Anonymous
05/19/2023 17:35
Subject: Are consultants effective?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This the consultant I'm curious about: https://www.gainserviceacademyadmission.com/
Waste of time, money, and hope?
Can someone explain how they manage thus acceptance rate?
College counselor here. Some consultants and firms will only accept clients who have an academic record that is within reach of highly selective schools. Additionally, some consultants will fudge what they report ("95% of our students were admitted to their early choice" but they include admits to less-selective rolling admissions and early action applications when calculating that percentage.)
Recommendations from previous clients and confirming fit are more important than those false metrics.
This is for specific schools, though. No "less-selective" ones.
Anonymous
05/19/2023 17:30
Subject: Are consultants effective?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This the consultant I'm curious about: https://www.gainserviceacademyadmission.com/
Waste of time, money, and hope?
Can someone explain how they manage thus acceptance rate?
College counselor here. Some consultants and firms will only accept clients who have an academic record that is within reach of highly selective schools. Additionally, some consultants will fudge what they report ("95% of our students were admitted to their early choice" but they include admits to less-selective rolling admissions and early action applications when calculating that percentage.)
Recommendations from previous clients and confirming fit are more important than those false metrics.
This is for specific schools, though. No "less-selective" ones.
Anonymous
05/19/2023 17:26
Subject: Are consultants effective?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This the consultant I'm curious about: https://www.gainserviceacademyadmission.com/
Waste of time, money, and hope?
Can someone explain how they manage thus acceptance rate?
College counselor here. Some consultants and firms will only accept clients who have an academic record that is within reach of highly selective schools. Additionally, some consultants will fudge what they report ("95% of our students were admitted to their early choice" but they include admits to less-selective rolling admissions and early action applications when calculating that percentage.)
Recommendations from previous clients and confirming fit are more important than those false metrics.
Anonymous
05/19/2023 17:01
Subject: Are consultants effective?
Anonymous wrote:This the consultant I'm curious about: https://www.gainserviceacademyadmission.com/
Waste of time, money, and hope?
Can someone explain how they manage thus acceptance rate?
Anonymous
05/19/2023 14:58
Subject: Re:Are consultants effective?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Do not use College Bound (Potomac, MD). Overcharge. Terrible. Destructive really.
Can you please explain why you called CB destructive??
Without directing comments at any particular consultant, a consultant can be most destructive if they increase stress, rather than reducing it. This increased stress can come in the form of discouraging a child to follow their dreams, pushing the child into numerous AP classes where it's difficult for them to be successful, focusing on college ranking ahead of student fit, and generally, replacing the consultant's viewpoints for that of the child and parents.
The worst part of it is that parents who have paid a consultant may not be focusing as much on college admissions because they have entrusted that process to the consultant. By the time the parents realize what's going on, the student may be struggling in school due to overload or suffering mental health difficulties due to the consultant repeatedly disregarding or even demeaning the child's wishes and dreams. And when the parents do start to think something isn't quite right, the consultant could put the blame on the student, which can create conflict in the family and further harm the child's mental health.
This isn't to say there aren't excellent consultants, but there also are some who have a one-size-fits-all approach and don't take the time to understand the student or their strengths and weaknesses. It can be difficult to tell the difference from a single interview.
Anonymous
05/19/2023 13:24
Subject: Re:Are consultants effective?
College consultants are all time biggest scammers. They exploit parents' extreme desire of elite colleges. Even penny-pinchers who chase on sale grocery items to save a couple of dollars, somehow voluntarily shell out thousands of dollars down the toilet. DC got in HYPSM with no CC help. I suspect a CC would do more harm than good by making the application less authentic.