I want to go to a top of the line university, I am wondering if hiring a person for help with applications would be worth it. I am very informed in the application process and I’m not convinced that these college planners help for well known public universities. If you have any first hand experience please leave advice, thanks!
I go with a firm maybe. I love lists so here is one that I used to evaluate whether I needed one:
-
Cost - How much does it cost? There is a wide range from $1,500 to $15,000 (or more). Can you afford that and if you can, I move to step 2
-
Value - What is this Advisor going to do for their fee? I think that this is a three-legged stool. First, they are going to inform you about things that you did not know that you did not know about, they are going to correct things that you think that you know about but are wrong and they are going to guide you through the college application process. Second, they are going to help in doing the same for you child. For me this was very important as I have found that my children listen to other adults more than they listen to me. This is especially true for an advisor that has done this for many years.
-
Sounding Board - Our advisor has scheduled meetings for us to discuss questions and concerns. This happens with both the parent and with the student individually. This sounding board also includes personality tests and explorations in different careers. In fact, our advisor has a monthly presentation made by a professional (Doctor, engineer, lawyer, nurse, accountant) to briefly discuss careers and what exactly each person does and how they got to be where they are today.
-
Reality Check - It is difficult not to advise your children using how the college process worked when you went to college. I went to college in the 80’s and graduated in early 90’s. The first-hand knowledge is so old that it is the equivalent of asking your child if their floppy disk is single or double sided.
-
Timing - Some kids have the ability to plan faaar into the future. Many have problems with something that is two weeks away. Using an advisor early on in the process will allow students to start thinking about colleges early. Many advisors in our area start working with students in the 8th grade (they want to start to plan out high school courses).
-
Applications - We are not there yet but where some advisors “earn” the money is helping guide the application process so that it is not a constant fight with the parents. They sit down and agree on what list of schools are goinfg to be applied to, an application calendar and work backward as to when one needs to start the application process. For our advisor that almost always results in most essays being written in the summer after junior year. This significantly helps reduce stress in the senior year (or so I am told).
Based on the above, we decided that it was worth hiring an advisor for our DD. The cost was about $3,500 for all of High School. We are still early in the process as the DD is only a freshman. However, we have already spent time talking about careers, colleges and what you will need to be competitive in today’s world. I believe that it has been a great idea to engage this advisor.
With that said, we have two additional children close in age with one is currently in the 8th grade. I am on the fence if the $3,500 is worth it for him.