Anonymous wrote:Highly Highly Recommend Clare Anderson. Using her now for High School Placement with my twins and she is very insightful in terms of recommendations and analysis. Worth every penny.

So resurrected this "ASAP" thread from 2014?

Its just hand-holding on a major scale.

You can research and visit the schools yourself, but if you pay a consultant, they can whittle it down to a short list for you, based on what you outline as most important.

They can also help you write your application geared towards the specific school. Most people can do this themselves, but some might be a bit lazy, see research, above.

And so on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you need an advisor, it's likely your kid doesn't belong.

What a gross attitude. So no families should be allowed to attend private schools except for the ones that already have access to insider information about how to go about getting in? Please tell me where you go so I can avoid it. In fact one reason I would hire a consultant would be to stay away from schools dominated by snobs like you.

You should not need insider information to get in. What information would that be?
We sure didn't have any and got in.

Anonymous wrote:If you need an advisor, it's likely your kid doesn't belong.

What a gross attitude. So no families should be allowed to attend private schools except for the ones that already have access to insider information about how to go about getting in? Please tell me where you go so I can avoid it. In fact one reason I would hire a consultant would be to stay away from schools dominated by snobs like you.

Highly Highly Recommend Clare Anderson. Using her now for High School Placement with my twins and she is very insightful in terms of recommendations and analysis. Worth every penny.

In my opinion- wouldn't be the same.

I'm glad I'm reading this feedback. We really hadn't planned to pay for the services of a consultant, but considering I've only been through this process once, as an 8th grade student, its certainly not my area of expertise. I'm glad the executive director of my sons' charter is knowledgeable. She was able to give me some great feedback on different private schools, as they directly relate to my child. Perhaps those interested in hiring a consultant can seek out individuals with this type of background who would just be willing to provide information.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used one. Complete waste of money.

Just curious. We've never used one. What did the consultant do for you? Friends who have used them were not impressed. The consultants gave recommendations that illustrated that they had not "listened" the the parents at all.

It might have been that the consultant listened to your friends very well, but she/he didn't tell them what they wanted to hear. If a consultant doesn't think your child is a fit at a particular school he/she will tell you. Sometimes there is a bid difference between what a parent wants and what a child needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used Jean Baldwin too. She was great--she recommended schools based our family. Some of those were the usual suspects. Some weren't. And she helped us weed through which schools would have been a bad fit for our family too, so we didn't waste time.

But given how much information you can find online with basic research, how are these people still relevant? Unless you're completely new to the area or have a child with special needs, I'm not sure I understand how they're all that helpful. As a parent, you still need to jump through all of the hoops- interviews, tours, basic application information. I would worry that a consultant's opinion would mess up my head, making our family appear less real and authentic.

NP here. I agree the "top private school" part was off-putting and made it seem like the parent was going to be a Big 3 or bust type.

These advisors are still relevant because it's hard for parents to be objective about their own kids. A good advisor can look at the application as a whole and tell you what schools are a good fit, what are reaches, what would not be challenging enough etc. It's a good way to prevent being rejected everywhere or to make sure you choose the best fit when there are multiple acceptances.

We used one and can honestly say that her advice completely helped our eldest son and whole family in unimaginable ways. We were in public and got the guidance needed to choose the right. Fit. Got help connecting the testing and his needs with some potentially good places. We would have never identified his school in a million years. We are so thrilled and grateful.

We used one and can honestly say that her advice completely helped our eldest son and whole family in unimaginable ways. We were in public and got the guidance needed to choose the right. Fit. Got help connecting the testing and his needs with some potentially good places. We would have never identified his school in a million years. We are so thrilled and grateful.

Anonymous wrote:We used one. Complete waste of money.

Just curious. We've never used one. What did the consultant do for you? Friends who have used them were not impressed. The consultants gave recommendations that illustrated that they had not "listened" the the parents at all.

We like Pam Tedeschi. For us it was a benefit to have someone who knows the Independent Schools.

Wow - this is a really helpful comment!

Anonymous wrote:We used Jean Baldwin too. She was great--she recommended schools based our family. Some of those were the usual suspects. Some weren't. And she helped us weed through which schools would have been a bad fit for our family too, so we didn't waste time.

Disagree. Will not go into other detail.