Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 12:02     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand why people go for these services. Take a look at Command Education's website, which charges $75K for the upper end package.
https://www.commandeducation.com/our-results/

Many of the schools listed there, UNC, Emory, WashU, UChicago, UCLA, UCB, are not difficult to get in. And Cornell if you are in-state is easy to get in (don't forget the guaranteed transfer option). Paying such obscene amount of money just doesn't make any sense.


Not 75K.

$750K!


So funny, when I saw 75k, my initial thought was, "wow, they're running a discount?!?" The founder of Command Education owns a $7 million home in Florida, in addition to his place in Manhattan where he meets with clients at a private club. There was a NY Magazine article about him if you're interested.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 12:00     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My concern with most of the counseling companies is that their customers / students are mostly rich whites. They don’t advertise any Asian kid getting into these schools. Asian is very competitive to get into top 15


The whole point of these companies is to prey on rich people's anxiety. They are a total sham. Good on asian parents for not getting sucked into it.


There are 100 Asian versions of this but they advertise in Chinese and don't care about making fancy websites.


+1

I'm a high school teacher in Singapore. There are PLENTY of these services in Asia. And many are extremely unethical.


Totally. My cousin in Asia is terrible at English - he cannot even hold a basic conversation in English - and got into multiple schools in the U.S. because a counselor wrote his essays for him. Yes, you read that correctly.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 11:28     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand why people go for these services. Take a look at Command Education's website, which charges $75K for the upper end package.
https://www.commandeducation.com/our-results/

Many of the schools listed there, UNC, Emory, WashU, UChicago, UCLA, UCB, are not difficult to get in. And Cornell if you are in-state is easy to get in (don't forget the guaranteed transfer option). Paying such obscene amount of money just doesn't make any sense.


Not 75K.

$750K!
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 11:26     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:I don't really understand why people go for these services. Take a look at Command Education's website, which charges $75K for the upper end package.
https://www.commandeducation.com/our-results/

Many of the schools listed there, UNC, Emory, WashU, UChicago, UCLA, UCB, are not difficult to get in. And Cornell if you are in-state is easy to get in (don't forget the guaranteed transfer option). Paying such obscene amount of money just doesn't make any sense.


its for people who don't know how to navigate or frankly have so much money that this is just good insurance for them.
why worry or stress about how others waste their $$$.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 11:25     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
I don't really understand why people go for these services. Take a look at Command Education's website, which charges $75K for the upper end package.
https://www.commandeducation.com/our-results/

Many of the schools listed there, UNC, Emory, WashU, UChicago, UCLA, UCB, are not difficult to get in. And Cornell if you are in-state is easy to get in (don't forget the guaranteed transfer option). Paying such obscene amount of money just doesn't make any sense.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 11:16     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:has anyone signed up for Crimson (or Command's) webinars? Do either of them show you a sample of successful common apps? Successful EC lists? Successful narratives?

If so, please post links.


Here's the EC formula from Crimson:
- 2 activities related to volunteering
- 3-5 activities in which you are a leader
- 1-3 academic activities
- 1-2 non-school affiliated activities (reputable)
- at least 1 quirky activity reflecting more unusual skills or hobbies

You can download their guides for free (helpful): https://www.crimsoneducation.org/us/resources/ebooks-infographics/
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 11:06     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My concern with most of the counseling companies is that their customers / students are mostly rich whites. They don’t advertise any Asian kid getting into these schools. Asian is very competitive to get into top 15


The whole point of these companies is to prey on rich people's anxiety. They are a total sham. Good on asian parents for not getting sucked into it.


There are 100 Asian versions of this but they advertise in Chinese and don't care about making fancy websites.


+1

I'm a high school teacher in Singapore. There are PLENTY of these services in Asia. And many are extremely unethical.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 10:57     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:They are not even the most expensive.

One example (you can google):

A tiger mom agreed to pay an astonishing $1.5 million to a college-admissions consultant to help get her kid into a prestigious prep school and Ivy League college, according to a lawsuit.

The stunning fee was charged by The Ivy Coach, a Manhattan-based “independent education consultant” firm that helps guide anxious parents and their children through the process of getting into elite boarding schools and colleges. The consultant is now suing the mother and daughter for allegedly paying only half the fee.


If you have 1.5 million, it's better to be a development case. I bet 1.5 million donation can get you into many T20 schools, just not enough for HYP though.

But I bet that 1.5 million covers a lot more than consulting. It would cover a dedicated team of tutors helping the kid's homework and test, SAT prep, Internship, operating a startup, etc.


My favorite is the DE Shaw family, which donated multiple millions to multiple schools so their kids could choose where to go. At least one picked Yale. The NY Post wrote abt it.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 10:57     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
has anyone signed up for Crimson (or Command's) webinars? Do either of them show you a sample of successful common apps? Successful EC lists? Successful narratives?

If so, please post links.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 10:53     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:They are not even the most expensive.

One example (you can google):

A tiger mom agreed to pay an astonishing $1.5 million to a college-admissions consultant to help get her kid into a prestigious prep school and Ivy League college, according to a lawsuit.

The stunning fee was charged by The Ivy Coach, a Manhattan-based “independent education consultant” firm that helps guide anxious parents and their children through the process of getting into elite boarding schools and colleges. The consultant is now suing the mother and daughter for allegedly paying only half the fee.


If you have 1.5 million, it's better to be a development case. I bet 1.5 million donation can get you into many T20 schools, just not enough for HYP though.

But I bet that 1.5 million covers a lot more than consulting. It would cover a dedicated team of tutors helping the kid's homework and test, SAT prep, Internship, operating a startup, etc.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 10:48     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
They are not even the most expensive.

One example (you can google):

A tiger mom agreed to pay an astonishing $1.5 million to a college-admissions consultant to help get her kid into a prestigious prep school and Ivy League college, according to a lawsuit.

The stunning fee was charged by The Ivy Coach, a Manhattan-based “independent education consultant” firm that helps guide anxious parents and their children through the process of getting into elite boarding schools and colleges. The consultant is now suing the mother and daughter for allegedly paying only half the fee.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 08:01     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My concern with most of the counseling companies is that their customers / students are mostly rich whites. They don’t advertise any Asian kid getting into these schools. Asian is very competitive to get into top 15


The whole point of these companies is to prey on rich people's anxiety. They are a total sham. Good on asian parents for not getting sucked into it.


There are 100 Asian versions of this but they advertise in Chinese and don't care about making fancy websites.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 07:25     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
Anonymous wrote:My concern with most of the counseling companies is that their customers / students are mostly rich whites. They don’t advertise any Asian kid getting into these schools. Asian is very competitive to get into top 15


The whole point of these companies is to prey on rich people's anxiety. They are a total sham. Good on asian parents for not getting sucked into it.
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 06:21     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
My concern with most of the counseling companies is that their customers / students are mostly rich whites. They don’t advertise any Asian kid getting into these schools. Asian is very competitive to get into top 15
Anonymous
Post 05/20/2025 00:47     Subject: Crimson education college counseling
The founder is from New Zealand and has made a career out of getting into Harvard and has collected a huge number of graduate degrees.

He has private equity involved and of course they are all about profits.

I know a few who left working for the company, it is a place with hundreds of employees around the world and very expensive for what you get. There is lots of turnover and inconsistency. Quality control is an issue.