College consultant steering DS away from stretch schools

[Anonymous]

OP, I have three kids, two who are in college or graduated from college, and one who is a senior.

I will tell you this, the process for getting into college this year has been unprecedented in terms of difficulty. Every kid is applying ED and EA and the rejection rates have been far, far worse than Naviance predicted for any of us. Basically what I have learned is that Naviance for this year is not accurate or reliable. It is much, much harder to get into school. I am astounded by the rejections I am seeing and I thought I was based in reality since I"ve been through this process twice recently.

I think your college counselor is doing all of you a favor by setting realistic expectations. You cannot go by any statistics that are even a year old to know what your kids chances are. The college consultant on here who chimed in was trying to help you but because she (he?) was giving some unwelcome information, people are shooting the messenger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have three kids, two who are in college or graduated from college, and one who is a senior.

I will tell you this, the process for getting into college this year has been unprecedented in terms of difficulty. Every kid is applying ED and EA and the rejection rates have been far, far worse than Naviance predicted for any of us. Basically what I have learned is that Naviance for this year is not accurate or reliable. It is much, much harder to get into school. I am astounded by the rejections I am seeing and I thought I was based in reality since I"ve been through this process twice recently.

I think your college counselor is doing all of you a favor by setting realistic expectations. You cannot go by any statistics that are even a year old to know what your kids chances are. The college consultant on here who chimed in was trying to help you but because she (he?) was giving some unwelcome information, people are shooting the messenger.

Not in DC and my local private schools are doing far better this year than the last few years with EA decisions, particularly among the most selective schools. I suspect it is more of a case of variations in the relative strength of each class than real changes in the process.

[Anonymous]

Listen to the counselor on the safeties. But go for 3 reaches. You never know. You have to play to win. My DC got into a reachey reach that we were told not to apply to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She wants to have "acceptances" and not "rejects". So she is pushing your DD to aim lower so her (consultant) success rate will be higher.

I agree with this poster. In addition to managing expectations (rightfully so!) , consultants want to maximize their record of acceptances. Your child seems like a great candidate for ND. Create a profile of dedicated interest (visit, meet with reps when they come to the area, open all emails, communicate with admissions) apply early, and let his academics, service orientation and love for ND shine in his essays!

Signed,

Mom of an unhooked, high stats child that got into their top 10 dream school.

[Anonymous]

Op my friend paid a consultant and I did not. I think her consultant set low expectations so she wouldn't be disappointed. Go ahead and apply. If ds gets in she will take credit. If not. she will say "I told you so". she is looking out for her business-- not your son

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op my friend paid a consultant and I did not. I think her consultant set low expectations so she wouldn't be disappointed. Go ahead and apply. If ds gets in she will take credit. If not. she will say "I told you so". she is looking out for her business-- not your son

I think that's pretty cynical and likely not the case. These consultants get most of their business from word of mouth referrals which are predicated on positive experiences. Her business goals are aligned with the child's college goals. I can only imagine the parents she has to deal with that have insanely over-inflated opinions of their children....we know quite a few of these types. I would guess that managing expectations is an important part of her job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op my friend paid a consultant and I did not. I think her consultant set low expectations so she wouldn't be disappointed. Go ahead and apply. If ds gets in she will take credit. If not. she will say "I told you so". she is looking out for her business-- not your son

I think that's pretty cynical and likely not the case. These consultants get most of their business from word of mouth referrals which are predicated on positive experiences. Her business goals are aligned with the child's college goals. I can only imagine the parents she has to deal with that have insanely over-inflated opinions of their children....we know quite a few of these types. I would guess that managing expectations is an important part of her job.

^^
Could only have come from the consultant himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have three kids, two who are in college or graduated from college, and one who is a senior.

I will tell you this, the process for getting into college this year has been unprecedented in terms of difficulty. Every kid is applying ED and EA and the rejection rates have been far, far worse than Naviance predicted for any of us. Basically what I have learned is that Naviance for this year is not accurate or reliable. It is much, much harder to get into school. I am astounded by the rejections I am seeing and I thought I was based in reality since I"ve been through this process twice recently.

I think your college counselor is doing all of you a favor by setting realistic expectations. You cannot go by any statistics that are even a year old to know what your kids chances are. The college consultant on here who chimed in was trying to help you but because she (he?) was giving some unwelcome information, people are shooting the messenger.

We had the opposite experience over here - DD got into her first choice school and we were a bit surprised.
Other kids at her school did well too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP's child is competing for admission to Notre Dame first and foremost with other kids from his class at Gonzaga.

They will take a certain number of students from that high school each year and your student needs to be at or near the top of the group of students in his class that decide to apply to ND.

The experience of a male or female student from MCPS or Fairfax or Sidwell or Holy Cross or St Johns is interesting, but not really relevant.

Believe me - a lot of the top kids st the school will not even apply to ND. There are so many other schools ... Ever heard of Georgetown? How about Yale or U of Chicago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have three kids, two who are in college or graduated from college, and one who is a senior.

I will tell you this, the process for getting into college this year has been unprecedented in terms of difficulty. Every kid is applying ED and EA and the rejection rates have been far, far worse than Naviance predicted for any of us. Basically what I have learned is that Naviance for this year is not accurate or reliable. It is much, much harder to get into school. I am astounded by the rejections I am seeing and I thought I was based in reality since I"ve been through this process twice recently.

I think your college counselor is doing all of you a favor by setting realistic expectations. You cannot go by any statistics that are even a year old to know what your kids chances are. The college consultant on here who chimed in was trying to help you but because she (he?) was giving some unwelcome information, people are shooting the messenger.

Not in DC and my local private schools are doing far better this year than the last few years with EA decisions, particularly among the most selective schools. I suspect it is more of a case of variations in the relative strength of each class than real changes in the process.

Agree. Not sure if it is our private's actual class this year or that colleges are starting to take a more holistic approach and not just looked at inflated GPA's. But this year's senior class has gotten incredible schools. Much better than last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP's child is competing for admission to Notre Dame first and foremost with other kids from his class at Gonzaga.

They will take a certain number of students from that high school each year and your student needs to be at or near the top of the group of students in his class that decide to apply to ND.

The experience of a male or female student from MCPS or Fairfax or Sidwell or Holy Cross or St Johns is interesting, but not really relevant.

Believe me - a lot of the top kids st the school will not even apply to ND. There are so many other schools ... Ever heard of Georgetown? How about Yale or U of Chicago?

All of those schools are 10X harder to get in than ND.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a strong student. 4.1 GPA (as a junior) with ACT mock test at 35. Great test taker. Strong ECs but no hook.

He wants to apply to Notre Dame (his dream school). He is drawn to the the Catholic universities. College consultant (one we are paying handsomely) says go ahead with Notre Dame, but admission VERY unlikely. I agree, but she is so negative. She is recommending Fordham, Holy Cross, Villanova, and Boston College and says all of these will not be a sure thing. Frankly, I am kind of deer in the headlights as I always considered Villanova to be a safety school for him. She recommended some safety schools I never heard of.

DH also wanted DS to look at some other schools like Duke and others, but now he is gun shy, thinking he isn't strong enough.

Is this typical for college consultants, or is she right about his prospects? Do they aim low so that they can say he was admitted to X number of schools that she recommended?

Such a sad post. 4.1 gpa and you are worried.

The world is going nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is a strong student. 4.1 GPA (as a junior) with ACT mock test at 35. Great test taker. Strong ECs but no hook.

He wants to apply to Notre Dame (his dream school). He is drawn to the the Catholic universities. College consultant (one we are paying handsomely) says go ahead with Notre Dame, but admission VERY unlikely. I agree, but she is so negative. She is recommending Fordham, Holy Cross, Villanova, and Boston College and says all of these will not be a sure thing. Frankly, I am kind of deer in the headlights as I always considered Villanova to be a safety school for him. She recommended some safety schools I never heard of.

DH also wanted DS to look at some other schools like Duke and others, but now he is gun shy, thinking he isn't strong enough.

Is this typical for college consultants, or is she right about his prospects? Do they aim low so that they can say he was admitted to X number of schools that she recommended?

Such a sad post. 4.1 gpa and you are worried.

The world is going nuts.

No the high schools are trying to game the college system with inflated grades and I think it is starting to backfire. MCPS being the worst right now. It sucks for the kids, it truly does.

If they went to a 100 point system across the country, it would simplify this process so much more

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a college consultant and am not working with your son. Here is my honest take- most parents are wildly overconfident about their children’s chances. I can’t emphasize enough how crazy this process has gotten. In the last year alone, there have been major changes that have impacted the selectivity of schools like Villanova, for instance. Did you know that the EA acceptance rate at Villanova LAST YEAR was 58 pc and now it is 28 pc? We are talking a thirty point drop in ONE YEAR!

I’m using caps to try to explain how absurd this has gotten and how much things can and do change on a dime.

You do not know this because you are not an expert in this field. Your consultant (hopefully) IS an expert and that is why you hired her. The other moms on dcum who don’t know any more than you do are not experts.

Two other points:

- ND is not doable for a student from the DC metro without straight As in the most challenging courses, full stop. Maybe a B+ or A- here or there. Given what you said about the unweighted GPA, your son is not in the ballpark there. Don’t be fooled by a 4.0+ gpa- do you know how many kids have GPAs above a 4.0? All the weighting inflates GPAs.

-Your consultant could care less about her statistics. Why should she care what percentage get in to their top choice school or not? No higher authority is assessing her performance, like a school counselor might face. And if it’s a random statistic on her website, she could just make it up if it’s that important. I assure you, she is not screwing your kid over so that she can report a BS statistic to future clients.

Hi Consultant.

Can I kindly suggest you watch your tone? I would never ever hire you because you seem like a condescending person.

You must be monstrously insecure because nothing about the consultant's post was condescending in the least.

Nope. Actually, I'm quite arrogant. But I thought her tone was off. YMMV

[Anonymous]

It sounds to me that she is trying to get more acceptance rates for her website to promote her business. She should not be a counselor, in my opinion.

Yes, apply to safety schools, yes, apply to schools you think you will have good shot at acceptance, and of course, apply to reaches. You should apply 10-12 colleges, in my opinion.