If DCUM has taught me anything it’s to avoid Richard Montauk and Bucknell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Richard Montauk is a few hundred dollars per hour. He can advise you on choices as well as negotiating more merit between competing offers (so long as your kid gets those).

You could probably work with him for less than $3000 over several sessions.

ah damn, I was about to say, "wait for the guy who always recommends that guy Richard Montauk"

Yep, it's like clockwork.

Anonymous wrote:Parents of 11th-grade students preparing "in advance" for college, do you know any private admissions counselor/consultant who supports talented kids from middle-income homes? How much are their services? Do you have any recommendations for private consultants who cost no more than $3,000?

I am sorry to tell you this but starting midway through jr year is not preparing in advance.

Anonymous wrote:Richard Montauk is a few hundred dollars per hour. He can advise you on choices as well as negotiating more merit between competing offers (so long as your kid gets those).

You could probably work with him for less than $3000 over several sessions.

I called him after seeing his name on here. Total waste of time. He didn't listen to what I said my kid wanted, kept trying to push the opposite. Really pretentious too. Avoid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Richard Montauk is a few hundred dollars per hour. He can advise you on choices as well as negotiating more merit between competing offers (so long as your kid gets those).

You could probably work with him for less than $3000 over several sessions.

ah damn, I was about to say, "wait for the guy who always recommends that guy Richard Montauk"

Exactly...usually his books are referenced, which are no name books on Amazon with almost no reviews. My guess is OP wants someone truly known to be good, not likely a solicitation. (Even if this particular poster is new, I strongly suspect the original Montauk poster is someone shilling his wares.

Anonymous wrote:We did a $500 virtual camp that was worth its weight in gold. Kid finished with common app completed and a draft of common app essay.

How long is the camp and is it in the summer prior to senior year, or when senior year starts? May be interested.

I’m a parent of a junior. My kid has average grades, real average not DCUM average and hasn’t taken any AP classes. He switches back and forth between wanting to go to college and wanting to do some sort of vocational program. We are not hiring anyone. I’ve spent A LOT of time on here and found really great leads to schools and programs we would have never considered otherwise.

We did a $500 virtual camp that was worth its weight in gold. Kid finished with common app completed and a draft of common app essay.

Have you listened to podcasts or done any research? That should help determine if you feel capable on your own or need help.
The people I know who have/had help used it for the essays. Their kids mostly needed an outside person to keep tabs on them and move them along and edit. I’m not here to debate if they should do that- but the essays were the family sticking point and the writing coach made peace for them.

Anonymous wrote:Brooke Hanson (based in CA, makes youtube videos) is $400 an hour, sometimes offers packages. She's unbeatable IMHO. Stanford undergrad.

Test prep?

For school lists, i did a lot of research myself but it takes a lot of time. Went deep into college websites looking at programs, curriculum, etc. Joined Facebook groups to get tips. Listened to podcasts. Shared info with my kid and they Coordinated with school counselor to create a balanced list. We did pay for ACT test prep and essay support and felt those 2 areas were worth the investment. Plenty of free essay tips available online, but having someone to help guide them was worth it for us. The test prep helped our kid reach their target score.

Anonymous wrote:We paid by the hour for a half dozen sesssions or so. I’m not sure it was worth it but at least we felt like our kid was getting advice from someone other than us, since she didn’t want our advice. The HS counselors are basically worthless, so it can be helpful for the kid to get input from someone other than Reddit.

This is the only scenario in which I think a college counselor is worth it—if the student is really resistant to parental involvement or the parents know that the student needs so much hand-holding/oversight/nagging that it will create significant stress in the parent-child relationship.

Outside of those scenarios, most parents can provide their students appropriate support, especially if they spend a little time doing some research on their own (listen to podcasts, read higher ed news, etc.).

Brooke Hanson (based in CA, makes youtube videos) is $400 an hour, sometimes offers packages. She's unbeatable IMHO. Stanford undergrad.

I think it depends on how savvy the parents are. If you think your standard 1500 kid is getting into Brown or Duke, you probably could use the help. If you’re considering ED at Carleton for the geographic diversity and ED advantage, you probably know what you’re doing.

Jodi Atkin might be perfect. She’s based in Rochester, NY but regularly works with students/families across the country. She’s especially strong with putting together a balanced list of schools and identifying opportunities for merit aid.

http://www.bestfitcollegechoice.com/