Sara Harberson Application Nation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If someone has a specific essay question (topic, etc), they have to post that for everyone to see?

Yes! Not only that, you have to post a lot of info about you, because they need some context to answer your question.

[Anonymous]

The people who end up on her group are those who are heavily into social media and comfortable posting all this info along with very personal pictures of their kids and family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question for those using the service.. We have a situation where DC failed a subject in the first semester and has since moved down to a lower-level course. We didn't have a choice in the matter and the school has reported that to all schools. We need to write a letter to to the schools informing them about it. Will SH help with questions like this or is it specific to admissions and college selection only?

As I wrote earlier, these kinds of questions highlight the problem with SH FB group.

To answer your question, they need to know the full context to respond appropriately. So you have to post all your course work, grades because need to see if there is a pattern, find level of rigor at your HS, what extracurriculars were there that might mitigate/help, major -because if course is tied to major that is even bigger problem, etc. You need to provide all this every time you have a question. The response even then would be fairly generic.

Or you could take any reasonable admissions consultant, ask for half hour or one hour consultation and by the end they would have come up with a plan and drafted the letter for you.

SH Facebook group is just a huge privacy risk. I can think of half a dozen ways to collect and misuse that kind of data. You are posting your kids real last name, first name, courses, extracurriculars, awards, any issues, everything is out there for anyone to collect that data.

At that time we knew two families from our school were on SH facebook site. We knew everything about those kids, schools they have shortlisted, what their top preference is, major, what kind of essays they are going to write, etc. It seemed unreal that parents would share that kind of info there.

+1 And while I have no doubt that SH approaches the vast amount of information ethically, you have no idea if anyone else in the group is there just to collect data.

[Anonymous]

I dislike social media so I mostly lurked. I do think the quality of advice was far better than what I could find otherwise (at least for a reasonable price point). And I appreciated that the forum made it possible for those paying the minimum to get more useful info.

[Anonymous]

Some of us joined FB only for the purpose of her group. I’m glad I did. It’s not for everyone, but it was very helpful. My kids read her book and followed the advice. Found it best if they read it over holiday break junior year, bc it made them prepared to ask for teacher recs a few short months later. The FB group has so much info from her postings and zooms, and parents are very generous with their thoughts and advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of us joined FB only for the purpose of her group. I’m glad I did. It’s not for everyone, but it was very helpful. My kids read her book and followed the advice. Found it best if they read it over holiday break junior year, bc it made them prepared to ask for teacher recs a few short months later. The FB group has so much info from her postings and zooms, and parents are very generous with their thoughts and advice.

This a is a serious question: would your kids have been unprepared to ask for the letters of rec but for the book? Doesn’t their school make it clear these are needed? If you knew enough about the college process to follow SH, I assume you’d have told your kids to make sure their request these letters. I’m just confused that was their main takeaway from the book.

[Anonymous]

If you join and never post anything (just read what others post), is it helpful? I am not comfortable putting my DC’s information online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of us joined FB only for the purpose of her group. I’m glad I did. It’s not for everyone, but it was very helpful. My kids read her book and followed the advice. Found it best if they read it over holiday break junior year, bc it made them prepared to ask for teacher recs a few short months later. The FB group has so much info from her postings and zooms, and parents are very generous with their thoughts and advice.

This a is a serious question: would your kids have been unprepared to ask for the letters of rec but for the book? Doesn’t their school make it clear these are needed? If you knew enough about the college process to follow SH, I assume you’d have told your kids to make sure their request these letters. I’m just confused that was their main takeaway from the book.

I wouldn’t say it was their main takeaway from the book at all.
The school’s advice in our case was decent but not terrific, a large public.
Her advice went beyond the typical brag sheet that schools like ours provide. Their timing was a bit late too - we were new to the process and didn’t know it’s best to put the request in for teacher recs in about March of junior year.
She helped them feel more in charge of their own process, from identifying schools that were their fit, to conveying who they are through all parts of the applications, etc. Their process, not mine, which I really liked. They did not join the FB group - I was on it and found the advice from Sara and tram, and parents, useful. When I would see something on there that my kids might benefit from I’d let them know, that was the extent of their involvement with the FB group.
Yes there are many other ways to find info like this. I can only speak for us, that my two found her book, her advice, her perspective, very helpful. Some might prefer a private counselor or no counselor. This worked for us. Hope that helps 😊

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you join and never post anything (just read what others post), is it helpful? I am not comfortable putting my DC’s information online.

I think so. It’s a relative bargain. Read the book though, that’s a super bargain

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you join and never post anything (just read what others post), is it helpful? I am not comfortable putting my DC’s information online.

I think so. It’s a relative bargain. Read the book though, that’s a super bargain

+1 Agreed. I think that the book helps kids develop a focus and direction. Having a cohesive narrative across all parts of the application was guidance that I/my kid didn't hear elsewhere. There are also writing prompts and exercises throughout the book that helped my kid stay engaged.

I lurked in the FB group and was turned off by the number of SUPER braggy posts by a number of parents (that seem to constantly dominate the conversations) . However, SH records zoom sessions that were very helpful- especially early in the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you join and never post anything (just read what others post), is it helpful? I am not comfortable putting my DC’s information online.

I think so. It’s a relative bargain. Read the book though, that’s a super bargain

+1 Agreed. I think that the book helps kids develop a focus and direction. Having a cohesive narrative across all parts of the application was guidance that I/my kid didn't hear elsewhere. There are also writing prompts and exercises throughout the book that helped my kid stay engaged.

I lurked in the FB group and was turned off by the number of SUPER braggy posts by a number of parents (that seem to constantly dominate the conversations) . However, SH records zoom sessions that were very helpful- especially early in the process.

I really agree 😊

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone a member of her Application Nation 202x private Facebook groups? Is it worth it to join? How is the advice she provides in the private Facebook groups?

Have you used any of her exclusive offers? How much were her exclusive offers?

I was a lurker parent but still learned some useful things. One thing I will say-SH and her team are genuine people and appear to give the best advice possible. She is rigid about a few things (choice of essay topics, AP score submissions, keeping courses to the core 5) but she is very upfront about it and tells you to make your choice.

[Anonymous]

She hasn't been inside an admissions office in a decade and counselors I know say they never see at national conferences meant to learn what's actually happening in admissions offices. In other words, her info is old and outdated. Buyer beware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of us joined FB only for the purpose of her group. I’m glad I did. It’s not for everyone, but it was very helpful. My kids read her book and followed the advice. Found it best if they read it over holiday break junior year, bc it made them prepared to ask for teacher recs a few short months later. The FB group has so much info from her postings and zooms, and parents are very generous with their thoughts and advice.

This a is a serious question: would your kids have been unprepared to ask for the letters of rec but for the book? Doesn’t their school make it clear these are needed? If you knew enough about the college process to follow SH, I assume you’d have told your kids to make sure their request these letters. I’m just confused that was their main takeaway from the book.

I wouldn’t say it was their main takeaway from the book at all.
The school’s advice in our case was decent but not terrific, a large public.
Her advice went beyond the typical brag sheet that schools like ours provide. Their timing was a bit late too - we were new to the process and didn’t know it’s best to put the request in for teacher recs in about March of junior year.
She helped them feel more in charge of their own process, from identifying schools that were their fit, to conveying who they are through all parts of the applications, etc. Their process, not mine, which I really liked. They did not join the FB group - I was on it and found the advice from Sara and tram, and parents, useful. When I would see something on there that my kids might benefit from I’d let them know, that was the extent of their involvement with the FB group.
Yes there are many other ways to find info like this. I can only speak for us, that my two found her book, her advice, her perspective, very helpful. Some might prefer a private counselor or no counselor. This worked for us. Hope that helps 😊

Ok this is just a comment about ask in March of Junior year for recs. Yeah we saw similar advice several places and my kid did that and the teachers nicely told her to not bother them until senior year starts. She did email prior to school starting senior year but it didn’t matter. Large public school btw

Anyway as I recall she does FB Q&A sessions that are public. So before signing consider checking out on if those sessions.

My child was applying to competitive schools so her services weren’t for us.

[Anonymous]

*was not