For a fee, do they continue to do this when the kid is in collegeđ
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Same demand for admissions to private HSs too.
Same for private academic and exec functioning tutors thru college, resume/interview/career coaching at any point in life, etc.
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There are private preschools and elementary schools that use/used IQ test scores as part of their admissions process, and there is a network of parents who share test questions and prep for the test.
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Exactly. And classes and/or private tutoring for the SHSAT in NYC start in 6th grade. And we know it is not only affluent families paying for those classes/tutors for SHSAT.
But thatâs not to say many of the activities we are talking about donât show the advantages that the affluent have in education and career/job, etc.
There are career coaches focuses on getting HS/college grads into certain companies too. They know the interview process, questions, and sell that to plenty of takers
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Yes, but fewer seem to use those and it stresses fewer people
I donât know the data/# of these users of services, but I know lots of stressed parents about where the kids will go to K, particularly in Chicago and NYC, and then again lots of stressed parents about where their kids will go to HS in those two cities. Then college, then work, it really never ends.
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The urban wealthy will always use their advantages, and pay accordingly for elite opportunities. The difference, if the IEC report is to be believed, is that suburban public school parents now feel a need to use these services too.
In my experience with this private school universe, the fear that that one parent voiced in the article - that the school college placement leadership cares more about the schoolâs agenda than good individual outcomes - has more than a grain of truth to it. That paranoia feeds into the IEC business proposition.
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I donât think thatâs a change, thereâs been plenty of demand in the Chicagoland suburbs for 20 years. Note also that the IEC space is highly competitive with many qualified (by education), and experienced people who do a good job. I mention itâs competitive because that means IECs have to have satisfied customers in order to stay in business, same as accountants or career coaches or whatever. The guy in the article is not an IEC, nor are he and his staff in the professional IEC orgs like IECA and NACAC.
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There is no reason not to believe the survey. And this is not new. This is just the latest survey.
(Crossposted with @Mwfan1921)
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I never doubted that they do a good job. They stay in business, so clients must be satisfied. That doesnt mean the system is right. Much of the world manages college access for their students without such consultants
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Lol, the part of the interview where he gets upset because âparents get mad that we didnât remind their kid to go to basketball practiceâ. Of course they do because you are doing everything else for the kid, might as well do that too and remind him to shower and brush his teeth.
I am not sure anyone has raised this yet, but I for one doubt this guy really is doing what he says he is. It doesnât seem the reporter did any vetting at all. So for nowâŠI am skeptical.
But as I posted above there are some college consulting firms that can cost around $100K (in the US). The international market is shadier and more expensive.
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Also quite possible that part of his contract is a non disclosure clause that not only says they will keep their relationship confidential, but also requires the client to agree not to write/post/ share any negative comments about their experience and/or outcome.
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It wouldnât be enforced. Attempted enforcement would just raise the profile of the negative review even more.
Have read that there are companies that have penalties for negative reviews.
Yes, I agree that this is what the parents believe. I was trying to say that if as a parent, you are making 20 million dollars per year, your kid will have access to plenty of opportunities to make money, find a high-paying careers, and network in elite social circles with our without the elite college name. You are presumably part of those elite circles already and you likely know people who can open doors for your kids. Furthermore, you kids likely already go to private day and boarding schools, and socialize with other kids who will remain part of their network. Or even if your kids donât attend school with other elites, they live in the same neighborhoods as those kids, vacation/camp with them, and participate in activities with them. As a parent, you can provide start up funds for ventures that theyâd want to explore, professional or entrepreneurial. Or couldnât you set up a trust fund so your kid does not have to have a high paying career in the first place. I am questioning the need to go to a prestigious school for any reason other than bragging rights as a parent (or child).
Note that you are right in that I do think education is its own reward that should be valued whether of not it makes you rich (as long as you can support yourself, blah, blah). It just wasnât the point that I was trying to make with my original skepticism.
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You can do all that with simple, low-cost funds as well, like the aforementioned Target funds or static balanced funds. I realize these anxious wealthy people are often sold on the idea that there is some special sauce they are buying that will âhedgeâ against stock market downturns, but it again turns out that most of the time what they pay for doesnât do that any better than one of these low-cost alternatives, and then the fees push them down to worse.
Thatâs probably because by and large most of the rest of the world uses standardized school curricula (at least within their borders, if not globally recognized IB programs) so evaluating and comparing students is far more straightforward.
Well presumably the property purchase records he cited ($10 million worth of property) were vetted. And the price of entry to use that room at Aman is accurate. So the guy is getting real $ from âsomewhere.â
Except most of those still wind up having overly high correlation to the market over a long time period, even ones that purport to hedge in the opposite direction. Anyway, moving on.
I am a volunteer college counselor, and have students at some of the âknown prep schoolsâ in Boston and on the west coast. Now, these tend to be low-income families that are attending for free.
But for whatever reason, their high school advice has been lacking. Perhaps itâs because these are STEM kids and the schools donât have much of a history on that. Perhaps itâs because the schools seem to be interested in âgood results for allâ rather than best results for a particular student. In particular, I have seen a couple of cases where the high school is not properly handicapping the studentâs chances at colleges where there are a lot of legacy admits.
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