Seems like OP is gone, but the best recommendation on this thread if OP is determined to hire this ‘team’, is to pay them for an hour or two at an agreed upon hourly rate to look at her essays. I am in the camp that the essays are unlikely to overcome the lowish ACT.
Many admissions professionals embrace working with independent counselors. AOs routinely meet with single and/or groups of independents during the fall when they are traveling for HS presentations. They routinely take calls from independents, who tend to know their students well.
It’s primarily independent counselors who provide pro-bono services at the hundreds of community based organizations focused on guiding low SES and/or URMs and/or first-gens through HS and the college admissions process.
For those who choose to work with independent counselors make sure to get local referrals, and check references, educational background, and memberships in professional associations.
I think the question in the heading does not reflect what the OP actually asked. In many cases the question of “is it worth it to hire a college admissions counselor” may be yes, subject to various factors. But what OP was actually asking, is : “is it worth it to pay $2000 to someone just to polish two essays just before submission when everything else is already set?”. That’s a different question, and answer imo, entirely.
We consulted with an admissions counselor in my kid’s sophomore year. Everything she talked about was familiar. Of course, it was because I’d been active on CC. After the meeting, my kid said, “Wow, she didn’t say anything you haven’t told me already.” We decided not to retain her.
My younger son had SAT scores where verbal was in everyone’s top 25% (790) and math was in the bottom 25% of most of the colleges he applied to (690) - not a terrible score, but low enough for us to worry about. (He did have a safety he loved.) I believe the essays and his stellar teacher recommendations made a difference. But he was naturally creative and funny and came across as a very engaging kid. I love having him visit because he reads widely, and loves to talk. All that came across in his essays. I am not convinced a counselor could have helped, and honestly if he couldn’t have pulled it off on his own, I’m not sure I would have wanted him at the reachier colleges. As it was, I still sometimes wondered if he’d have been better off attending his safety.
I guess not. My bad, but in general the student should be applying. With that - our high school is very not-elite and I know of a few really nice kids who got into elite schools entirely on their own merit. No extra advantages whatsoever; which may have been at least partly why they were granted admission. Superstar achievers, good kids and very hard workers. The process does work and I understand a lot more about it now than I did a year ago.
No, it’s not worth it this late in the game. If you were a Freshman, Sophomore etc the answer would be very different. In any case, no counselor can help you jump into a place for which you don’t have the mean qualifications. They CAN help you package your application assuming you had all the numbers ( GPA, testing, EC’s) to make it appear in the best light possible.
Given the number of candidates who apply to the top schools who have all the numbers, this is a needed service for some. Does it work? Unlikely IMO, unless the candidate and their parent really has no idea how things work. In that case, yes polishing essays and pinpointing areas of interest might be worth the investment.