Education Consultants

[Anonymous]

I read many posts here on ECs, and they are very helpful. Still, I have a rather direct question: Can ECs actually enhance our chances of our kids being admitted to top schools? If so, how? Can anyone share some experiences?

It seems that much of what they do is to match the appropriate schools for kids (which is very important!), but I am also wondering whether they can actually increase the chances of being admitted to the likes of GDS, Sidwell, etc.

Please share your thoughts and experiences with us! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

While some of them may actually be able to help, they should be used for your original premise, of helping match school to child.

[Anonymous]

If you choose to hire an EC, choose carefully. Some overly agressive consultants actually do more damage than good.

[Anonymous]

Everyone seems to use either Georgia Irvin or Suzie Blattner. Are either that great and worth the $$$$?

[Anonymous]

I have been told by a friend who is an admissions director that they do no good at all. I know several families that hired such s person and found it to be a waste of money. Some folks will say it was worth it. The thing I don't get is the obvious conflict of interest of advising many families applying to the same schools. Some will get more of a push than others.

[Anonymous]

We hired a local EC (not Georgia Irvin or Suzie Blattner) the June before we started our search. We were clueless about WDC schools and went on tours of a ton of them -- the big three, smaller schools, larger schools, traditional schools and progressive. Once she got to know us and we realized what was important to us, she matched us to two schools, helped us through their processes, made follow-up phone calls for us, coordinated teacher recs, WPPSI scores, and herself wrote a lovely letter about my child who at the point she had seen enough times to be able to give an opinion about. We were accepted at both schools and were even tipped off ahead of acceptance letters going out that we were in. We put so much effort into finding the right match and getting to know the teachers and administrators at each of the schools that it was heart-breaking to actually have to choose only one.