Anonymous wrote:
Our counselor has been helpful with keeping DD organized and on track, projecting a calm and realistic outlook, and providing minimal editing on essays (very minor grammar and punctuation edits). I also appreciate her willingness to say "This essay doesn't work, here's why, go back to drawing board." But she doesn't seem able to support DD much with brainstorming and generating ideas for content. DD is used to pounding out analytical writing and getting high marks, and careful self-reflection is unfamiliar and uncomfortable for her. Since her "one-and-done" attempts are getting rejected by the counselor, she's open to brainstorming support. We've found that I'm the best-positioned person to help with this because 1) I know her so well and am one of her biggest fans and 2) I remember so many anecdotes of moments she's experienced or reflected on and shared with me over the past couple of years and can jog her memory about those a little. The brainstorming can take a while, but then the writing flows for her and is purely her voice. Oh, and DD really likes the College Essay Guy's material for pre-write steps too, particularly because he has videos that she can watch on 3X speed!

Anonymous wrote:bruh my private CC is such a bad fit for me. he keeps telling me to lie and pretend I'm interested in majoring in something I actually think is gross. also he keeps pressuring me to think about EDing to a place he thinks is more prestigious than the public school I much prefer. is he working for me or my parents??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Independent College Counselor here.

Just want to throw in a little warning to parents about over-editing your kids' essays.

I am fastidious about grammar and punctuation on essays so I would never call something "finished" if it had grammatical errors or typos. However, not only is it inappropriate for me to re-write essays, it would very much count against the students if I were to do that. Colleges (yes, even Ivies) are wary of too much polish, which could indicate AI or a different writer. Every time I read an essay, of course I think about what I might have said differently, but it is not my essay and not my voice. I might brainstorm with a student. I might give feedback in the form of questions or encouragement to reflect on what an experience meant to a student. I might suggest that the student include a specific example here or there. But I am careful not to insert myself into the essay. If the essays are great in the end, it is because the student really took the time to write and rewrite. I think parents may not realize, though, that sometimes the little style imperfections lend some authenticity.

For what it is worth, I don't think students *need* private college counselors. I think most parents hire one for the executive function support and to preserve their relationship with their student. Just don't mess it up for them!

But wouldn't a good IEC tell a family if the essay is not at the level expected for a T20? I mean ime (two kids at T20), the essays took 4-6+ months of constant back and forth editing.

For DC2, we did hire an editor/essay counselor. That person worked for a month - going back and forth in Google Docs with the kids - comments, suggestions, rewrites - to get the essays (all of them, mind you, it's not just the personal essay) - to the standard needed for a T20. That kid had MUCH better results than DC1 without an essay editor. The kid's voice is still there.

Agree on over polish (also, what parents think is a good essay is not what actually is a good essay, but that's another story). But I think sometimes IEC don't go the extra mile on the essays and push kids to do more/do it better/go deeper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Independent College Counselor here.

Just want to throw in a little warning to parents about over-editing your kids' essays.

I am fastidious about grammar and punctuation on essays so I would never call something "finished" if it had grammatical errors or typos. However, not only is it inappropriate for me to re-write essays, it would very much count against the students if I were to do that. Colleges (yes, even Ivies) are wary of too much polish, which could indicate AI or a different writer. Every time I read an essay, of course I think about what I might have said differently, but it is not my essay and not my voice. I might brainstorm with a student. I might give feedback in the form of questions or encouragement to reflect on what an experience meant to a student. I might suggest that the student include a specific example here or there. But I am careful not to insert myself into the essay. If the essays are great in the end, it is because the student really took the time to write and rewrite. I think parents may not realize, though, that sometimes the little style imperfections lend some authenticity.

For what it is worth, I don't think students *need* private college counselors. I think most parents hire one for the executive function support and to preserve their relationship with their student. Just don't mess it up for them!

Your feedback sounds inadequate for a paid counselor. Or do you have extra essay people on staff who do the real feedback?
That's the thing: if you are on this site, you don't need an IEC. But most kids do need someone to review their essays, ECs, and applications for a complete narrative.

I help a few kids each cycle with college applications - word of mouth only/select clients. A story from this cycle:

A family paid an expensive IEC a fixed annual rate. The kid already submitted 5 EA apps by mid-Sept.
I reviewed a PDF of the Common App, and there are typos in the EC list, extra spaces, and the formatting is off in the personal statement. This is before substantive comments (and I had a lot to say). Where was the $20k IEC? Why allow silly typos to dilute your work? It's ridiculous. The parents are irate.
And of course, now they are paying me to fix it before the next EA submissions and ED1.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Independent College Counselor here.

Just want to throw in a little warning to parents about over-editing your kids' essays.

I am fastidious about grammar and punctuation on essays so I would never call something "finished" if it had grammatical errors or typos. However, not only is it inappropriate for me to re-write essays, it would very much count against the students if I were to do that. Colleges (yes, even Ivies) are wary of too much polish, which could indicate AI or a different writer. Every time I read an essay, of course I think about what I might have said differently, but it is not my essay and not my voice. I might brainstorm with a student. I might give feedback in the form of questions or encouragement to reflect on what an experience meant to a student. I might suggest that the student include a specific example here or there. But I am careful not to insert myself into the essay. If the essays are great in the end, it is because the student really took the time to write and rewrite. I think parents may not realize, though, that sometimes the little style imperfections lend some authenticity.

For what it is worth, I don't think students *need* private college counselors. I think most parents hire one for the executive function support and to preserve their relationship with their student. Just don't mess it up for them!

Curious what you think of this essay here?
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/30/1223607.page

Anonymous wrote:Spent ~$15K on a counselor. We almost never talk to the counselor. I think we have talked twice in the past 8 months, and email is only between the counselor and our DS. Our DS talks regularly, and they email and text between calls. DS just updates me after each of his calls, and we chat about general strategy, workload, etc.

He's applying to over 15 schools and has completed everything except the supplemental essays for two or three schools.

It's been invaluable. The counselor helped us set expectations very early on several things, including which schools really were targets vs reaches. DS is at a public HS, so we are getting the kind of advice from the counselor that kids at private schools likely get directly from their school. Public school counselors have a lot more to worry about than getting your kid into a T20, so if you can afford it, outsourcing makes sense.

Anonymous wrote:Independent College Counselor here.

Just want to throw in a little warning to parents about over-editing your kids' essays.

I am fastidious about grammar and punctuation on essays so I would never call something "finished" if it had grammatical errors or typos. However, not only is it inappropriate for me to re-write essays, it would very much count against the students if I were to do that. Colleges (yes, even Ivies) are wary of too much polish, which could indicate AI or a different writer. Every time I read an essay, of course I think about what I might have said differently, but it is not my essay and not my voice. I might brainstorm with a student. I might give feedback in the form of questions or encouragement to reflect on what an experience meant to a student. I might suggest that the student include a specific example here or there. But I am careful not to insert myself into the essay. If the essays are great in the end, it is because the student really took the time to write and rewrite. I think parents may not realize, though, that sometimes the little style imperfections lend some authenticity.

For what it is worth, I don't think students *need* private college counselors. I think most parents hire one for the executive function support and to preserve their relationship with their student. Just don't mess it up for them!

Anonymous wrote:Our counselor gives kid work to do between meetings so there is still some reminding on my part. He is more of an average student so I’m not sure this counselor has really been “worth it”. There aren’t tons of supplements for his schools. I wouldn’t hire one again unless my next 2 kids are shooting for ivy+

Anonymous wrote:Independent College Counselor here.

Just want to throw in a little warning to parents about over-editing your kids' essays.

I am fastidious about grammar and punctuation on essays so I would never call something "finished" if it had grammatical errors or typos. However, not only is it inappropriate for me to re-write essays, it would very much count against the students if I were to do that. Colleges (yes, even Ivies) are wary of too much polish, which could indicate AI or a different writer. Every time I read an essay, of course I think about what I might have said differently, but it is not my essay and not my voice. I might brainstorm with a student. I might give feedback in the form of questions or encouragement to reflect on what an experience meant to a student. I might suggest that the student include a specific example here or there. But I am careful not to insert myself into the essay. If the essays are great in the end, it is because the student really took the time to write and rewrite. I think parents may not realize, though, that sometimes the little style imperfections lend some authenticity.

For what it is worth, I don't think students *need* private college counselors. I think most parents hire one for the executive function support and to preserve their relationship with their student. Just don't mess it up for them!

Anonymous wrote:Independent College Counselor here.

Just want to throw in a little warning to parents about over-editing your kids' essays.

I am fastidious about grammar and punctuation on essays so I would never call something "finished" if it had grammatical errors or typos. However, not only is it inappropriate for me to re-write essays, it would very much count against the students if I were to do that. Colleges (yes, even Ivies) are wary of too much polish, which could indicate AI or a different writer. Every time I read an essay, of course I think about what I might have said differently, but it is not my essay and not my voice. I might brainstorm with a student. I might give feedback in the form of questions or encouragement to reflect on what an experience meant to a student. I might suggest that the student include a specific example here or there. But I am careful not to insert myself into the essay. If the essays are great in the end, it is because the student really took the time to write and rewrite. I think parents may not realize, though, that sometimes the little style imperfections lend some authenticity.

For what it is worth, I don't think students *need* private college counselors. I think most parents hire one for the executive function support and to preserve their relationship with their student. Just don't mess it up for them!