19:39 again. Or, I suppose, hire a counselor if you have the extra cash and you think you might end up kicking yourself for not exploring every avenue. A counselor probably won't change the outcome (assuming you do lots of research yourself on how to make his app stand out), but it might save you some regretful hindsight. If you think that might be a problem....

Anonymous wrote: We just finished this process ourselves. The best reason to hire someone if you don't have a great counselor (or if your counselor is great but just has too many kids as is usually the case in public schools) is really so you don't have to be the traffic cop yourself -- reminding him of deadlines, reading draft essays, etc. If you are ok doing that, you don't need anyone else. I have a good friend whose daughter is in a top ivy from BCC -- no outside paid help. But if it will make you nuts to do this and your child will rebel at your efforts to help, then a paid counselor can come in handy. BTW, we did not hire anyone but had confidence in our counselor.

+1. DC is at a top Ivy from another MoCo public. We considered hiring a counselor just because our schools' counselor, while expert about UMD, was lacking in knowledge about other schools. In the end we decided to go it alone, working collaboratively with the counselor for necessary things like the school's rec.

You've already gotten a lot of good advice here, for example that your kid needs a passion and that being "well-rounded" is so 1990s. The essays are crucial too, but you can buy books about this. Read up on College Confidential (but try to ignore the seething anxiety on the Ivy pages and just take away the useful stuff).

Hire a counselor if the process might make you nuts/super anxious, or if your kid needs a neutral third party to keep him on track (which it doesn't sound like is the case). You will need the money to pay that $60K tuition, assuming you won't qualify for any financial aid.

OP has asked for recommendations for a private college counselor - not whether you feel she should hire one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree.
Gone are the days of the kid who is a varsity athlete, class president, and founder of multiple school clubs being the " ideal candidate.

They want kids who are passionate about something and have already shown that passion in their choices.

Honestly my recommendation these days to kids like this are to gun for the military academies (don't look at overall acceptance rate, the acceptance rate for admits/nominees is decently high).

Your typical white or asian american from a lower to upper middle class that's not 'hooked' in someway would be better served the academy route should he/she get a nomination.

Providing they don't have any disqualifying medical conditions, and actually want to join the military.

For a student who is not interested in a military career, a military academy is a poor choice.

We just finished this process ourselves. The best reason to hire someone if you don't have a great counselor (or if your counselor is great but just has too many kids as is usually the case in public schools) is really so you don't have to be the traffic cop yourself -- reminding him of deadlines, reading draft essays, etc. If you are ok doing that, you don't need anyone else. I have a good friend whose daughter is in a top ivy from BCC -- no outside paid help. But if it will make you nuts to do this and your child will rebel at your efforts to help, then a paid counselor can come in handy. BTW, we did not hire anyone but had confidence in our counselor.

Anonymous wrote:That said, we know that his chances of getting into am IVY are slim. Are there recommendations out there for a college admissions counselor who can assist him and make sure his application/essays are strong and he shows himself in the best light?

Not just his chances, the chances. Even with a flawless application, chances of going Ivy are slim.

Do you really need someone? Has he expressed an interest in looking for a college? Why not tell him to do research and present a list to you?

For what it's worth, if you don't feel the counselor assigned to him at school is adequate, you can meet with someone higher up. If that doesn't help, there is a lot of information online. You don't have to pay for advice.

Your best bet is to apply Early Decision if you think he wants an Ivy or more competitive SLAC.

Ivy's and large competitive universities are getting anywhere from 30,000 to 110,000 applications (see UCLA)

It is really competitive these days and lots of kids have great GPA's SAT's etc.

There is also a large influx of foreign applicants sometimes making up 15% of the admitted students.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us/led-by-stanfords-5-top-colleges-acceptance-rates-hit-new-lows.html

OP -- Sorry just reread your original post. If you don't have a good college counselor at your school, then try Prep Matters. They do have a lot of experience with high achieving kids. I just don't think you need it as much with the essay as with other aspects of the process.

OP -- It is tough, but not impossible. As some said above, your DS should show a passion about something -- but not necessarily only one thing if he is well rounded. . Our DC just beat the odds -- parents both went to state schools, not an athlete, etc. -- but our child is intensely academic -- well rounded in the sense of doing equally well and loving all subjects. You DC should pursue interests outside of school, and if he hasn't yet, then this summer is the last shot to make a difference.

For a kid who doesn't have an amazing life story. I think the essays are critical to show (1) a sense of awareness of self/maturity; (2) several different positive aspects of his personality, values, personal characteristics, and indirectly maybe talents; and (3) he can write it down in an interesting way. Some kids find what they do between junior /senior year is a spring board for the essay. He should start no later than August -- and plan to go through more drafts than he would for any paper in high school. All the SAT prep places (like Prep Matters) have people who will review college essay drafts -- I don't think it is necessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree.
Gone are the days of the kid who is a varsity athlete, class president, and founder of multiple school clubs being the " ideal candidate.

They want kids who are passionate about something and have already shown that passion in their choices.

Honestly my recommendation these days to kids like this are to gun for the military academies (don't look at overall acceptance rate, the acceptance rate for admits/nominees is decently high).

Your typical white or asian american from a lower to upper middle class that's not 'hooked' in someway would be better served the academy route should he/she get a nomination.

don't you have a 4 year commitment though after that?

5 years active duty.

But the education is great, the network is extremely strong post-military career, grad-schools like you....it's not for everyone (i didn't have the physical requirement for it, my siblings couldn't do the dietary thing at the academies even though all of us did SLS at the various academies to get a taste (two of us did it at USMA and USNA) and two at (USMA and USAFA).

It isn't for everyone, but i think its an option more should give thought to IMO.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree.
Gone are the days of the kid who is a varsity athlete, class president, and founder of multiple school clubs being the " ideal candidate.

They want kids who are passionate about something and have already shown that passion in their choices.

Honestly my recommendation these days to kids like this are to gun for the military academies (don't look at overall acceptance rate, the acceptance rate for admits/nominees is decently high).

Your typical white or asian american from a lower to upper middle class that's not 'hooked' in someway would be better served the academy route should he/she get a nomination.

don't you have a 4 year commitment though after that?

Anonymous wrote:Agree.
Gone are the days of the kid who is a varsity athlete, class president, and founder of multiple school clubs being the " ideal candidate.

They want kids who are passionate about something and have already shown that passion in their choices.

Honestly my recommendation these days to kids like this are to gun for the military academies (don't look at overall acceptance rate, the acceptance rate for admits/nominees is decently high).

Your typical white or asian american from a lower to upper middle class that's not 'hooked' in someway would be better served the academy route should he/she get a nomination.

Agree.
Gone are the days of the kid who is a varsity athlete, class president, and founder of multiple school clubs being the " ideal candidate.

They want kids who are passionate about something and have already shown that passion in their choices.

being 'well rounded' is one of the biggest lies ever told to schools/parents/counselors that don't send many kids to top schools often.

what is he superb at? AMC/AIME/USAMO math? recruited athlete? nationally ranked artist? intel/google science fair winner? black or latino?

Our son is a junior who is in a Full-IB program. He has above a 4.0 gpa. His SATs are very, very good. He has been very active and is well rounded.

That said, we know that his chances of getting into am IVY are slim. Are there recommendations out there for a college admissions counselor who can assist him and make sure his application/essays are strong and he shows himself in the best light?

My husband and I went to great state colleges, but were definitely not in the league he is in. We want to help him achieve the goals he has worked so hard for.

Thanks