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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Our kids' Big 3 counselor provided very little guidance.  What little guidance the counselor did offer was pretty useless because she didn't know them very well.  We put together a list of schools to visit and to apply to on our own.  Our kids, very reasonably, didn't want us to look at their essays.  Fortunately, we were able to ask a family friend with extensive professional experience as a writer and editor to look over the essays and give them some feedback (they didn't need a lot).  The director of admissions at my alma mater (to which the kids were not applying) was also very kind in responding to specific questions we had regarding recomendations.  [b]It all worked out for our kids, but the credit should go to them, not the school.[/b]

That said, I wouldn't recommend hiring a private counselor.  I know only 1 family (from a public school) who hired a counselor and there didn't seem to be much that she contributed beyond what the parents and kid already knew.  They drew up their own list of schools to visit and apply to based on a little research and common sense.  (Fiske is a good place to start, then you can noodle around on websites.  Naviance is largely a waste of time IMHO.)  Their son rejected the counselor's advice -- she didn't know him and wanted to totally re-shape his essay.  It sounded like a waste of time and money.            [/quote]

Agree that college admissions is mostly about the student's record -- but the admissions file does include teacher recommendations, which actually play a fairly large role by all accounts.  Perhaps the college counselor did not provide much useful guidance, but I'm sure the good recommendations from teachers that knew your kids well were helpful in the process.[/quote]

Yes, our kids had many wonderful teachers to whom we are very grateful -- particularly those who offered to write recommendations.  And, most important, the kids were very well prepared for college.  Of course it goes without saying that the kids put in the effort that earned the respect of those teachers and resulted in their readiness for college.  IME, however, the school's college counseling program was not a significant factor in the college application process or outcome.  Many parents of younger kids believe that an independent school offers a great advantage in this regard, but at our kids' school, this wasn't the case.        [/quote]

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