I was forwarded this article by a friend who was a victim of a costly college admissions counselor. I know you guys really want to get into a top college. However, there are plenty of blogs, internet sites on the web that can guide you without spending thousands of dollars on a counselor. Do your research? I’m not saying don’t pay for any information. I spent a few hundred dollars on books and sample essays when I applied for college, but that’s it. See below.
“A reputable, experienced counselor might, for a few hundred dollars, help a student compile a list of prospective colleges, or brainstorm topics for an essay. But others demand tens of thousands of dollars to oversee the entire application process — tutoring jittery applicants on what classes to take in high school or musical instruments to play, the better, their families are told, to impress the admissions dean.
Never mind that admissions officers say that no outsider can truly predict how a particular applicant might fare. “I guess there are snake oil salesman in every field,” said Amy Gutmann, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, “and they are preying on vulnerable and anxious people.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/education/19counselor.html?pagewanted=1