Senior Parents: if you hired a private college counselor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m also looking for ideas.

Willing to pay significant $$$ but need help with curating a good applicant narrative; ideas for summer internship for my current junior and help getting junior’s research published in area of study. Also, need help with activities list to see what else might need to be supplemented.

Aiming for T25 privates. Full pay.

Are the names mentioned here reputable and will they help with all of this for a junior?

OMG OMG

My Senior did none of that and he's in at 2 T10s (with 5-6% acceptance rates), a T20, UVA and waiting on Ivies.

DP.. congrats, but you realize that some kids need more guidance?

My kid has super high stats, but had no guidance. My spouse and I are immigrants; no clue how gamed the college admissions is. In retrospect, they said they wished they had a college counselor.

It's not gamed. Get the highest scores and highest grades possible. Do 1-2 extracurriculars (ANYTHING they love and are doing because they WANT to be doing them), write a good essay (here if he/she isn't a good writer you might want an essay coach if you aren't good with that either).

I made the mistake of listening to everyone going on and on about how impossible admissions were and everything was rigged blah blah, blah---so my kid OVER applied and is getting in everywhere. It was overkill.

My kid had all that (super high stats) but still got denied T10. Your kid was lucky. It's true. After a certain gpa/test score, it's a lottery.

Yes, same for my kid. DC got denied T10 with super high stats, excellent ECs in the area of study with regional/national awards. And, we are also immigrants. DC basically took care of everything. In retrospect, we also felt we should have had a college counselor since the school counselor was of no use.

Public or private high school?
Asian (sadly can cut against you in the app process)?

dp.. then even more important to get a college counselor. Many of these parents are immigrants who don't understand that even with high stats and great e.c.s, chances are still very very low. College admissions is too opaque. There's no rhyme or reason why two applicants with similar scores and ec's have different outcomes. If the difference is the college essay, then a private counselor can help with that.

I'm actually disgusted that this is what it has come down to, though. I really hate how college admissions works here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hired one on an hourly basis to talk to DC and generate a list of schools. It’s something we could have done in theory, but DC was like a deer frozen in headlights, just completely overwhelmed, and I suspect our voices were starting to come in like the adults’ in Charlie Brown.

The list helped break through the logjam. DC then had specific schools to read about in Fiske, etc. Rejected some, got interested in others, which then gave us things to talk about as we considered still others.

Thereafter we checked in with counselor only occasionally — advice about whether to submit lopsided scores, a check-in for DC before the first interview etc. It was all very relaxed, and although we mostly know the drill, it was nice to have someone outside the family to use as a sounding board.

Any chance you want to share the name of your counselor? I'd like to hire someone to help with the list. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We hired a counselor recommended by a family member for our rather difficult, very stubborn, non-self motivated kid. With us it was a continuing battle. We hired a counselor who was the right demographic for her to look up to and listen to and it was SUPREMELY effective. We essentially outsourced the messaging. Like McKinsey for college apps.

She listened and motivated. Was too late for ED1 to submit scores but worked her ass off for a month tutored by the counselor and raised the score enough to submit for ED2 and got in. I do think that made the difference, FWIW. She was thrilled and super proud of herself, learned what she could do when she dedicated herself and worked hard, and we are very happy with the whole experience. It was not cheap, but it was VERY hands on for three hours a night for SAT tutoring and exploring essay narratives, crafting a unique story, etc. Very expensive, but worth it for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We hired a counselor recommended by a family member for our rather difficult, very stubborn, non-self motivated kid. With us it was a continuing battle. We hired a counselor who was the right demographic for her to look up to and listen to and it was SUPREMELY effective. We essentially outsourced the messaging. Like McKinsey for college apps.

She listened and motivated. Was too late for ED1 to submit scores but worked her ass off for a month tutored by the counselor and raised the score enough to submit for ED2 and got in. I do think that made the difference, FWIW. She was thrilled and super proud of herself, learned what she could do when she dedicated herself and worked hard, and we are very happy with the whole experience. It was not cheap, but it was VERY hands on for three hours a night for SAT tutoring and exploring essay narratives, crafting a unique story, etc. Very expensive, but worth it for us.

Glad your kid stepped up. Congrats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m also looking for ideas.

Willing to pay significant $$$ but need help with curating a good applicant narrative; ideas for summer internship for my current junior and help getting junior’s research published in area of study. Also, need help with activities list to see what else might need to be supplemented.

Aiming for T25 privates. Full pay.

Are the names mentioned here reputable and will they help with all of this for a junior?

OMG OMG

My Senior did none of that and he's in at 2 T10s (with 5-6% acceptance rates), a T20, UVA and waiting on Ivies.

DP.. congrats, but you realize that some kids need more guidance?

My kid has super high stats, but had no guidance. My spouse and I are immigrants; no clue how gamed the college admissions is. In retrospect, they said they wished they had a college counselor.

It's not gamed. Get the highest scores and highest grades possible. Do 1-2 extracurriculars (ANYTHING they love and are doing because they WANT to be doing them), write a good essay (here if he/she isn't a good writer you might want an essay coach if you aren't good with that either).

I made the mistake of listening to everyone going on and on about how impossible admissions were and everything was rigged blah blah, blah---so my kid OVER applied and is getting in everywhere. It was overkill.

My kid had all that (super high stats) but still got denied T10. Your kid was lucky. It's true. After a certain gpa/test score, it's a lottery.

Yes, same for my kid. DC got denied T10 with super high stats, excellent ECs in the area of study with regional/national awards. And, we are also immigrants. DC basically took care of everything. In retrospect, we also felt we should have had a college counselor since the school counselor was of no use.

Public or private high school?
Asian (sadly can cut against you in the app process)?

dp.. then even more important to get a college counselor. Many of these parents are immigrants who don't understand that even with high stats and great e.c.s, chances are still very very low. College admissions is too opaque. There's no rhyme or reason why two applicants with similar scores and ec's have different outcomes. If the difference is the college essay, then a private counselor can help with that.

I'm actually disgusted that this is what it has come down to, though. I really hate how college admissions works here.

+1

We are public NOVA, Asian, and did not use a counselor for first kid who applied mainly to state flagships. That DC got into their first choice so no problem.

But for second kid who was interested in SLACs and Ivies, we hired a counselor to help with essays and focus on what AOs want. We treated this as a marketing exercise (which it is) for DC to learn from. We've been happy with the results so far.

The process is a horrible game, and you have to pay one way or the other if you want to avoid rolling snake eyes with the loaded dice that is college admissions these days.

[Anonymous]

I hired one and was not sure it was worth it. But I did not hire because there was friction with my kid or I did not have time or interest in research. With all of the uncertainty around the process I did not trust my own judgement about how to advise my kid truthfully. In retrospect, I was probably fine without it as was my kid. It was helpful in terms of having someone else to read essays and give another perspectibve on some of the theme questions there is not real answer to. Not much help on choice of where to apply...I know my kid better than the counselor.

[Anonymous]

We used one on an hourly basis, as needed senior year from summer through application season. She did standardized test tutoring (effective), helped DS build a college list (I don't think she was particularly strong here), and (this was the winner) guided DS's essay efforts from topic selection through final draft. She did not write it, but she did hold his feet to the fire and make him accountable for effort and deadlines in a way we could not.

I also listened to a lot of podcasts, lurked on some college app sites, and did a lot of supplemental reading. I treated it like pregnancy/newborn life, reading just enough ahead that I was prepared for the next stage and knew the important questions/pitfalls.

[Anonymous]

Stay away from Jodi Siegel

[Anonymous]

Has anyone used Better College Apps? Looking for 1st hand experience.

https://bettercollegeapps.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All essays are written by DC only, and effectively written.

Have access to following:

College Counsellor: pretty useless

Ex AO form an Ivy (30K for their services):
- Overall narrative, common app story, language/flow for activities and the essay
- College essays (for top 10 filing) - review, catching red flags, additional eyes
- Completing and filing support for specific colleges
- Secret insights about respective process
- Guide / coach and provide motivation to DC during this stressful process

Partner with a Strategy/MBB firm:
- Research and analysis on all college / Univ - overall strategic approach
- Prioritization - which college to drop, file and keep as backup etc
- Structuring the narrative along with the ex AO
- Structure essays, ECs and story part
- Program manage the entire process
- Use his network to get internship and LOR
- Fund and bank roll the entire process

Where did your kid get in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I can comment after it’s all over. No results yet.

If you haven’t already, can you weigh in with your feedback and whether or not it was worth it?
Who did you use?
And if the outcome was what you’d hoped?

[Anonymous]

Me again. Searching.

Anyone hear of Sierra?
https://sierraadmissions.com/


Any feedback???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I can comment after it’s all over. No results yet.

If you haven’t already, can you weigh in with your feedback and whether or not it was worth it?
Who did you use?
And if the outcome was what you’d hoped?

So even knowing results which were pretty strong, I'm a bit conflicted if it was worth it. On one hand, it was great to have access to an unbiased opinion and essay feedback; on the other hand, I think having a consultant reduced our need to interact with the HS counselor and that may have been a negative for private college admissions where the HS counselor has more opportunities to promote your student. In other words, because we didn't interact with the HS counselor as much, I don't think they got to know our student or their preferences as well. If I had it to do again, I might just get outside essay help and use the HS counselor for everything else. I do personally think essay help is worth it as the HS counselors don't have the time to read all the essays required now.

[Anonymous]

Bump for person looking

[Anonymous]

Melanie Drake at Summit Solutions
[e-mail]

She’s down-to-earth, practical, easy to work with. Did the college counseling at a fancy STL prep school, now works on her own. Clients on the coasts but lives in rural midwest so not as expensive as DMV-based advisors. Really nice mix of expertise and value.