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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]There are significant benefits to using an outside consultant[/b]. They can give you an additional perspective/advice outside of the one provided by your school consultant. There is a lot of strategizing involved in applying to an elite school that they can help navigate. For example, if I don’t take the AP/honors level of this class that I’m not particularly strong in, will xyz college look at that more negatively than if I get a B?  What order should I list my extracurriculars in?  What kinds of things should I do over the summer before senior year that would add to the way I present myself?  If I write my essay about x, does that make me sound entitled?  Is y topic one that will put my admission officer to sleep or make him roll his eyes?  Should I apply early to xyz when my second choice accepts half its class ED, or does that just mean I’ll probably get neither?  What about ED 2 schools?  There are a million small questions like this where getting advice from someone knowledgeable about the process can be extremely valuable [b]even if they never once look at your essay, let alone try to rewrite it[/b]. [/quote]

The OP's premise was that the colleges can spot this and it won't help the student any.  And your last sentence is a bit ridiculous since of course the consultants look at the essays and have a hand in shaping it that is not the students own work.

What I think the colleges should do is what the IRS does. If you have someone prepare your taxes they have to give their name and phone number.
Colleges should say on the application form: certify that this work is your own -- or if you received any substantial help on this application give the name and phone number of whomever assisted you.

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OP is just spouting a common Montra. He has never used or reviewed what a top college counselor tasks. The very best ones strategize using knowledge acquired by working with multiple kids from, multiple schools and multiple colleges. They generally know the competitive landscape and can steer your kids in to picking the ED app that is most likely to work. Also I suspect a ton of parents Have kids that applied to schools that did not require supplements to the common act. For a kid applying to top college there are about 20 pieces of writing. Many can not be reworked. And when they can the word count changes drastically. If your kid applied to basic schools you have no idea what I am talking about but the top level school. Private and assume public schools say they will help and that is actually not true. Sure the teachers proof read the common app essay and may look through an ED app or part of one but no one is going to help your kid with 20 essays or short paragraphs. Now there will be tons of parents who say let them do it on their own. Those are the kids applying to elite colleges that strike out. Kids with similar grades from the same school who did it themselves more often than not strike out. So now you say let the parents read it. That’s fine but you have the same unevenness.  If your parents are journalist you have an advantage  and same if they are a professor ... my 
Require a ton of writing.  What if mom and dad are trial lawyers?  Applying to college is not nor has never been fair.  And I don’t understand why people on this site constantly post something they can’t afford is stupid and worthless???
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