Anonymous wrote:This varies widely depending on the private school. At ours, each counselor has around 25-30 kids assigned to them - junior year they meet with them individually every two weeks, with the family quarterly, in addition to a more structured weekly college meeting for the kids and many informational meetings and events for parents. The biggest thing they bring to the table is that they are all former admissions officers at top 20 schools - and they know the admissions deans at almost all the schools our kids tend to apply to, which helps enormously when they need to work a WL for a student. Some families at our school still hire private college counselors, but that is not because they have more expertise, it is because they will be at the beck and call of the family, and they will do things the school counselor would never do - like help the kid write their essays, dream up EC ideas and research projects for them, etc. I prefer having the school counselor, because while they are extremely helpful, they are in advisory role and I would rather have my kid doing the work and not fudging things just for an application.

Anonymous wrote:Private school counselor has a better inside perspective on admissions trends for that particular school versus an outside counselor who may not be as familiar with the school. An outside counselor may be more useful if kid is at a large public school where there are too many kids per counselor or if the kid has some special needs/interests where the school counselor is less qualified to assist

Anonymous wrote:they coddle the kids and parents in a manner unseen at a public!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not as "excellent" as hiring your own captive college counsellor. You get more time and focus with a personal college counselor you hire by the hour.

We go to a so-called "top 3" private school in a large, competitive city that is not in DC. We have a small team of CC, and 1 college counsellor dedicated per 30-40 students. So eac sub-counsellor is shared among 35-ish kids.

It's fine. But my brother has hired his own personal CC (my nephew goes to a competitive public HS) and I think he gets a lot more attention.

While I do realize our CC at our private does have strong knowledge and some insight or connections to a few selective colleges in particular, I don't think her services is what I value most in my tuition payment. I feel I pay for the small class size and varied curriculum. The slightly better ratio of CC to student is a plus, but I don't think these CCs even at a private school can perform miracles unless you are a top donor or development person.

FYI your private “captive” counselor has a lot more than 35 other clients

Anonymous wrote:They are not as "excellent" as hiring your own captive college counsellor. You get more time and focus with a personal college counselor you hire by the hour.

We go to a so-called "top 3" private school in a large, competitive city that is not in DC. We have a small team of CC, and 1 college counsellor dedicated per 30-40 students. So eac sub-counsellor is shared among 35-ish kids.

It's fine. But my brother has hired his own personal CC (my nephew goes to a competitive public HS) and I think he gets a lot more attention.

While I do realize our CC at our private does have strong knowledge and some insight or connections to a few selective colleges in particular, I don't think her services is what I value most in my tuition payment. I feel I pay for the small class size and varied curriculum. The slightly better ratio of CC to student is a plus, but I don't think these CCs even at a private school can perform miracles unless you are a top donor or development person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How well the counselor gets to know their students, so that recommendations can truly be individualized.

Whether they provide meaningful and helpful edits to essays.

Whether they look past rankings/prestige in helping students create a list.

so much of this is about the school's culture and philosophy. Some big name national private feeder schools, have entire administrative processes in place so that the counselor letters are extraordinarily personal - with the type of detail that can only come from combing through school reports for 4 years, talking with teachers, hiring outside letter writers etc.

At the end of the day, its about how much $$ and support the school's administration puts into the CCO. Look at Ransom Everglades in FL. They hired a former Dartmouth AO and stacked up that CCO. For a tiny graduating class. They start 1-on-1 meetings in fall of 9th grade. Put kids on a "plan" for both ECs, summer opps and help with alumni internships. Its INSANE.