Anonymous
02/06/2025 16:03
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
NYC mom here. It's common at the high-end private schools (Trinity, Horace Mann, Collegiate, Brearley). Counselors are hired before 9th grade to create a narrative and passion project.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 15:59
Subject: Re:So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:OP said they could comfortably afford a private counselor, so why not? I think of DC’s not as a necessity but a luxury item in that she made the college application process easier and more pleasant for both DC and us parents. I’ll never know for certain, but also strongly suspect her experience and expertise played a not-insignificant role in DC’s lottery ticket result.
"I’ll never know for certain, but also strongly suspect her experience and expertise played a not-insignificant role in DC’s lottery ticket result."
+1. That experience/expertise is what you're paying for. High school counselors work with a few really talented students each year. Private counselors are working with really high-achieving students across the board, many of whom are targeting elite institutions.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 15:26
Subject: Re:So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
OP said they could comfortably afford a private counselor, so why not? I think of DC’s not as a necessity but a luxury item in that she made the college application process easier and more pleasant for both DC and us parents. I’ll never know for certain, but also strongly suspect her experience and expertise played a not-insignificant role in DC’s lottery ticket result.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 15:11
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
I am a private counselor and have worked with many families from top private schools.
They realize that the process is much more competitive than 30 years ago; want the best and most accurate advice; and realize that their school might prioritize families who have athletes, legacy connections, and who are VIP in comparison.
They realize that the process is much more competitive than 30 years ago; want the best and most accurate advice; and realize that their school might prioritize families who have athletes, legacy connections, and who are VIP in comparison.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 15:10
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Our private counselor is the head of a company that works with students across the country. Point being is that he work with families at public and private high schools in various states and knows A LOT more than our counseling staff within our private school. He even mailed us copies of the books he and his partners authored on college admissions.
I'm already paying a lot of money for private school for the actual education, and so it was a no brainer to pay a little more for objective outside help.
Let me guess. His initials are RM
No. Initials are AB. I'm not sure why this matters but I'm assuming RM must be popular.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 15:10
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Like other private school parents on this thread, we didn't hire a private college counselor either.
At our private school (non-DMV), few of my friends are using private counsellors unless they fall into these exceptions:
1) recruited athlete candidate
2) neurodiverse or other learning issue profile
3) non-competitive student in terms of grades
The vast majority of strong students aren't using them in our private school community.
Our recruiting coordinator has been great and well worth the cost. Had our kid not been pursuing a sport, school CC office would have been sufficient.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 15:06
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:OP Top private outside DMV, gets kids accepted to top 20 schools every year. 3.85 (school grade deflate), 1550. Hoping for Penn, Rice, Washington U, Pomona. Great writer. Average ECs.
We didn’t - but cld afford to - and my unhooked kid was admitted to 2 of those schools (the two applied to). If you’re on these boards and you’ve learned about the process, you really don‘t need one.
It is glaringly obvious that the kids who really need college counselors are the ones whose families have no idea that college counselors exist - that is, parents who didn't go to college. I'm no expert on the college admissions process, but my kid has two parents who went to selective colleges and grad schools, and four college-educated grandparents who have a total of 6 graduate degrees and two Ivy undergrad degrees. Maybe we're depriving him by not hiring a college counselor, but I think he'll be OK.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 14:58
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Only the anxious, uber rich who have money to burn and those with average students at our top NYC private get a full college counselor.
Most of us have professional and college degrees from competitive top 10 schools. We don't need help picking classes, building a list or deciding what clubs to join, or giving our kid a pep talk. We know all that stuff already. All we need is insight into our own high school's admission data for each round (which we get from our school counselor) and some of us hire a by the hour person to help edit the essays ($500 - $1000-ish total).
My daughter is already at Barnard and our son is still in HS.
You just described 50% of your school's population.
I am not sure they are anxious, but what do they care about spending $25k on a counselor.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 14:55
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At a non-DMV private. Like so many others here.
3.8 uw kid without private counselor:
Admitted to all early action/rolling schools - some with merit, including Michigan (other than USC).
Waiting on private RD T25 in March and a few SLACs.
Humanities major (undersubscribed major).
National awards.
Did have essay coaching /editing, but no private counseling.
You are splitting hairs. That's a private counselor.
Everyone has essay help. It’s really not that expensive.
Ours never looked at the full application. Literally focused on common app essay in a workshop and then 3 school supplementals.
The private counselors we know cost 10 or 20 x.
Got it..you are still splitting hairs. Private counselors providing a full range of services can range from $3,500 to well over $100,000. They don't have to be expensive.
I have known folks who spent more on just essay help than others did on a full suite of counseling services.
Plenty of people spend $0 on any 3rd parties.
names for those services?
For what? Plenty of top counseling services will charge you $300+ per hour if you want to hire them a la carte. PrepMaven charges $350/hour if you want their best folks with a minimum charge.
Alternatively, there are independent counselors all over the country who are more flexible with their pricing. It's just hard to know which of the independents really knows what they are doing...or not.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 14:44
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Only the anxious, uber rich who have money to burn and those with average students at our top NYC private get a full college counselor.
Most of us have professional and college degrees from competitive top 10 schools. We don't need help picking classes, building a list or deciding what clubs to join, or giving our kid a pep talk. We know all that stuff already. All we need is insight into our own high school's admission data for each round (which we get from our school counselor) and some of us hire a by the hour person to help edit the essays ($500 - $1000-ish total).
My daughter is already at Barnard and our son is still in HS.
100%
Anonymous
02/06/2025 14:43
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Only the anxious, uber rich who have money to burn and those with average students at our top NYC private get a full college counselor.
Most of us have professional and college degrees from competitive top 10 schools. We don't need help picking classes, building a list or deciding what clubs to join, or giving our kid a pep talk. We know all that stuff already. All we need is insight into our own high school's admission data for each round (which we get from our school counselor) and some of us hire a by the hour person to help edit the essays ($500 - $1000-ish total).
My daughter is already at Barnard and our son is still in HS.
Most of us have professional and college degrees from competitive top 10 schools. We don't need help picking classes, building a list or deciding what clubs to join, or giving our kid a pep talk. We know all that stuff already. All we need is insight into our own high school's admission data for each round (which we get from our school counselor) and some of us hire a by the hour person to help edit the essays ($500 - $1000-ish total).
My daughter is already at Barnard and our son is still in HS.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 14:42
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At a non-DMV private. Like so many others here.
3.8 uw kid without private counselor:
Admitted to all early action/rolling schools - some with merit, including Michigan (other than USC).
Waiting on private RD T25 in March and a few SLACs.
Humanities major (undersubscribed major).
National awards.
Did have essay coaching /editing, but no private counseling.
You are splitting hairs. That's a private counselor.
Everyone has essay help. It’s really not that expensive.
Ours never looked at the full application. Literally focused on common app essay in a workshop and then 3 school supplementals.
The private counselors we know cost 10 or 20 x.
Got it..you are still splitting hairs. Private counselors providing a full range of services can range from $3,500 to well over $100,000. They don't have to be expensive.
I have known folks who spent more on just essay help than others did on a full suite of counseling services.
Plenty of people spend $0 on any 3rd parties.
names for those services?
Anonymous
02/06/2025 14:41
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At a non-DMV private. Like so many others here.
3.8 uw kid without private counselor:
Admitted to all early action/rolling schools - some with merit, including Michigan (other than USC).
Waiting on private RD T25 in March and a few SLACs.
Humanities major (undersubscribed major).
National awards.
Did have essay coaching /editing, but no private counseling.
You are splitting hairs. That's a private counselor.
Everyone has essay help. It’s really not that expensive.
Ours never looked at the full application. Literally focused on common app essay in a workshop and then 3 school supplementals.
The private counselors we know cost 10 or 20 x.
Got it..you are still splitting hairs. Private counselors providing a full range of services can range from $3,500 to well over $100,000. They don't have to be expensive.
I have known folks who spent more on just essay help than others did on a full suite of counseling services.
Plenty of people spend $0 on any 3rd parties.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 14:08
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:At a non-DMV private. Like so many others here.
3.8 uw kid without private counselor:
Admitted to all early action/rolling schools - some with merit, including Michigan (other than USC).
Waiting on private RD T25 in March and a few SLACs.
Humanities major (undersubscribed major).
National awards.
Did have essay coaching /editing, but no private counseling.
You are splitting hairs. That's a private counselor.
Everyone has essay help. It’s really not that expensive.
Ours never looked at the full application. Literally focused on common app essay in a workshop and then 3 school supplementals.
The private counselors we know cost 10 or 20 x.
Anonymous
02/06/2025 13:58
Subject: So many kids at top private schools have private college counsellors?
Anonymous wrote:At a non-DMV private. Like so many others here.
3.8 uw kid without private counselor:
Admitted to all early action/rolling schools - some with merit, including Michigan (other than USC).
Waiting on private RD T25 in March and a few SLACs.
Humanities major (undersubscribed major).
National awards.
Did have essay coaching /editing, but no private counseling.
You are splitting hairs. That's a private counselor.