Are private College Consultants worth using?

Lindagaf
Mon, 09 Nov 2020 03:30:55 +0000

For my eldest, I hired a private college consultant for several hour long sessions, maybe 4-5 total. I interviewed several and most wanted to charge for very expensive packages, which we didn’t need. We already knew quite a lot when we started, mostly because I spent a lot of time on this website.

My D used to be very shy. I wanted someone who could help her with college interviews, and that was useful. The consultant actually knew quite a bit about the two final colleges my daughter had to choose between, and in fact encouraged my daughter to apply to both. They had a whole hour long session devoted to the activities section of the app, and that was money well spent. I guess I don’t regret spending the money, but I also am not convinced we needed it.

Our counselor also provided no assistance with any financial aspects and in fact was clear that she wasn’t able to do that. She gave useful tidbits of info about merit aid. I recommend The Financial Aid Handbook, which was very useful. I would be sure to ask how much they can help with that aspect.

With my son, we needed no outside help. I knew how to guide him through this process. A private counselor would have been a total waste of money for him.