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

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[quote=Anonymous]I think there should be a distinction here between hiring a college counsellor for $25K (the high end ones in NY are $75K and up) versus hiring an essay coach for $3K or hiring a local counsellor who takes on dozens of kids for $5K who provides a general framework for admissions.

I know of people who hired the counselors in the range of $25K, and it has generally helped when the kids were already hard-charging and the "narrative" they helped crafted really seemed (or was?) authentic and resonated with the kid. The kids already seemed to have a great mix of stuff; the counsellor seemed to help them focus on a "narrative."  In one case, it was "data science," in another case, "sustainability/business."  The counselor helped the kid take a general interest (business; math) and make it more niche, and then helped find/brainstorm/identify/encourage supporting activities. Some of the activities were very banal and not fancy, but neat ideas that were the result of creative brainstorming.

I've also heard of kids who hired counsellors in that same range where it didn't really pan out, and I wonder, if in those instances, the "narrative" ended up kinda stilted and did not really match the kid's natural passions (another kid who did "sustainability/business" - different from the other "sustainability" kid cited in prior paragraph- but although the kid did stuff in that area, not sure if this really was perceived as a "true passion"; the kid's personality is more of a country club kid and so not sure if the kid could write about this topic in a way that seemed authentic?)

The counsellors in the $25K range and above, they start by having your kid answer a bunch of questions, and then they help to refine their interest into a "narrative" that fits an "undersubscribed" area/major.  But some of these companies have a VERY large staff/high turnover and so question whether your assigned counselor will really "get" your kid, and if not, then the money is somewhat of a waste.

Plus, if your kid already has authentic interests, not sure that you need to hire an outside counselor to make them pointy.

So, I am not sure when people are saying everyone at the school has a counselor, do they mean the $25K and above kind, or do they mean the $5K local person who guides your kids along (but is not really molding their interest)?

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