Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a private CC. It was only an ok experience. I feel he pushed my DD to apply ED to a school she had a good chance of getting into RD, that wasn't her top choice but was lower down in her top 5-6.

I think he just wanted to close out as many "wins" as possible rather than work for the best possible outcome for her as a person.

Private CCs don't just work for your DC. They aren't exclusively on call for your family. A good CC is often juggling 20+ different families during any one season to make ends meet.

The VIP families that are paying 3X or 5X their already very high fee is probably getting most of their attention.

DD had similar experience with private CC recommending ED to low reach school although i think this was the recommendation of the company rather than the actual CC, and the list was adjusted after DD spoke to her private CC about applying to more reaches. she ended up getting accepted RD to every school in target, low reach, and high reach (GU, emory, wash u, tufts, cmu, umich) category. for out of reach category, she was accepted (cornell), wl (harvard, rice, hopkins), and rejected (duke, yale, penn, brown, northwestern).

overall, CC was very responsive and helpful with keeping DD on track with deadlines. very helpful in brainstorming common app essay and editing multiple versions. the initial 30+ personal questions were also helpful in structuring supplemental essays. she helped with refining the final list and figuring out ea/ed strategy as well as lots of random questions along the way.

public school CC very nice but hard to personalize with so many students. that being said, the head CC was amazing and offered lots of insight that was particular to their high school based on years of experience. i think combo of private/public CC and my own personal research worked well for DD1. won't pay the 15k fee for DD2 (she is also at private school) but may look into essay editor when time comes. or not.

Anonymous wrote:My DD had a private CC. It was only an ok experience. I feel he pushed my DD to apply ED to a school she had a good chance of getting into RD, that wasn't her top choice but was lower down in her top 5-6.

I think he just wanted to close out as many "wins" as possible rather than work for the best possible outcome for her as a person.

Private CCs don't just work for your DC. They aren't exclusively on call for your family. A good CC is often juggling 20+ different families during any one season to make ends meet.

The VIP families that are paying 3X or 5X their already very high fee is probably getting most of their attention.

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is a bit frightening. As an UMC striver parent myself with two teen kids, who are not going to ivys but the oldest class of 2024 got into great schools, I’m appalled and frustrated at the amount of money people are paying for the college applications process to elite schools.

Just like there should be no billionaires, having to spends 5-10k+ on an APPLICATION process is ludicrous.

Also I agree it’s the new SAHM UMC MLM scheme. The person I personally know who does this graduated from the same T20 school as me but has a kid at a top 200 and has never worked in admissions or education ever. It’s just preying on parents’ anxieties.

Anonymous wrote:Non-DMV parent her with 1 in college and another soon:

The private school moms I know who do this had corporate, finance and law careers. Their own kids got into amazing schools though with their help (Stanford, Yale, Dartmouth, Penn, Northwestern, Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt)….

Some do ad hoc counseling on hourly rates (250-750/hr) and one charges 1k/hr (!!!) but will give you pages of detail and research. That one has the best record and takes very few clients.

No one is taking on new full service clients for fall bc they have too much business.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d only pay someone if they will tell my kid exactly how to tailor applications differently for each reach school. They should tell them (1) what each reach school is looking for (values, characteristics) and (2) give them example or ideas on how to implement into the app (whether in ECs, Supp essays, Addtl Info and Future plans).

A good counselor should help them develop their admissions hook or application narrative first and everything else flows from that.

Nope. Many good counselors won’t do that. They focus on finding “fit.”

You will be sorely disappointed if that’s what you think you’re getting. If that’s truly your objective, directly ask if they do that and ask how much time they spending working on developing the hook/narrative. Make sure it’s in the contract.

Why not?
It’s not that hard to take a look at the resume, achievements and accomplishments of the kid at the end of junior year, find the common thread, make major suggestions and make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen if needed?

But PP said "develop their admissions hook or application narrative". Is that the same as "make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen"?

Yes I said that too. It’s the same.

I’m not talking about manufacturing anything. But the reality is that most kids (and most of their parents) don’t know how to “market” themselves well in this app process. They don’t know how to make themselves stand out. And they don’t know why having some sort of admissions “tagline” or condensed narrative is helpful to your kid’s candidacy.

Instead they throw everything under the sun into the application! No strategy.

So, rising senior is meeting with counselor next week. What should we ask the counselor to provide?

If we ask for a guide (tagline concept) tailored to 3-4 schools, what should we do if she says they don’t do that? Fire her and get another one?

Ask for her to evaluate your kid’s application strengths and which reach /T20 schools her strengths align well with (and why)? If you already know the 3-4 schools, ask what specific qualities and characteristics each school is looking for and how the application is “scored” in committee.

For example, I learned (on here!) that certain schools weigh ECs more than others. Since my kid was super strong there (and in EC awards), we changed list to focus a bit more on those schools. Similarly if your kid has something that stands out about that, make sure your counselor is telling you which schools are going to value that profile the most in the admissions committee process.

Next, ask about her recent success rate with those schools? Are there particular majors or programs at those schools your kid should research or us best aligned to maximize success?

Ask if she sees a good application narrative or strategy emerging for your kid and what is it? How would she convey the different elements of that narrative inside the various parts of the common app? Does she have example/sample successful and completed apps for you to review to see how the full narrative is revealed?

For certain reach schools ask for strategy surrounding:
- summer/fall visits (and any interviews that may be available)
- Glimpse video scripts (ask to see counselor’s past videos for successful candidates)
- other interview guides /cheat sheets

For new parents here, I highly recommend you listen to this spring’s Lee Coffin‘s AO podcast from Dartmouth. He explicitly explains how your kids “story” or application narrative is critical in the admissions process.

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is a bit frightening. As an UMC striver parent myself with two teen kids, who are not going to ivys but the oldest class of 2024 got into great schools, I’m appalled and frustrated at the amount of money people are paying for the college applications process to elite schools.

Just like there should be no billionaires, having to spends 5-10k+ on an APPLICATION process is ludicrous.

Also I agree it’s the new SAHM UMC MLM scheme. The person I personally know who does this graduated from the same T20 school as me but has a kid at a top 200 and has never worked in admissions or education ever. It’s just preying on parents’ anxieties.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d only pay someone if they will tell my kid exactly how to tailor applications differently for each reach school. They should tell them (1) what each reach school is looking for (values, characteristics) and (2) give them example or ideas on how to implement into the app (whether in ECs, Supp essays, Addtl Info and Future plans).

A good counselor should help them develop their admissions hook or application narrative first and everything else flows from that.

Nope. Many good counselors won’t do that. They focus on finding “fit.”

You will be sorely disappointed if that’s what you think you’re getting. If that’s truly your objective, directly ask if they do that and ask how much time they spending working on developing the hook/narrative. Make sure it’s in the contract.

Why not?
It’s not that hard to take a look at the resume, achievements and accomplishments of the kid at the end of junior year, find the common thread, make major suggestions and make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen if needed?

But PP said "develop their admissions hook or application narrative". Is that the same as "make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen"?

Yes I said that too. It’s the same.

I’m not talking about manufacturing anything. But the reality is that most kids (and most of their parents) don’t know how to “market” themselves well in this app process. They don’t know how to make themselves stand out. And they don’t know why having some sort of admissions “tagline” or condensed narrative is helpful to your kid’s candidacy.

Instead they throw everything under the sun into the application! No strategy.

So, rising senior is meeting with counselor next week. What should we ask the counselor to provide?

If we ask for a guide (tagline concept) tailored to 3-4 schools, what should we do if she says they don’t do that? Fire her and get another one?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d only pay someone if they will tell my kid exactly how to tailor applications differently for each reach school. They should tell them (1) what each reach school is looking for (values, characteristics) and (2) give them example or ideas on how to implement into the app (whether in ECs, Supp essays, Addtl Info and Future plans).

A good counselor should help them develop their admissions hook or application narrative first and everything else flows from that.

Nope. Many good counselors won’t do that. They focus on finding “fit.”

You will be sorely disappointed if that’s what you think you’re getting. If that’s truly your objective, directly ask if they do that and ask how much time they spending working on developing the hook/narrative. Make sure it’s in the contract.

Why not?
It’s not that hard to take a look at the resume, achievements and accomplishments of the kid at the end of junior year, find the common thread, make major suggestions and make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen if needed?

But PP said "develop their admissions hook or application narrative". Is that the same as "make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen"?

Yes I said that too. It’s the same.

I’m not talking about manufacturing anything. But the reality is that most kids (and most of their parents) don’t know how to “market” themselves well in this app process. They don’t know how to make themselves stand out. And they don’t know why having some sort of admissions “tagline” or condensed narrative is helpful to your kid’s candidacy.

Instead they throw everything under the sun into the application! No strategy.

So, rising senior is meeting with counselor next week. What should we ask the counselor to provide?

If we ask for a guide (tagline concept) tailored to 3-4 schools, what should we do if she says they don’t do that? Fire her and get another one?

Anonymous wrote:I’ve seen one of these guides; a relative paid for last minute (late December) RD application support for one T10 reach from a national consulting firm based in NYC. I have screenshots of the customized guide - incredibly detailed but only for that school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d only pay someone if they will tell my kid exactly how to tailor applications differently for each reach school. They should tell them (1) what each reach school is looking for (values, characteristics) and (2) give them example or ideas on how to implement into the app (whether in ECs, Supp essays, Addtl Info and Future plans).

A good counselor should help them develop their admissions hook or application narrative first and everything else flows from that.

Nope. Many good counselors won’t do that. They focus on finding “fit.”

You will be sorely disappointed if that’s what you think you’re getting. If that’s truly your objective, directly ask if they do that and ask how much time they spending working on developing the hook/narrative. Make sure it’s in the contract.

Why not?
It’s not that hard to take a look at the resume, achievements and accomplishments of the kid at the end of junior year, find the common thread, make major suggestions and make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen if needed?

But PP said "develop their admissions hook or application narrative". Is that the same as "make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen"?

Yes I said that too. It’s the same.

I’m not talking about manufacturing anything. But the reality is that most kids (and most of their parents) don’t know how to “market” themselves well in this app process. They don’t know how to make themselves stand out. And they don’t know why having some sort of admissions “tagline” or condensed narrative is helpful to your kid’s candidacy.

Instead they throw everything under the sun into the application! No strategy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d only pay someone if they will tell my kid exactly how to tailor applications differently for each reach school. They should tell them (1) what each reach school is looking for (values, characteristics) and (2) give them example or ideas on how to implement into the app (whether in ECs, Supp essays, Addtl Info and Future plans).

A good counselor should help them develop their admissions hook or application narrative first and everything else flows from that.

Nope. Many good counselors won’t do that. They focus on finding “fit.”

You will be sorely disappointed if that’s what you think you’re getting. If that’s truly your objective, directly ask if they do that and ask how much time they spending working on developing the hook/narrative. Make sure it’s in the contract.

Why not?
It’s not that hard to take a look at the resume, achievements and accomplishments of the kid at the end of junior year, find the common thread, make major suggestions and make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen if needed?

But PP said "develop their admissions hook or application narrative". Is that the same as "make a few tailored suggestions to strengthen"?