Youth Perspectives: The Controversy over College Counseling

As the college admissions process becomes increasingly competitive, some high school students are looking for anything that will give them an edge over their peers.

In a 2009 study, the Independent Educational Consultants Association found that 26 percent of high-achieving high school seniors in the United States have turned to private consultants for college counseling.

Some college counseling companies that Bay Area students may be familiar with include Flex College Prep, Think Tank Learning, IvyMax, and Oxford Advisors. Services at these firms range from simply matching students with universities that fit their interests, to essay editing, to targeting top-tier schools and Ivy Leagues for admissions.

I first became aware of these services like many of my peers: through word-of-mouth. By the fall of my senior year, I too began to feel the pressure of the college application season looming ahead. The idea of a professional admissions advisor was certainly alluring.

But I wondered, just how effective were these college counseling services in gaining admission to the nation's best universities? What did high school students think about the consultation process? And what about that price tag?

I asked my fellow seniors at Amador Valley High School to share their experiences and concerns about the issue of private college counseling. I have found that it is ultimately up to students to decide for themselves whether college consultation programs are worth the time and money.

Students and their parents should be wary of any company that claims credit for "getting students into their dream college," because there is no way of knowing whether it was the professional work of the consultant or the student's own personal qualities that caught the eye of the college admissions department.

In terms of cost, Amador Valley seniors Sunny Lee and Brian Sherman said their families paid between $2000-3000 for their college planning at Flex and Oxford Advisors respectively. Based on their email brochure, IvyMax's college application packages cost up to $8000 in 2009, and according to some media reports, there are consultants that charge up to $40,000.

"It's worth it if you are willing to work for it," Lee said. "You have to meet [consultants] halfway and know what you want, because they won't do everything for you."

Lee will enter Northwestern University next school year, and she felt her college advisors at Flex were helpful and friendly overall, but in the end, she put in the most effort into her college applications.

The costs of these companies was troublesome to students like senior Alex So, who will attend University of North Carolina, School of the Arts in the fall.

"I think having a college counselor edit my essays or assist me in the process doesn't represent who I am," he said. "It's a waste of money and unethical."

William Chen, the valedictorian of Amador Valley's class of 2010, said he never considered asking for help from a consultant.

"I felt like I had better freedom in my college admissions if I could explore the process for myself," said Chen.

According to Chen, he observed that some companies target parents' insecurities.

"Parents worry that if they don't pay for these services, then their child will be at a disadvantage and will not be able to get into a good college," he said. "A lot of parents mistakenly think that there are some 'secrets' to getting into the top schools. Counseling service providers claim to have these 'secrets.'"

But Chen said that he believes there is no secret. He was accepted to multiple top-tier schools including Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Yale and Brown without any hired help. Chen, who will attend Harvard University, also states that "the student is the person who is best able to present himself or herself" to colleges.

When asked about the criticism of privatized counseling, Eddie LaMeire, managing consultant at Think Tank, replied, "it is a private, for-profit enterprise, but there is an ethical line that exists. College admission is a gray area, but we always try to be on the right side of that area."

LaMeire acknowledged that trying to discern good companies from bad companies is difficult.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling, which promotes ethical private consultation, "has no teeth," said LaMeire, "and that's one of the problems."

However, LaMeire assures that "if we were to engage in [any unethical] practices, it would cripple the company," he said.  LaMeire believes the power of word-of-mouth advertising in the college counseling industry can deter unethical service providers who are "looking to make a quick buck off of someone."

Vivienne Chen is a graduating senior at Amador Valley High School. She decided against having a private college counselor, mainly due to the high costs and questionable practices of some companies she encountered. She will attend Princeton University in Fall 2010.

Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly identified the school Senior Alex So will attend in the fall. So will be at University of North Carolina, School of the Arts.