Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion college admission consulting

There are two different things being discussed in this thread. The first is highlighting the very real problem of international students who are often taken advantage of by services with questionable ethics who are operating outside of the bounds of acceptable practice.

The other question was about US students using college consultants. There has been some misinformation about this topic. First, this is not a practice just confined to very wealthy families on the coasts. The average high school counselor is responsible for over 500 students now and that covers everything from complying with graduation requirements to helping kids with family problems. Parents with kids in public schools with these sorts of counselor loads maybe surprised when it comes time for college applications.

According to this article. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/college-finance/college-consultants-match-teen-with-school-1.aspx The average family hiring a consultant makes $75,000 to $100,000 a year. This is a solid income but far from being something that only a few elites have. Most people are paying consultants much less than the fees mentioned earlier on this thread - more in the ballpark of $3,000. Considering a lot of colleges cost $50,000 a year and many students don't graduate some families consider this a reasonable investment in making a decision that makes sense for the child academically, socially and financially.

As far as test prep, the success rate of group services like Kaplan or Princeton Review are not actually that high. To the extent they work they work as a form of discipline because people feel they've made the financial investment so they are more likely to nag their kids. You really can do the same thing with a stop watch and a free test prep book from the library. The biggest part of test prep really comes from doing well in the foundational courses such as algebra 1 and geometry. Also, there is no substitute for being a reader.

If you want to feel resentment about the role of social class in this process I would be more concerned about two things. 1. Paying for college - really poor people and really rich people seem to be on track - anyone in the middle class is in trouble. 2. The quality of education your kids get before they apply for college. It is much tougher to be a competitive applicant if you come from a poor school.

I'm not so sure that there is an "edge" for upper middle class, gifted students in the college admissions process. My neighbor's daughter just graduated from Exeter, at the top of her class with nearly perfect SAT scores. She did not get in to the Ivy that her mom attended. In fact, she did not get into a number of lower tier schools, dispute her amazing resume, grades and track record. I've heard similar stories of disappointment.

I'm not sure what the issue is. More foreign applicants? More applicants overall so that the schools could accept a qualified freshman class 10 times over? No interest in a science and math focused brilliant white middle class girl? Not enough top notch colleges? Unrealistic expectations?

It feels that the process is broken. It irks me that the College board has so much power and influence. It feels like a waste of resources to spend time and money on SAT prep. I hate the idea that a student should apply to 8-10 schools considering the time and $$ that it takes. Spending money on essay consultation is another resource zapper. It seems as if the process does not favor anyone, expect maybe the college application/consulting/testing industry.

There are lots of resources available to prep for the SAT and ACT tests, free or not free. It's foolish, in my opinion, not to devote time to trying to score well on these tests, if your child wants to go to a competitive college. That is why you see so many perfect SATs now.
I used to teach SAT/ACT and MCAT in college and med school for Kaplan. You can really pump your scores up by taking prep courses.
It's not enough to be "bright." "Everyone" is bright.
I don't support paying $100,000 for a college consultant but you can be savvy about it. You can read (for free) about successful applications to colleges for free on the internet. I've interviewed kids for top-level school and have passed that knowledge on (for free) to friends and their kids.
You'd be surprised how many kids cannot write up a decent resume. They expect teachers to write great letters of reference without a resume, etc. It's really sad.
It has gotten alot more competitive to get into good colleges. More kids are applying.
I will say that taking a test prep can help boost your scores. At a minimum, it will make you aware of how the test is constructed- what the time constraints? What are your weakest points for the test? Etc. It's not enough to be a reader.

Ivy league colleges are a crapshoot for anyone applying these days. When the acceptance rate is only 6-10% for most of them, and at least 50% of the applicants meet the profile of the kid from Exeter mentioned above, it is a lottery. There are just so many applicants. I personally wish the Common App had never been created. Although it was more work when my older D applied to colleges three years ago for the few colleges that didn't accept the Common App, she really had to focus on that school and their process. Students would be a lot less likely to apply to a dozen schools if they had to complete each app independently, and I think that would be a good thing.

I guess it depends on your definition of "elite". About 85% of American families have incomes below this level, with most of them earning less than half that amount.

That would be where we fall -- as someone mentioned above, not wealthy enough to easily afford college and high cost consultants but not poor enough to get need based grants.

It all depends on context here. With the average household income around $50,000 in this country, I don't call a family earning $75,000 to be elite. They are very likely still going to be a family who struggles with the cost of college. Families at $60,000 or below are defined as "low income" when it comes to high selective colleges because obviously compared to costs of $50,000 it sure is.

Cricket2 - if you have not already done so I would encourage you to try the online cost calculators and see where you come out in eligibility for need based aid. Often people assume that they will not be eligible for aid when in fact that are. It is the people who are upper middle class - like the figures we discussed earlier - who tend to be in the toughest position (and thus part of why this group hires consultants). Some savvy planning can make a difference here.

Did she get into a good college and will she be able to afford to attend? Hope so.

I don't see kids getting rejected from Ivy League schools as a broken process. People not understanding that there are many places to get a good education - that's a bigger problem.

Most consultants charge around $3,000 not $100,000. I agree though, the information is readily available to anyone with a library card and Internet access and hiring a consultant isn't necessary if you have the time to do it on your own. It is a lot like doing your own taxes - some folks prefer to hire an accountant. Also, we should keep in mind most kids aren't looking at these highly selective colleges but more often at their local options and that's a lot simpler.

Yes, I agree with that. Huge amounts of power, lots of fees.

Good time for a hooray for colleges who have gone SAT/ACT free

http://fairtest.org/university/optional