Pretty compelling evidence that the admission system is broken
When I applied to graduate school I think there was a box you had to check if you used any outside consulting service. Why don’t colleges do that?
Remarkable that parents will pay not only to get their kid in, but to keep other kids from their school out.
Thanks for posting. I was interviewed and included the talent on CC in my response but only got a short paragraph.
This guy has figured out how to get as close to Varsity Blues as possible without breaking the law. Impressive from a business perspective. Sad for the world.
This is so elitist and sad.
I figured you might have been.
As nutty as the $120k/year is, what was still more ludicrous was the $250k fee for the two+ weeks between ED results and RD deadlines.
Personally, I am very skeptical about the amount of real value being added by services like this.
To be clear, I think independent consultants can sometimes fill the gap left by many overworked school officials.
But when parents who already paid for very expensive feeder schools then are persuaded they can get even better guidance this way . . . eh, not so sure that would hold up to any serious value added inquiry.
23% at Harvard used paid consultants. That is a high percentage so likely they added some value to get those results.
Felicity Huffman only paid $15K.
He’s over priced.
I think there’s way too much data we don’t know in order to make this assessment. What % of applicants used them? What were the profiles of the kids who got in (or not) using them? How did the acceptance rates for those kids compare to that of the kids who didn’t use them? And on and on.
Yes, all true. But 23% is a sky high percentage, out of proportion to any other number in admissions And that is just those Harvard students who admitted to using one.
I have no doubt the % is higher than reported. But not sure what you mean by “out of proportion to any other number in admissions”?
It just goes to show - the rich get richer.
The non rich - they get thrown a bone so the schools could look good.
Even if you’re need blind, the rich have access to sooooooooooo many other things that just put them at another level.
When you see some schools families have an average family income of $200K+ - well - it’s all you need to know.
Haven’t read the article yet but I’m curious how he would create the Ivy League student if they didn’t have the best academics, but were truly non athletic to the point where it can’t be made up. My mind goes to fudging grades.
Obviously, the people paying that much money are wealthy enough for private feeder schools to get them to Harvard…but what are the odds with him getting an average student, whose middle-class parents decided to splurge from their retirement savings, into Harvard.
To me this whole thing reeks of massive insecurity.
Grades/transcripts must come directly from the High Schools to the colleges. I’m not saying that is foolproof, but that’s tough to ‘fudge’
We can probably eliminate the 17% of the class that is Pell eligible, the Questbridge ( and similar program) kids, and most of the recruited athletes, from the pool of those using paid consultants. So the percentage of the rest of the student body using consultants is even higher
Most new clients for high end services like this come via word of mouth. They don’t send a flyer in the mail or advertise anywhere.
So the fact he seems to be having a thriving business with clients paying $120k, suggests he’s pretty successful. Maybe not 100%, but enough that he keeps his business humming along.
It’s interesting that AOs, who are often portrayed here as all knowing (“they know who fits best”, “they craft the perfect class”, etc) fall for all this.
Reading this article felt like being in sixth grade again, watching the teachers fawn over the projects turned in by kids whose parents clearly provided them with massive amounts of help, while I sat there with my D because my parents wouldn’t/couldn’t help me with even the most basic things.
I’d love to think schools would see through the overpackaged kids.