Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, Ivy League can be amazing if your career will benefit from that brand name. If not then you are better off saving yourself that pressure and cost.

If a graduate degree matters a lot in the chosen profession, I would go the route of an in-state school and then spend money to go to the top graduate school....

Whose career wouldn't benefit from and ivy pedigree?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

-Essays - essay work comprises the bulk of my time. When I start working with most families, they often tell me that their child will hardly need any essay help, is a great writer, etc. Let me tell you, I see more awful essays than anyone could believe! These are kids with good grades, good scores, good high schools, etc, and are on the route to good colleges- but so many of them would have just been in real trouble without me. I am really not sure why so much of their writing is so poor, but it is what it is. So, I would say this is the one particular area where it might be worth spending some money. You don't have to pay my rates, but pay someone something to really read through your child's essays carefully- both for grammar AND content. Your child's school counselors will not have the time or resources to read and nitpick over revisions to every single essay, and a lot of them really need this kind of editing.

Here is my concern about this, and I mean this totally respectfully: is the writing actually awful, or is that just the way some teenagers write? Shouldn't the admissions people see how the applicant actually writes? I get proof reading and minor edits, but at what point does professional help turn an essay into something completely different from what the teen is capable of producing on his/her own?

I have a friend right now whose child is getting help with college essays from a pro. I have read the main common ap essay the child is turning in and it is very, very different from any other writing this child does for school. I wonder what effect this has on the process? Is it appropriate for an essay to reflect a very different writing skill level than the applicant has actually attained?

This is a great point. There was just an interview with the Dean of Admissions at Duke making this very point. They want to hear the voice of the student in the essay, and often too many edits from the grownups obliterate that voice and what comes across isn't authentic. Some editing is fine, of course. No one wants an essay with typos or grammatical errors, but admissons folk at colleges can tell when a fancy consultant has essentially written the essay for the applicant.

Anonymous wrote:Private school advising was discussed extensively in another thread. Get a one time consult with K&E and see if it is helpful. Less expensive than Nina marks. I agree you can do it yourself but do you want to? It's a lot of research.

Anonymous wrote:

-Essays - essay work comprises the bulk of my time. When I start working with most families, they often tell me that their child will hardly need any essay help, is a great writer, etc. Let me tell you, I see more awful essays than anyone could believe! These are kids with good grades, good scores, good high schools, etc, and are on the route to good colleges- but so many of them would have just been in real trouble without me. I am really not sure why so much of their writing is so poor, but it is what it is. So, I would say this is the one particular area where it might be worth spending some money. You don't have to pay my rates, but pay someone something to really read through your child's essays carefully- both for grammar AND content. Your child's school counselors will not have the time or resources to read and nitpick over revisions to every single essay, and a lot of them really need this kind of editing.

Here is my concern about this, and I mean this totally respectfully: is the writing actually awful, or is that just the way some teenagers write? Shouldn't the admissions people see how the applicant actually writes? I get proof reading and minor edits, but at what point does professional help turn an essay into something completely different from what the teen is capable of producing on his/her own?

I have a friend right now whose child is getting help with college essays from a pro. I have read the main common ap essay the child is turning in and it is very, very different from any other writing this child does for school. I wonder what effect this has on the process? Is it appropriate for an essay to reflect a very different writing skill level than the applicant has actually attained?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

-Essays - essay work comprises the bulk of my time. When I start working with most families, they often tell me that their child will hardly need any essay help, is a great writer, etc. Let me tell you, I see more awful essays than anyone could believe! These are kids with good grades, good scores, good high schools, etc, and are on the route to good colleges- but so many of them would have just been in real trouble without me. I am really not sure why so much of their writing is so poor, but it is what it is. So, I would say this is the one particular area where it might be worth spending some money. You don't have to pay my rates, but pay someone something to really read through your child's essays carefully- both for grammar AND content. Your child's school counselors will not have the time or resources to read and nitpick over revisions to every single essay, and a lot of them really need this kind of editing.

Here is my concern about this, and I mean this totally respectfully: is the writing actually awful, or is that just the way some teenagers write? Shouldn't the admissions people see how the applicant actually writes? I get proof reading and minor edits, but at what point does professional help turn an essay into something completely different from what the teen is capable of producing on his/her own?

I have a friend right now whose child is getting help with college essays from a pro. I have read the main common ap essay the child is turning in and it is very, very different from any other writing this child does for school. I wonder what effect this has on the process? Is it appropriate for an essay to reflect a very different writing skill level than the applicant has actually attained?

This poster is being very polite. Let me ask the question more plainly. At what point does this cross the line into unethical? Do you really feel this is right?

Anonymous wrote:

-Essays - essay work comprises the bulk of my time. When I start working with most families, they often tell me that their child will hardly need any essay help, is a great writer, etc. Let me tell you, I see more awful essays than anyone could believe! These are kids with good grades, good scores, good high schools, etc, and are on the route to good colleges- but so many of them would have just been in real trouble without me. I am really not sure why so much of their writing is so poor, but it is what it is. So, I would say this is the one particular area where it might be worth spending some money. You don't have to pay my rates, but pay someone something to really read through your child's essays carefully- both for grammar AND content. Your child's school counselors will not have the time or resources to read and nitpick over revisions to every single essay, and a lot of them really need this kind of editing.

Here is my concern about this, and I mean this totally respectfully: is the writing actually awful, or is that just the way some teenagers write? Shouldn't the admissions people see how the applicant actually writes? I get proof reading and minor edits, but at what point does professional help turn an essay into something completely different from what the teen is capable of producing on his/her own?

I have a friend right now whose child is getting help with college essays from a pro. I have read the main common ap essay the child is turning in and it is very, very different from any other writing this child does for school. I wonder what effect this has on the process? Is it appropriate for an essay to reflect a very different writing skill level than the applicant has actually attained?

-Essays - essay work comprises the bulk of my time. When I start working with most families, they often tell me that their child will hardly need any essay help, is a great writer, etc. Let me tell you, I see more awful essays than anyone could believe! These are kids with good grades, good scores, good high schools, etc, and are on the route to good colleges- but so many of them would have just been in real trouble without me. I am really not sure why so much of their writing is so poor, but it is what it is. So, I would say this is the one particular area where it might be worth spending some money. You don't have to pay my rates, but pay someone something to really read through your child's essays carefully- both for grammar AND content. Your child's school counselors will not have the time or resources to read and nitpick over revisions to every single essay, and a lot of them really need this kind of editing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a college counselor. Here are the main reasons why people hire me:

-Picking a college list - you don't need a professional for this. Buy the "Book of Majors" book if your child has a specific intended major, to get ideas, do some visits. and cross compare with Naviance. The main important thing to remember is that you need a true range of reaches, middles, and safeties. I find that parents are oftentimes not honest with themselves about which schools are reaches, but as long as you are realistic, you will be fine.

-Strategizing - when to pull the ED card, etc.

-Managing the process- some parents really just don't want anything to do with it.. And that is ok! I get it.. If I could pay someone to do frustrating parenting tasks, I probably would too. It can be easier for the parent/child relationship to let someone else be the bad guy, do the nagging, etc.

-Essays - essay work comprises the bulk of my time. When I start working with most families, they often tell me that their child will hardly need any essay help, is a great writer, etc. Let me tell you, I see more awful essays than anyone could believe! These are kids with good grades, good scores, good high schools, etc, and are on the route to good colleges- but so many of them would have just been in real trouble without me. I am really not sure why so much of their writing is so poor, but it is what it is. So, I would say this is the one particular area where it might be worth spending some money. You don't have to pay my rates, but pay someone something to really read through your child's essays carefully- both for grammar AND content. Your child's school counselors will not have the time or resources to read and nitpick over revisions to every single essay, and a lot of them really need this kind of editing.

Good luck to all of you!

Thanks PP. I am OP (exhausted from first round of this). If you don't mind saying, can you state your fees, or give an industry example? I was recently reading a 2 year old article in the Washingtonian about Ms. Marks. Then it said her fees were $700 an hour and $10,000 if you buy her package. Andy Ferguson cites in his book, Crazy U of $40K in New Jersey/NYC as being common. Not that rich!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. This is OP. You confirmed what I thought - not worth the money. No, DC didn't clean latrines in Guatemala. We're pretty normal. And no, not hung up on Ivy, just was trying to present a picture of what DC is without giving too much info. In-state is probably where we will end up. I also want the best fit for DC, which may not be an Ivy. But when facing some SLACs at $65K a year x 4 or 5 years (as in the case of another DC), which is a huge investment, I just wanted to make sure I had done a proper job of preparing for the application process. If someone had a magic person who was reasonably priced I might consider it - going through the process with another DC was hell. But I'm not getting back any real positive recommendations or suggestions so thanks all for the input.

Well, start with the idea of fit first. What type of environment suits your DC? Small, medium, large? Rural, suburban, urban? A more STEM or professional focus or liberal arts? Close to home or is distance not a factor? Visit some local colleges to help DC get a flavor.

Use the Fiske Guide to Colleges or one of the on-line college search engines to start a list based on these (and other) fit factors. College Navigator is a great one. Use the admissions information to help sort your list into reaches, matches, safeties. Pay attention to the mid-range of SAT/ACT scores--this will give an idea of where your DC falls compared with enrolled students.

Now think about money. What can you afford? Is money no object? Or is it a factor? Note which colleges on your list meet financial need only versus offering merit aid. If you need financial aid, make sure you are seeking it from schools that are generous with it. Likewise, if your family could benefit from merit aid, don't bother with schools that offer only financial aid. Run the net price calculators on college's websites. If money is a factor, make sure safeties are not just likely to admit your DC but likely affordable for your family as well.

I really like the book and blog The College Solution.

What was hellish about your experience with DC1?

Thanks for the response. DC1 was SN in Fairfax public schools. Choices were self-limiting and the college counselor was overwhelmed with 550 seniors, 550 juniors, etc. We did all the work ourselves and ultimately made the right choice and found the right fit but it wasn't an easy go of it.

Ah. Yes, that sounds difficult. I do think outside advice can be really helpful when looking for colleges for kids with SNs. I bet you will find this go-round easier.

Anonymous wrote:Friends and acquaintances kept telling DH that we should work with a professional college counselor or advisor, but I put my foot down. Our DC was admitted early to one of the top H/S/Y.