My dd was at a NOVA public. We got a college counselor- she is at Hopkins with merit.

At our top public most of the kids have private college counselors. It's a thing, unfortunately.

Anonymous wrote:OP Top private outside DMV, gets kids accepted to top 20 schools every year. 3.85 (school grade deflate), 1550. Hoping for Penn, Rice, Washington U, Pomona. Great writer. Average ECs.

We didn’t - but cld afford to - and my unhooked kid was admitted to 2 of those schools (the two applied to). If you’re on these boards and you’ve learned about the process, you really don‘t need one.

More have them than you think. People keep this close to the chest.

Anonymous wrote:OP Top private outside DMV, gets kids accepted to top 20 schools every year. 3.85 (school grade deflate), 1550. Hoping for Penn, Rice, Washington U, Pomona. Great writer. Average ECs.

That's called a backbencher in our neck of the woods. LOL

I think it depends on the school- I know many Sidwell families do, but at our private very few rely on an outside counselor

Anonymous wrote:OP Top private outside DMV, gets kids accepted to top 20 schools every year. 3.85 (school grade deflate), 1550. Hoping for Penn, Rice, Washington U, Pomona. Great writer. Average ECs.

Of course it does 🙄🙄🙄

The reasons I’ve heard for hiring private counselors on top of the school counselors are 1) a sense that the school CCs aren’t transparent enough, and 2) a belief that the CCs favor the private school’s priorities (donors, legacy families, etc) when counseling students around their application strategy.

Anonymous wrote:If a family can afford one comfortably, is it always better to hire a private counsellor than to rely solely on school counsellor?

DC is supposed to see their school’s CC 3 times in junior year. That’s not enough, right?

Yes, IMHO it’s better to hire a private counselor than rely solely on the school’s if you can comfortably afford it. When push comes to shove, the latter has the institution’s best interest at heart which isn’t necessarily your DC’s; the former works for *you*. I recommend utilizing both resources - the school counselor will know the lay of the land at your DC’s specific high school, while the private counselor should ideally have some insider knowledge from the college side and/or be a top-notch essay coach.

Anonymous wrote:OP Top private outside DMV, gets kids accepted to top 20 schools every year. 3.85 (school grade deflate), 1550. Hoping for Penn, Rice, Washington U, Pomona. Great writer. Average ECs.

If you have the money I’d get a counselor.

IU
Purdue
Bowdoin
UC Davis
SMU

OP Top private outside DMV, gets kids accepted to top 20 schools every year. 3.85 (school grade deflate), 1550. Hoping for Penn, Rice, Washington U, Pomona. Great writer. Average ECs.

you need to share more. Grades stats legacy which schools? If you are aiming for Wisconsin no you don’t need a private counselor.

Private schools have excellent individual counseling from the college staff. No one we know used a private counselor. Though the peer group is almost all high achieving cum laude/top10% crew who wouldn’t need it

If a family can afford one comfortably, is it always better to hire a private counsellor than to rely solely on school counsellor?

DC is supposed to see their school’s CC 3 times in junior year. That’s not enough, right?