High school students applying to college this fall represent the largest applicant pool the United States has ever seen. As the process of applying to college becomes increasingly lengthy and competitive, many of these students are turning to alternative counseling sources to put them one step ahead of their competition.
Students seek private counseling for a number of reasons, but primarily to compensate for the lack of private attention provided by their high schools. Over-burdened guidance counselors, especially at large public schools, simply don't have enough time to dedicate to individual students.
The National Center for Educational Statistics reported in 2008 that the national student-to-guidance counselor ratio for 2008 was 488-to-1, with students receiving an average of 20 minutes of one-on-one time. Alison Flores, A&S '12, found this to be true of her high school counseling services. "I used a former admissions officer at Boston University to help me decide where to apply and to help with my application," she said.
Private counseling services vary depending on how much a student can stand to pay. The most basic form of private advising is a standardized testing preparation course for the SAT and ACT, which is offered by the famed college preparatory Princeton Review company, starting at $125. The cost of these classes, however, can easily soar into the thousands of dollars.
The most affluent and ambitious students tend to hire full-time tutors whom they believe have the "golden ticket" for access into elite universities, some foolproof tactic to provide them with a noticeable advantage over their peers who are relying strictly on public-high-school counseling. The starting price for these services rests around $2,000, but can climb rapidly into five-digit figures. These tutors assist students in creating their college profile and walk them through every step of the application process.
One such tutor is Michele Hernandez, a celebrity in the world of college consultants, who boasts an almost 100 percent acceptance rate for admission to Ivy League schools. Her private counseling package includes unlimited time with students, preparation for standardized testing, and assistance with essays, among a number of other services. She charges anywhere from $34,000 to $40,000 annually, roughly the equivalent of one year at a private American university. Students can enroll in her program at the ripe age of 14, or the average age of an eighth-grader.
The question then becomes: Is this guidance necessary? As John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admission, said, "There probably is a place for independent counselors, but if you go to any school where there's a good guidance department, in those situations, it's simply not necessary."
Such is the case at Mount Alvernia Preparatory School for Girls in Newton, Mass. Here, students do not feel compelled to search for advice outside of the guidance office. Mount Alvernia has a relatively low student-to-counselor ratio, at approximately 45-to-1.
"Because we have such small numbers, we get to work with them continually throughout the year," said Maureen O'Rourke, director of guidance at Mount Alvernia. With these low numbers, Mount Alvernia is able to mandate at least one two-hour meeting for every student prior to the application process.
Girls receive private guidance beginning in the seventh grade, and, O'Rourke said, "I'm available at all times."
Many students lack both access to extended time with high school counselors and the funds to pay for professional help. In their case, another option exists: pro bono college consulting. Paul Hemphill, owner of College Funding Prep, offers free lectures on financial aid and essay editing. Yet for the students who desire his personal time, even Hemphill charges a price.
Among those who do have the funds to pay, hired professional counseling is prevalent, in spite of no numbers existing as to how many students use the services. Some applications may state that the candidate is a client of a given service, but those occurrences are rare. On the application itself, "There is no clear indication that the family of the child has hired outside counseling," Mahoney said.
While no hard numbers exist, Mahoney admitted that private counseling goes on and is oftentimes evident to admissions officers. "We can certainly tell when we're hearing the voice of a 55-year-old as opposed to an 18-year-old," he said.
The use of private counseling only becomes a problem when advisers overstep their boundaries, such that a student's application no longer reflects the student. "There's no problem seeking guidance. The problem occurs when inappropriate guidance is granted," Mahoney said.
Though concrete evidence is lacking, such private counseling continues to grow in popularity, pointing toward the success of the industry for those who can afford it.
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