Do not use College Bound (Potomac, MD). Overcharge. Terrible. Destructive really.

This the consultant I'm curious about: https://www.gainserviceacademyadmission.com/

Waste of time, money, and hope?

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they make a good living.

This is more about the parent/child relationship than anything else. If parents have time and have great relationship with child, then probably not worth it.

If parent and child don't work well together and child is not fully self motivated then a consultant can be the best thing for parents and child.

Or you can work well with your child and simply not want to ruin that relationship with the stressful period of college admissions.

for us the counselor was best for:
keeping a schedule and nagging the kid for us (I've got a procrastinator, and I'm a type A get things done ahead of time---so someone else telling my kid First draft of your general essay by Aug 15 means it was actually done then)

Finding the right list of reach/target/safety schools---a good one who has been doing this for 20+ years knows schools you have never heard of. They will help you figure out what is important beyond major (location, size, research vs coop vs internships, study abroad, etc)

Help brainstorm the essays---help kid see what makes a good essay

Identifying which schools need what: are interviews important, when visiting should I also ask to meet with the dept, etc. What is demonstrated interest to this school and how important is it?

We figured we will be full pay for college, so looking at $200-340K for 4 years, so $4K for a CC for the HS years is a small price to pay for guidance and peace of mind

Anonymous wrote:Yes, they make a good living.

This is more about the parent/child relationship than anything else. If parents have time and have great relationship with child, then probably not worth it.

If parent and child don't work well together and child is not fully self motivated then a consultant can be the best thing for parents and child.

So this is why we hired one. We were clear that we needed project management and we asked how does the consultant help to motivate kids who procrastinate and are not self-motivated. At the time, they gave a reasonable answer. I will say that so far they are not living up to it and we are feeling frustrated. We're meeting with the consultant tomorrow to see what type of course correction can be made before more heavy-lifting is needed for the college apps (our kid is a junior). I do recognize that you have to work with the kid that you've got, but I offer this so other parents can go in with eyes wide open so they can ask appropriate questions and know how much they may still have to be involved.

Yes, they make a good living.

This is more about the parent/child relationship than anything else. If parents have time and have great relationship with child, then probably not worth it.

If parent and child don't work well together and child is not fully self motivated then a consultant can be the best thing for parents and child.

Anonymous wrote:They won't get your kid into a school They will set schedules and make sure everything is on track. Ultimately, it is up to the high school counselors to get everything submitted in a timely basis.

Curious about the admission rate claims, then?

They won't get your kid into a school They will set schedules and make sure everything is on track. Ultimately, it is up to the high school counselors to get everything submitted in a timely basis.

Anonymous wrote:Pay for someone by the hour, not a set fee.

They offer both, will keep that in mind.

Consultant was worth it for us because we got to avoid the nagging to get applications done/meet deadlines. DC 1 in at 2nd choice school, DC 2 in ED at first choice school.

Pay for someone by the hour, not a set fee.

Worth every penny for the "right" consultant. For me, "right" means that this person is not only competent, experienced and knowledgeable, but that my DS actually works well with him/her.

If money is not an issue and your kid cooperates well, that could be a boosting factor. Otherwise, not too much difference it can make.

Anonymous wrote:They only take on clients who are already good & reject the bad apples

So, worth seeing if they'd take him, is what I'm hearing. If not, he's in the same position he is now. If they do...might help?

They only take on clients who are already good & reject the bad apples

I recently ran across a counseling company who claims the 9% admit rate of DS's major reach school is really more like 50% when you consider that most applicants are qualified, and further claims their clients have a historical 90% admit rate there. Wondering if it's worth the $5000+ to hire them.