<p>Hi pamom59, glad to meet another neighbor! My understanding was that the college counselor was not just for finding the right fit, but handling all of the paperwork, proof reading the essay, reminding the child to get certain things signed and in to the guidance office in time, helping them to make sure they get the appropriate letters of recommendation in the correct time frame etc… Basically organizing the process for them and you so that instead of your being on your child about it all the time they do it which is always much better received. From what I hear most college counselors at public high schools are overwhelmed with too many students per counselor and do a terrible job of this. Depending on the kid and how responsible they are and how they respond to your nagging this could save a lot of fighting and ensure that everything is handled properly. I’m leaning towards doing it. My son tunes me out at the very mention of college (my fault, I overdid things for a while) he has been working with an academic coach because when we found out he had ADD he did not want to take medication and wanted to try ADD strategies to keep you organized and focused. This woman has been working with him since september, she created systems for the way he operates and he does what ever she says. He likes her and I can tell she not only gets my son, but really likes who he is. She also does the college stuff and told me she would have a whole time line with him of when to do everything and he would have to check in with her to confirm things are done. He would write all of his own essays (he’s an unbelievable writer and has won several awards for creative writing) but she will proofread them. I just think it will save our relationship. I’m too much of a control freak, and he doesn’t respond well to that part of me (he’s a totally laid back kind of guy) so for me it’s all or nothing. I have already worked up the list of schools and so she will just be able to confirm or tell me I’m wrong about some and maybe she will come up with something wonderful that I haven’t found. In my opinion Elon is perfect, but he might not go for it. His 2 favorites are University of Colorado, boulder and University of Vermont and he should get into both of those schools. So that is where this overly obsessed, control freak kind of mom stands now. I haven’t convinced my husband yet about the college counselor, but I know that if I feel strongly about it he will give in.</p>
<p>momentscaught - the obsessive mom with the laidback son - yes - lol - I can relate to that! If having an outside person as a buffer between you is working, then great, stick with that. I agree completely that you don’t want to allow your anxiety over the college admissions process to damage your relationship with your son.</p>
<p>When I was working with my son, I really used this thread as an outlet. Every time some college idea. thought or worry popped into my head, I’d just express it here. I set up brief meetings with my son, let him pick the time, and tried to just cover one topic. He was much less worried about the college process. The first few meetings focused on the list and which school to visit, then we shifted to test prep, and then to the actual applications. We got as much done over the summers as we could. And we both survived!</p>
<p>Hi Moments,
As someone who has never used a coach I don’t really have experience to comment about the process but just reading your post it sounds like you are ahead in the process of locating a coach because you know you already have someone who works well with your son and whom he respects. From what you wrote moving things along from academic coach to college coach sounds like a very natural progression. Just a bit of a digression, when my oldest was 6 and I tried to teach him to swim, even though I had worked as a swimming instructorand taught many kids to swim, I couldn’t get him to take off his water wings. We hired a teacher and three weeks later he was going off the diving board. Finding the right person can be so important and I think sometimes that is the best things we can do as parents. If this situation works for your family and it is affordable it sounds like a good road to take and you are lucky to have found a coach who works so well with your son!</p>
<p>Now on to a question I have from your post. My S, now a freshman in college, was also diagnosed with ADD in HS. (From your post it sounded like yours was recently diagnosed.) My S was fine with taking medication and this is working for him. I can definitely see where a coach could be helpful with organizational strategies but I am interested in what you said about the coach helping with focus. This is the main reason my son takes medication and I really wasn’t aware of any coaching strategies that could help with that so I am curious about what can be done with coaching to improve focus for people with ADD? (I know that is a bit off topic, please PM if you would prefer. It just isn’t anything that I have heard of before.)</p>
<p>momentscaught, I have several friends who have hired college counselors for their kids for the exact reason you mentioned, saving their relationship. It worked great. They loved it, and did it again for younger children.</p>
<p>Hi, all, new to this thread but read about it & couldn’t wait to check it out. Washing my hands of S13. Just waiting for a few more decisions & potential merit $$ so nothing to do but wait at this point (I think).</p>
<p>So, on to S15! Very much a B or B+ student; decent test taker but will need some help with ACT prep. Took the PSAT as a sophomore & not sure if he needs to take it as a junior. S13 scored 97% as sophomore & is NMSF. S15’s results were 90% as sophomore. That may be too big a gap to close in a year. </p>
<p>He likes to watch Division 1 sports so he’s wrinkling his nose at some of the D3 schools I think would be good for him. He is very social and is think food science or business as a major. </p>
<p>We, too, just received the Elon brochure. Don’t know anything about it but I will check it out. </p>
<p>I’m afraid to check out the “I’m Shmacked” videos but may have to grit my teeth & do it.</p>
<p>Hi and welcome! I’m guessing you are not really “too tired to care” or you wouldn’t be here! Did your younger on accompany you on college visits for older son? What types of schools have you liked? Any particular part of the country preferred?</p>
<p>tootired. I have to ask S15 and S13?? What does this mean? 15 kids??? I know it’s probably something obvious, but my abbreviations knowledge is limited…</p>
<p>jozuko–translation: son class of 2015, son class of 2013</p>
<p>The money we spent on hiring a college counselor was possibly the BEST money spent in this whole process. Not having to argue with my son about applications, essays, deadlines was wonderful…and priceless.</p>
<p>photomom–how did you decide which person to hire? Did the counselor tell you up front what her involvement would be in terms of hours/month? Was counselor involved in the essays? Thanks!</p>
<p>CT1417, I am very lucky that a good friend is a college consultant. She has worked with a number of my friends so she also came very well recommended. We could choose to pay her by the hour or a lump sum. We chose the lump sum for both my daughter (2 years ago) and my son, and trust me, we came out much better this way. She met with us a number of times since my son’s junior year (she often helps with HS schedules as well but my son is a performing arts major so that was not necessary). She did the whole application/essay process, and I did the audition side. My son worked with her over the summer on the essays and then met with her weekly until the applications were completely finished. She also helped us weed down the list…</p>
<p>Any thoughts on Bryant university in Rhode Island?</p>
<p>brandeis university? its a Jewish school.</p>
<p>Those who are interested in Elon should know a few things. It has become a very desirable and sought after school. This year, they received 5,000 early acceptance applications…yes, that is the number, 5,000. This for a college who has about 5,000 in the whole university. Last year and probably this year, the kids who were accepted were all from the ED and EA group, the RD kids were waitlisted. The acceptance rate from the EA is very high. They are also known for offering Winter acceptances…this is a great option. </p>
<p>This is a wonderful university but very hard to get into. This year, I know 2 kids who were accepted, and a slew who were deferred or denied already and the RD’s have not even gone out yet.</p>
<p>Not terribly familiar with Bryant. A quick search showed there is a campus Rabbi and a Hillel, but not very much detail shown.</p>
<p>In other news, S2 is in Florida with Elon Hillel for their week long trip to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. First project tomorrow is painting. Sounds like a fun and easy way to get started.</p>
<p>photomom,
Didn’t know Elon was such a hot school…
<a href=“Early Admissions Statistics 2013 - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com”>Early Admissions Statistics 2013 - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com;
According to NYTimes blog, for this year,
Elon ED 411/484 accepted -----84% acceptance
EA 3190/6230 accepted----- 51.3% acceptance (compared to 86% acceptance last year)</p>
<p>With an anticipated class size of 1400, any yield over 30% from EA and they are at their max, before RD!!!</p>
<p>They are, it is insane. Last year, they filled their class from the ED/EA entirely. I can only imagine it will be the same this year. I have never seen a small school become so very popular so very quickly. It is a wonderful LAC…but still…</p>
<p>I looked at the link you posted, jandjdad, there are a few schools who are completely filled. That is just wild. One school (Clark Univ) went from an EA acceptance rate of 20% in 2012 to 80% this year. How on earth can they anticipate that?</p>
<p>Regarding the numbers quoted for Elon, there seems to be an error in the last year’s EA acceptance rate. ED and EA acceptance rates this year were actually quite similar to the previous year. ED went from 86 to 84, and EA went from 50 to 51.<br>
</p>
<p>My source is the blog of the Elon admissions VP.
[The</a> VP’s Perspective](<a href=“http://elonadmissionsdean.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/]The”>http://elonadmissionsdean.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/)</p>
<p>@momentscaught sounds like you have a great helper for your son I hope that the process works smoothly! We didn’t have any issues like ADD to contend with, and my kids were very cooperative in getting their applications done (they did all the work over the summer which was a big advantage!). Your counselor sounds similar to the woman that we used for SAT tutoring. She got my kids on track with a timeline for testing and college applications. She helped with brainstorming and editing the essay too. However, she was one who worked on an hourly basis, and there was no upfront fee. I have heard about some counselors in our area that require a large up front fee (my friend paid over 3 grand to hers) and I’m just not comfortable with that!</p>