As the parent of a Big 3 grad, we scheduled a conference with her school college counselor in the second half of sophomore year to get the lay of the land (our older kid went to public magnet). We had talked to a private counselor previously about our older kid and were not impressed. They didn't have a lot of specific data, kept pushing our kid to apply as a recruited athlete (even though he didn't want to do that) and didn't have any insights beyond what we could learn on College Confidential.

Part of what you're paying for with a Big 3 is the college counseling - take advantage of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This guy. For all kinds of students - straight A, B, C and D

https://collegewise.com/counselors/jordan-kanarek/

Also, he gives great free presentations in schools for parents. Tap him for that too. He gives excellent advice and tips. I followed a lot of his tips after attending some presentations when my kid was in middle school and they were really helpful.

Jordan was terrific with our High-achieving DC. He’s a taskmaster and will keep kids on deadline. Excellent at compiling balanced, reasonable college lists. Our other DC probably would have not responded favorably to him, however. Jordan is very high energy. Our other DC is not and is already cynical about the college-industrial complex.

OP-search for many threads on this topic over the years for ideas. However, as a counselor myself, my best recommendation is for you to talk with friends, family members (even if they do not live in our area) or neighbors with college-aged students. They will have recommendations for you.

Stuart Nachbar at educatedquest.com.