She charged us $350 er hour
She can’t get your child into a school but she knows the landscape and the culture of the schools
You don’t need her or anyone for the actual application even for HS
Her value is helping you understand the schools and the different cultures
You and your children should write the application on your own

If Clare is good for older kids who would you recommend for K?

**sorry I meant please ground your response with CORRECT facts!

We used Clare for all of our kids. It was nothing close to $11,000 - she has different options check her website for rates.

I too get annoyed with the trolls on this forum. Clare is a working parent and this is her livelihood. If you didn't like her or found it too expensive, at least ground your response with incorrect facts. I am willing to talk about offline and give specifics experiences - If the OP gives an anonymous email I will send my cellphone number to talk.

With our kids the oldest- smart but very quirky -we used Clare he got into a Big 3 school in middle and it was a great fit.

The next year his younger brother went to a different private for Middle school. He was sporty and less academic, and we thought a different school would be better academically. It was a nightmare. He had a really bad class- he was bullied, parents in the class were horrible, school administration not responsive.

Clare moved heaven and earth to help us find options to move mid-year. She was concerned, responsive, and DID NOT CHARGE US for her help. He was accepted at a great option mid-year thanks to Clare. Then he decided to try to stick it out (pride, fear of change again wanting to prove something to himself). He ended up staying one more year. Things were better, but not great. We finally decided it just was not a good fit for him or our family. He applied to his brother's Big 3 and got in. Clare stayed by us through the whole TWO YEAR odyssey. I reiterate-She did not charge us for all the extra help. She checked in multiple times over the two years and was a thoughtful and empathetic sounding board.

I am getting personal enough here to be identifiable because I feel strongly about how much she helped us, in terms of our experience, we saw both the clout Clare has with the schools when it counts and that she truly cares about the families she works with.

Also to one of the PP's : Clare isn't just a waspy boarding school consultant - she understands and gets kids in all their differences- artsy, alternative, LD, ADHD- she understands and most importantly knows the DC schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am interested in an educational consultant because we have a rising middle schooler coming out of public, he is a little quirky and I don’t know the first thing about these schools, or which ones would be a good fit for our kid. So I think I’m in the “truly clueless” camp. Is Clare useful for middle or high school or just for younger entry years? Is there anyone else that others on the board would recommend?

Use Rachel Goldsten if your kid is quirky...she is formerly of the River School and really knows where kids who learn differently might fit in...

goldstenrachel@gmail.com

Thanks Rachel!

Sorry, but it's not Rachel's turn. This thread is about Clare. Please don't hijack it by bringing up Rachel. It's Clare's day.

?

Sorry. That was suppose to be a smiley face.

LOL... seriously. if RG is anything like she was at the river school in interacting with parents and kids I do NOT recommend. several instances of her being rude and dismissive.

I asked about her services for last year and received a fee sheet. the rates quoted were $4500 for the day school package and about $2500 for a one time day school consult where she talks to you about different options and looks at your application materials. she had an hourly rate of about $300 or so too.

We didn't use her, but those who say it's ridiculous to use her for the "short" applications are disingenuous, or didn't apply to the same schools we did. For the big 3 etc you have to write a bunch of essays, like what one word describes your child, get interviewed yourself, and have your kid do a virtual interview. and get a recommendation. My husband, who went to an ivy, found the process equally if not more challenging than his college application process. I think that if anything this year was worse than others because without the virtual play date or standardized testing, everything is riding on those essays and two 30 minute interviews.

Anonymous wrote:^^ The stuff you're saying here is just blindingly obvious to me, aside from the anecdote about the AD with college hobbies.

I'm sure its worth spending the money if you are genuinely clueless though.

Not to be harsh but I had the same reaction to that post. This seems like common sense/normal life functioning type stuff. Anyone who's gone through a job search/interview process would have these skills.

Anonymous wrote:Pam Tedeschi?

Would not recommend

Regarding Clare's fees, please go ahead and call her or check her website. To the person who keeps complaining that there's been no info stated re: her fees here, please read the prior posts or -- God forbid, just call her listed phone number on her website! There have been several posts that list her fees or correctly comment on them. The 11k number is a troll's number pulled out of thin air. We used Clare @3 years ago and loved her. At the time, she had different levels of consulting depending on the services she would provide We did the most basic level, which entailed a meeting with her (parents only) of @2 or 2.5 hours (don't recall exactly). We paid something like $750-$800. I recall there were additional services she would provide that could increase her fee up to something in the $2500-4,000 range. We loved-loved-loved her. Got way more than our money's worth. We came away from meeting with her feeling far more in control and knowledgeable of the admissions process. As a PP said, it's a luxury but for busy 2-working-parent families with multiple kids, particularly if you only recently moved to DC area, meeting with Clare gave us great peace of mind and immensely added to our knowledge of the ins and outs of the admissions process (plus, we came away with a detailed game plan, as described in my prior post).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am interested in an educational consultant because we have a rising middle schooler coming out of public, he is a little quirky and I don’t know the first thing about these schools, or which ones would be a good fit for our kid. So I think I’m in the “truly clueless” camp. Is Clare useful for middle or high school or just for younger entry years? Is there anyone else that others on the board would recommend?

Use Rachel Goldsten if your kid is quirky...she is formerly of the River School and really knows where kids who learn differently might fit in...

goldstenrachel@gmail.com

Thanks Rachel!

Sorry, but it's not Rachel's turn. This thread is about Clare. Please don't hijack it by bringing up Rachel. It's Clare's day.

?

Sorry. That was suppose to be a smiley face.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am interested in an educational consultant because we have a rising middle schooler coming out of public, he is a little quirky and I don’t know the first thing about these schools, or which ones would be a good fit for our kid. So I think I’m in the “truly clueless” camp. Is Clare useful for middle or high school or just for younger entry years? Is there anyone else that others on the board would recommend?

Use Rachel Goldsten if your kid is quirky...she is formerly of the River School and really knows where kids who learn differently might fit in...

goldstenrachel@gmail.com

Thanks Rachel!

Sorry, but it's not Rachel's turn. This thread is about Clare. Please don't hijack it by bringing up Rachel. It's Clare's day.

?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$11k for her services. Not worth it

This is not true. That number is from a troll and is not even close to what she charges. Its was much less for us and both our kids got into their school of choice, "Big 5" for both, and one was definitely a long-shot for our second child. I am not saying Clare "got them in" but she guided us and the kids through the process and provided invaluable strategy and advice. She was honest and caring and followed up. I never went in expecting her to get the kids into a school that they were not qualified for- that is not what advising is about. We thought our second child had no chance at a big 5 school, but she looked at the profile and scores and disagreed- she believed in the child and told us to go for it, advised us on small details through the process and it worked out. She wants your child to end up in a school that is a good fit for the child and your family.

This kind of trolling annoys me because this is someone's livelihood you are talking about on an anonymous forum. If someone really wants a real reference with actual details, I would be willing to provide one offline- though I am not sure how to do that...

You called this person a troll but still didn't share the cost you paid. At least they were willing to share a price...

What about earlier grades such as K?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am interested in an educational consultant because we have a rising middle schooler coming out of public, he is a little quirky and I don’t know the first thing about these schools, or which ones would be a good fit for our kid. So I think I’m in the “truly clueless” camp. Is Clare useful for middle or high school or just for younger entry years? Is there anyone else that others on the board would recommend?

Use Rachel Goldsten if your kid is quirky...she is formerly of the River School and really knows where kids who learn differently might fit in...

goldstenrachel@gmail.com

Thanks Rachel!

Sorry, but it's not Rachel's turn. This thread is about Clare. Please don't hijack it by bringing up Rachel. It's Clare's day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I am interested in an educational consultant because we have a rising middle schooler coming out of public, he is a little quirky and I don’t know the first thing about these schools, or which ones would be a good fit for our kid. So I think I’m in the “truly clueless” camp. Is Clare useful for middle or high school or just for younger entry years? Is there anyone else that others on the board would recommend?

Use Rachel Goldsten if your kid is quirky...she is formerly of the River School and really knows where kids who learn differently might fit in...

goldstenrachel@gmail.com

Thanks Rachel!