So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?

[Anonymous]

IF you can afford, let people spend on whatever they want. Just because one family doesn't value it doesn't mean another doesn't.

[Anonymous]

NYC mom at a top tier high school (not listed above) and my kid got in HYP SCEA w no help. We are pretty savvy ourselves to be fair, but loads of kids with slightly better stats were deferred. They had expensive help from the jump. I think there’s a real risk of sounding too polished, too pointy, too driven. These kids with “passions” they developed staring in 9th grade for “exploring the intersection of AI and restorative justice in the urban landscape” or some packaged bullshit just sounds like .. some packaged bullshit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC mom at a top tier high school (not listed above) and my kid got in HYP SCEA w no help. We are pretty savvy ourselves to be fair, but loads of kids with slightly better stats were deferred. They had expensive help from the jump. I think there’s a real risk of sounding too polished, too pointy, too driven. These kids with “passions” they developed staring in 9th grade for “exploring the intersection of AI and restorative justice in the urban landscape” or some packaged bullshit just sounds like .. some packaged bullshit.

I agree 100% - esp at a private school. Simple is better.
My kid did independent research on something so simple and interdisciplinary that it could have been a few pages in an American history book. Nothing fancy, but she was interested in it. and it really tied into her other authentic passions, existing ECs, and interests.
No fancy tech app was created, no internship, no university professor-approved research. No non-profit.
Just a written paper in an HS kid's journal (no university-published research!!) and an in-school presentation. and then some volunteering at an org that already existed!
the horror.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are private counselors worth it if you're applying outside of the US? I get the sense that there may not be many who would have that expertise. Does it make a difference?

Applying to the UK is much simpler than the US; I did undergrad and grad school there and it wasn't anything like the zoo that is current US college admissions. (Believe it or not, I didn't do my PhD application until I was actually on campus at the LSE. They just said come...)

But here's one group that works on overseas admissions:

https://aneducationabroad.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC mom here. It's common at the high-end private schools (Trinity, Horace Mann, Collegiate, Brearley). Counselors are hired before 9th grade to create a narrative and passion project.

Say the phrase "passion project" to AOs at any selective/elite college and they'll roll their eyes and laugh. So overrated and so unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a family can afford one comfortably, is it always better to hire a private counsellor than to rely solely on school counsellor?

DC is supposed to see their school’s CC 3 times in junior year. That’s not enough, right?

My daughter is in a large public where those resources are spread very thin. For that reason, we used a college counselor. Our son goes to a smaller private- not sure if we will use one or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:one of the main benefits of a private counselor, imho, is that they put your dc on an accelerated timeline. Everything--apps, essays, common app admin stuff--all of that is completed earlier than what your private would have your dc do.

Getting things done early, earlier than you think is even necessary, is absolutely worth it.

Of course if your dc can do all of this on his or her own, go for it.

The organizational help you get from a counselor is worth it.

This, even at private schools, the counselors aren’t going to help much with kids sticking to timelines and essays. I’m in Baltimore and know some many private school families that also use private counselors because they can afford it. Despite the protestation here, I doubt it’s different at top privates in cities with even more wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Things get tense. The private CC is the middle man/woman between you and DC. It’s worth it.

This is why we’re doing it. It may end up being a waste of money but we know several families, with kids who went to public and private, who found it worth it. We’re also uncertain about how strong the college counseling is at DC’s school based on what we’ve heard (not in the DMV).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC mom at a top tier high school (not listed above) and my kid got in HYP SCEA w no help. We are pretty savvy ourselves to be fair, but loads of kids with slightly better stats were deferred. They had expensive help from the jump. I think there’s a real risk of sounding too polished, too pointy, too driven. These kids with “passions” they developed staring in 9th grade for “exploring the intersection of AI and restorative justice in the urban landscape” or some packaged bullshit just sounds like .. some packaged bullshit.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP said they could comfortably afford a private counselor, so why not? I think of DC’s not as a necessity but a luxury item in that she made the college application process easier and more pleasant for both DC and us parents. I’ll never know for certain, but also strongly suspect her experience and expertise played a not-insignificant role in DC’s lottery ticket result.

"I’ll never know for certain, but also strongly suspect her experience and expertise played a not-insignificant role in DC’s lottery ticket result."

+1. That experience/expertise is what you're paying for. High school counselors work with a few really talented students each year. Private counselors are working with really high-achieving students across the board, many of whom are targeting elite institutions.

I'm an independent college counselor, and while I have lots of experience with those very high-achieving students, I also have many students who don't have the stats for the most selective schools (and aren't aiming for them). I aim to make the process go more smoothly for a wide range of students.

[Anonymous]

A lot of posters on here sure seem a lot more certain than they should be regarding the spending/college admissions decisions of other families at their school. Very few families get outside help *that you know about*. People who hire a 20k essay coach tend not to bring it up much in public conversation, especially around the local “Consultants are trash you just need to obsessively read a dedicated college admissions forum for hours a day” crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a non-DMV private. Like so many others here.

3.8 uw kid without private counselor:
Admitted to all early action/rolling schools - some with merit, including Michigan (other than USC).
Waiting on private RD T25 in March and a few SLACs.
Humanities major (undersubscribed major).
National awards.
Did have essay coaching /editing, but no private counseling.

You are splitting hairs. That's a private counselor.

I agree. We hired a private counselor with kid 1 and all we used him for was as an essay coach. WIth kid 2, I didn't feel like we needed it, and we didn't hire anyone. If you paid someone, you hired a private counselor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC mom at a top tier high school (not listed above) and my kid got in HYP SCEA w no help. We are pretty savvy ourselves to be fair, but loads of kids with slightly better stats were deferred. They had expensive help from the jump. I think there’s a real risk of sounding too polished, too pointy, too driven. These kids with “passions” they developed staring in 9th grade for “exploring the intersection of AI and restorative justice in the urban landscape” or some packaged bullshit just sounds like .. some packaged bullshit.

Maybe. I've also seen it work a lot of the time. But I'm just a lowly public school parent, what do I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYC mom at a top tier high school (not listed above) and my kid got in HYP SCEA w no help. We are pretty savvy ourselves to be fair, but loads of kids with slightly better stats were deferred. They had expensive help from the jump. I think there’s a real risk of sounding too polished, too pointy, too driven. These kids with “passions” they developed staring in 9th grade for “exploring the intersection of AI and restorative justice in the urban landscape” or some packaged bullshit just sounds like .. some packaged bullshit.

I agree 100% - esp at a private school. Simple is better.
My kid did independent research on something so simple and interdisciplinary that it could have been a few pages in an American history book. Nothing fancy, but she was interested in it. and it really tied into her other authentic passions, existing ECs, and interests.
No fancy tech app was created, no internship, no university professor-approved research. No non-profit.
Just a written paper in an HS kid's journal (no university-published research!!) and an in-school presentation. and then some volunteering at an org that already existed!
the horror.

😂😂😂 This post makes me laugh. “Simple” published independent research with a presentation and volunteering to match and you frame it as if others might look at your kid as an underachiever.

Perfect DCUM. Don’t ever change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At a non-DMV private. Like so many others here.

3.8 uw kid without private counselor:
Admitted to all early action/rolling schools - some with merit, including Michigan (other than USC).
Waiting on private RD T25 in March and a few SLACs.
Humanities major (undersubscribed major).
National awards.
Did have essay coaching /editing, but no private counseling.

You are splitting hairs. That's a private counselor.

I agree. We hired a private counselor with kid 1 and all we used him for was as an essay coach. WIth kid 2, I didn't feel like we needed it, and we didn't hire anyone. If you paid someone, you hired a private counselor.

We definitely paid someone to help edit DC's essay, so I'm not claiming to be above anything! But the essay editor was a writer/ writing instructor. He actually didn't weigh in at all on the strategy of applying to school. In fact, my kid's essay topic was related to an activity that signaled privilege. I tried to steer the process to another topic, but the editor pushed back and said the narrative was terrific. In the end, we may have been better off with a college entrance specialist!