The student wants to apply to an “elite” school - the college admissions consultant thinks it’s unethical to accept money to help him work on an application for a school he isn’t likely to get into. Is this okay? “The Dean” weighs in.
Another factor in the counselor’s decision may have been that if this applicant was denied at Yale the parent would spread the word that the counselor is useless and a waste of money since she was unable to get this underqualified student accepted at Yale.
This parent would be a fool not to listen to the consultant. And the consultant is doing the right thing. Any honest business person won’t take a commission for work he/she cannot deliver.
This sounds like a well-informed college counselor.
If the family would listen, she can help get him accepted into a “reach for him” college, through the strategic use of ED. Of course, that is probably two levels below Yale, so the clueless family would not go for it.
It’s an odd question, because obviously a private counselor can refuse a client for any reason. If money is refunded and the decision to turn down a client is made far enough in advance so as not to put the client in the position of having relied on an expectation that the counselor would follow through… then of course it would be ethical.
The way the question was framed for the column, it’s pretty obvious that the kid as described isn’t Yale material – but I’d offer an additional perspective. If, hypothetically, the client had stronger reasons to believe the student might win admission to Yale-- then it wouldn’t make much sense to hire a counselor who didn’t agree. Much better to have someone with buy-in to the process. When my daughter was developing her college lists, a very well-respected private admissions consultant told me that she didn’t have a chance at Barnard because of her SAT scores — I disagreed and of course my daughter did apply and was accepted, without the help of outside consultants. That wasn’t a formal for-hire situation - just an informal exchange of emails - but if it had been, the not-a-chance statement would have been enough to convince me to hire someone else whose viewpoint was more in line with mine, assuming I had been in the market to hire anyone.
So either way – a consultant shouldn’t take on a client she is not comfortable with; and a client shouldn’t hire someone who isn’t comfortable with the client’s goals. The client’s goals may be unrealistic, but the best way to figure that out is to seek other opinions.
It’s unethical for a professional to give misleading advice that creates false expectations, even if the client is demanding it. They’re not there to get kids into Harvard. These counselors are there to assist in college applications and give kids the best chance for admissions. They can’t make grades and scores higher and they have no power over the ultimate decision of the universities.