and I also frequent these posts for information. The bottom line is that after my own research, I had a good "sense" of where I would like to apply for my children. I used Georgia as a "sounding board" for my own research, to confirm that I wasn't off the reservation. She had useful suggestions and observations, based on which I took certain schools off my list and added others. I found her insights useful and helpful. Could I have done this without her? Of course. I am fortunate to be able to afford the luxury of hiring a third party professional to give my ideas a second look, and I took advantage of it. It's like hiring an accountant to do your taxes or hiring a broker to give you investment advice, or hiring a personal shopper to do your shopping for you. Of course you can do your own if you have enough time to do it, but if you can hire someone else to do it, why not?

[Anonymous]

I can only speak to our experiences with Georgia. We found her to be nothing short of professional. The nature of the independent school admissions process is brutal. WE found her to be an honest expert. I would recommend her highly. I also found her book to be very informative. Good luck to all who enter this competitive process.

[Anonymous]

We used Geogia Irvins and thought she was very helpful but not indispensable. A couple of observations. First, we had a general idea about our son's abilities but he observations we helpful in confirming our thoughts. Second, she gave us honest appraisal about various schools and whether they would be good fits for our son and our family based on culture, values etc. Third, as with other posters once she saw our sons WPSII scores she told us that we could be accepted to a number of schools, but she alway gave the caveat that it a numbers game. She was particularly helpful with regards to Sidwell because she told us that our son would not get in to Sidwell's pre-K because there were only 22 spots and once you factor in siblings, the rich and famous and the super, super smart, our son was not that special. She was right. Fourth, she was very helpful in helping us understand the non-educational issues to consider such as thinking about k-12, versus a school which terminates earlier. She was also helpful in dispelling many of the myths discussed on DCUM by folks who are just passing on rumors and lies. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, she reassured us that our thoughts and concerns were justified and validated our thinking.

Btw, our son was accepted at many of the fine indie schools in the area and now attends Beauvoir in the pre-k class