Disclaimer: At certain points, we will promote our own services here. However, we encourage parents and students to locate and obtain some advice and guidance from an established and reputable professional counselor, even if they opt to bypass our College Search Game Plan. (We are members of HECA, which seeks to establish and promote high quality standards in college guidance and counseling).
Of the two million plus families that send their children off to college each
year, only a small number use the services of a professional guidance counselor. A fair percentage of those that do, pay rather outrageous fees to help their students into Ivy League or other top “brand name” schools.
However, most families go through the college search and admissions process alone, and, more than often, discover that the system is not user friendly. Parents avoid private consultants for a variety of reasons: perceived cost; the concept that the necessary information is “free”; that high school counselors provide the same service; and, lack of awareness that private counseling is available.
There is, however, no doubt that the help of a professional counselor enables parents
and students generate a better selection and appropriate match of college options for
a particular student as well as smoothing the interaction among the stakeholders (emotions get high).
Also, if the counselor provides a full range of services, he or she can provide invaluable help with financial planning and student financial aid. Here are a few testimonials to illustrate the point.
There are certainly more than five reasons to work with a private consultant, but these carry the most weight:
- Experience: Parents go through this complex process only a few times (some go through it only once). Counselors deal with the system and changing conditions in financial aid and admissions standards on a daily basis. The savings in time and effort, as well as avoiding costly mistakes and frustration are invaluable.
- Knowledge: Well qualified counselors have extensive knowledge through research and actual visits to campuses. This enables the counselor to evaluate the goals and needs of the student and generate a greater selection of schools, providing a better match. We take this to a higher level by applying our tool, the Academic Merit Profile.
- Time: High school counselors typically have to accommodate hundreds of students, and are often besieged by “problematic” student issues. The college bound student is really not deemed to be a problem, as such, and so, the bulk of the counselor’s attention is devoted to the “squeaky wheels”. Private counselors can concentrate on the individual student and work on a schedule that is not
reliant upon school hours. - Family harmony: We mentioned this before, but the value of a neutral third party guiding the student and parents down this rocky road cannot be underestimated. Mom and Dad may have a very different perspective from Junior. A whole range of emotions and elements, such as ambition, peer pressure, parental expectations, hidden agendas, family finances, and even girlfriends and boyfriends come into play. The experienced counselor helps keep the temperature down in this volatile mix.
- And last but not least … Money: Even a qualified counselor can offer only limited help on the financial aid front if they come into the process late (senior year). In fact, some counselors prefer not to engage in financial aid services. Those who do offer such services can provide major assistance in obtaining financial aid, assisting with paperwork, and identifying colleges that are more generous with merit money (gift aid), or that have better four year graduation rates (a major saving right there).
Our College Search Game Plan provides a complete college funding planning tool that allows parents to map out exactly how they can maximize the resources available, and not plunge themselves or the student into serious debt, and avoid the pillaging of retirement and savings accounts.
We wish all students and parents the best of luck in their quest, and remind you that a good guide can get you to the top. Sir Edmund Hillary had the support and guidance of Sherpa Tenzing to be the first to conquer Mount Everest. A reputable and experienced private college counselor can help you reach your academic peak.
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