Do Any of You Have Experience with College Consultants?

[Jazzy]

DS 16 (a junior) is auto admit to most of the universities to which he’s planning to apply, but we really need merit money that brings parent contribution down to $10 - 15k. He’ll be expected to cover books and expenses with summer savings and PT job.

 

A friend recommended a local college consultant who I spoke to by phone yesterday. She’s a former homeschooler, and has been doing consulting for over 10 years. Based on his test scores, she agreed to meet with us to give advice for putting together his package, planning senior year, and applying for scholarships.

 

She charges $400 for a 2 hour meeting, which seems really expensive to me, but would be worth it if it made the difference in getting scholarship money.

 

She seemed pretty knowledgeable, but I don’t whether or not she has any secrets that would make her fee worthwhile.

 

Do any of you have experience in this area to share?

 

DS is NOT looking at any elite schools. His reach schools are state universities that are only reaches due to finances. He would need to win a competitive scholarship to bring them down to a level that’s affordable. He qualifies for some automatic aid at a few of them, but needs a bit more.

[JanetC]

ummm... no. You need help, but you shouldn't pay 200/hour for it. That's out of your budget.

 

College admissions and funding is complicated, but you're a homeschooler, you should be pretty good at do-it-yourself education. You can figure this stuff out. It may take you longer than using the 200/hour consultant, but every dollar you save can go into your chlild's tight college budget.

 

You seem to be going about this backwards: You don't make a list of schools (even ones that are autoadmit) and figure out how to get scholarships later. The biggest scholarships come from the colleges themselves. The game is won or lost for college funding for most kids at the application list building stage.

 

Have you run the net price calculators on your son's college list? Do any of them come in at your target price?

Also, have you searched for "freshman scholarships" or "freshman merit aid" on the college websites? Do the profiles of students who get scholarships match your child?

 

(Also: What is your budget limit? 10K or 15K? That's a huge range. Also: Is your son willing to take the federal student loan of 5,500 for freshmen? A budget limit of 10K versus a budget limit of 20K (your 15K plus the loan) are very different in terms of options.

 

You must have a financial safety school that is in your budget with automatic or near-automatic aid (either need or merit based) rather than hoping he wins a competition and can find a way to afford it.

[Bootsie]

I would begin by looking at what specifically are you hoping to get out of a meeting.  

 

It sounds as if your son i looking at state schools.  It will vary from state to state, and school to school, what type of merit aid is available.  I would begin by researching that myself.

 

I have not personally used a consultant, but those who I have known who have done so have felt the benefit has been that the consultant might encourage them to consider a specific college with a specific type of aid that you may not be aware of.  If that isn't of interest to you, then I am not sure how helpful it will be.  

[amathis229]

I consulted with someone. Her fees were lower than what you've been quoted. I needed help making a specific decision. Because of the minimum time commitment, she also critiqued my course descriptions, counselor letter, and school profile. In addition, she steered my son in the right direction with his essays. I was not aware of this forum at the time (the members here are so knowledgeable!), so I was very appreciative of her pragmatic advice! PM me if you would like her contact info and fee schedule. And good luck!

 

 

[catz]

I went to a couple of seminars on applying to college by 2 different people that have certification in this area.  I was supremely unimpressed with their knowledge and I had only be researching college for our situation for only a few months.  I definitely think this is something you can do and info you can find on your own and it may be better and more up to date than assumptions a consultant might have.   It will take hours of your time however. The only way I think it would be worth it for me is if these people were doing leg work for you - making phone calls and asking direct questions and stuff like that.  We were considering budgeting a little money for this but I'd rather apply those funds to something like ACT tutoring and/or essay editing. 

[Jazzy]

We’d like to avoid loans for him, if possible.

 

We have $10,000 per year. We could stretch and do $15,000 by pulling from current earnings. So that’s why I put the price range.

 

We’re in TX so what I’ve done so far is make a list of all the schools in TX, OK, and LA that have decent academic programs and graduation rates.

 

I looked at tuition and scholarships available at those schools, and there were about 10 schools that could come into our price range if scholarships are awarded. His stats are at or above the 75% mark for those schools.

 

For example, OU’s tuition is $27,000 OOS. He qualifies for a $7,000/yr scholarship just based on SAT scores. But they also have a department scholarship that he’s eligible to apply for that is $20,000/yr. If he wins that, tuition would be covered and we could afford R&B.

 

So the list I made has 7 schools that have a scenario similar to the one above - guaranteed money plus competitive university or department scholarships) and 3 schools that are safeties. (For example, he’s auto admit to UTD, can live home, and we can afford tuition.)

 

I was thinking maybe the college consultant had info that would help us maximize his chance to win the competitive scholarships offered by universities.

 

I didn’t tell her our budget, but she did say she thought she could get us down to $10,000 out of pocket. I don’t know whether or not that is something I could do myself or if she has some special secrets.

 

She did mention self-studying for AP tests, taking specific types of dual enrollment courses, and having a certain combination of ECs. Supposedly we’d leave her office with a detailed plan.

 

If I can do it myself, I’d love to save the money. This is our first time through, and I’m finding it pretty overwhelming. I just want to make sure I do a good job for ds.

Edited December 6, 2017 by Jazzy

[gstharr]

College consultants and test prep are major industries in my area. But, none that I know are especially adept at financial aid.  I can't imagine what the consultant would offer, especially since you know your schools already. 

[fourisenough]

I can't imagine that she'd have any "special sauce" that would really make a difference in your situation. We have a good friend who used a private college counselor, but that student was aiming for Ivies/highly-selective schools. (Incidentally, she ended up at JHU with an ED admission paying full freight, but was very happy with this outcome). 

 

I think the collective wisdom of this board combined with what you know of your local market and specifics of your son's situation will be more than enough to achieve a best case scenario.

 

YMMV, but I think I'd spend the $400 on 5 tutoring sessions with a very good local SAT/ACT tutor to help bump up scores.

Edited December 7, 2017 by fourisenough

[amyx4]

I'm not entirely opposed to a college consultant. However, the parents on these boards are amazing. I would suggested reading and posting here for a few more weeks and postpone the consultant till you've gleaned all you can from this board.

 

Scholarships given by the colleges often have GPA (and other) requirements. Depending on your child's major, hitting that GPA during freshman year can be tough and they may lose that merit money for future years.

Edited December 6, 2017 by amyx4

[amyx4]

She did mention self-studying for AP tests, taking specific types of dual enrollment courses, and having a certain combination of ECs. Supposedly we’d leave her office with a detailed plan.

 

Is your son willing to take dual enrollment starting this January? Is he willing to take APs in the spring of Junior year? Does he have the time to add extra activities? Her suggestions might be a good idea but he would need to add those rather soon depending on when you will be applying to colleges and submitting his transcripts (fall of Senior year) All of those things are extra work for him and he would need to "buy into" the idea.

[GoodGrief]

College consultants can be helpful in some cases, but I'm not sure about the initial plan she is suggesting to you. Honestly, mid-junior year is pretty late to be coming up with extracurriculars that will make a difference in winning competitive scholarships, and self-studying APs/dual enrollment for a semester is unlikely to make a difference either.

 

Are you on College Confidential? The Parent Forum (especially the 20xx class-specific subforums), Financial Aid forum, and College Search and Selection forum are all great places to read and ask questions. Many of those kids are very high achievers, but there is still plenty to glean for the typical bright kid seeking merit.

 

The advice I gave the young man I starting helping late junior year, and who needs serious merit money was this: keep your grades up. Really important to maximize that GPA if we are talking competitive merit. Take SAT and/or ACT test prep seriously, and if you think you could improve on a previous score, re-take the test. Take a couple of SAT subject tests, and prep for them. June is a good time for taking subject tests. If you are in AP classes, make sure to prep for those exams and maximize those scores. Make the most of any extracurricular you are in; take on some sort of leadership or instructional role if possible. If it makes sense to enter an academic competition in an area of interest, do so. Research your college choices carefully, and look for schools where you are a likely candidate for big merit. Start working on essays over the summer. Well-written essays can make a big difference in competitive merit.

 

The PSAT opens doors for comp merit too, but unfortunately the qualifying exam date is past. The student I am helping did qualify, thankfully, by the skin of his teeth, but that makes the big merit process easier, for sure. I do tell people whose kids test well, and will need large scholarships to make sure they prep for the PSAT.

[saw]

If you hire a consultant, I'd suggest making sure they are members of IECA or NACAC, which are the professional organisations for consultants. You could also try contacting these organisations to find a consultant specialising in exactly what you need. 

[catz]

You could also do some selective searching over at College Confidential for information. 

[Bootsie]

We’re in TX so what I’ve done so far is make a list of all the schools in TX, OK, and LA that have decent academic programs and graduation rates.

 

I looked at tuition and scholarships available at those schools, and there were about 10 schools that could come into our price range if scholarships are awarded. His stats are at or above the 75% mark for those schools.

 

For example, OU’s tuition is $27,000 OOS. He qualifies for a $7,000/yr scholarship just based on SAT scores. But they also have a department scholarship that he’s eligible to apply for that is $20,000/yr. If he wins that, tuition would be covered and we could afford R&B.

Often, attending a state school as an out-of-state student is the most expensive option.  That said, tuition in Louisiana, even for out-of-state students, is on the lower end of the scale nationwide.  

 

How sure is he about his major?  Departmental scholarships can be nice, but sometimes they lock students into a narrow major.  

[Corraleno]

I agree with the others who suggested investing that money in test prep instead, and use the free resources at WTM and College Confidential for the "consulting" bit. Between those two forums, there are a ton of smart, knowledgeable people who have BTDT and are happy to pass on what they've learned. There is also a yahoo group called Homeschooling towards College (hs2coll) that is quite helpful.

[chiguirre]

The major way to save money in Texas is by taking as many classes as possible at CC (especially if DE is tuition free, just fees and books), CLEP tests and AP exams. You can easily knock off the Core Curriculum (42 credits that transfer as a block) and maybe some extra requirements too if you plan your senior year courses carefully and use your summers. I know a young man who DEed 2 classes/semester his jr/sr years of homeschool and graduated from UTD in 2.5 years. That saves a lot of money. UTD was really nice and had him flagged at freshman orientation so that they could help him pick his courses since he was already core complete.

 

The ECs the consultant might be referring to are the Eagle Scout scholarship at TAMU (and Gold Award for GSA or Stars and Stripes for AHG).

 

UTD is a solid financial safety for your situation so you've got a good option in the bank already. Good luck!

[GoodGrief]

 

We’re in TX so what I’ve done so far is make a list of all the schools in TX, OK, and LA that have decent academic programs and graduation rates.

 

I looked at tuition and scholarships available at those schools, and there were about 10 schools that could come into our price range if scholarships are awarded. His stats are at or above the 75% mark for those schools.

 

For example, OU’s tuition is $27,000 OOS. He qualifies for a $7,000/yr scholarship just based on SAT scores. But they also have a department scholarship that he’s eligible to apply for that is $20,000/yr. If he wins that, tuition would be covered and we could afford R&B.

 

 

 

I'm assuming you want to stay South with the schools you have listed. I'd expand the search a bit though. Check out University of Alabama and Univ of Alabama Huntsville, and University of Mississippi. The schools in New Mexico have some decent merit scholarships too.

[3andme]

If you want to expand your list, here's a thread from CollegeConfidential on full tuition/full ride scholarships.

[Mom22ns]

You might also check AR. At least some of the state school in AR give in-state tuition to residents of all border states and their costs are low to start with. 

[Jazzy]

She did mention self-studying for AP tests, taking specific types of dual enrollment courses, and having a certain combination of ECs. Supposedly we’d leave her office with a detailed plan.

 

Is your son willing to take dual enrollment starting this January? Is he willing to take APs in the spring of Junior year? Does he have the time to add extra activities? Her suggestions might be a good idea but he would need to add those rather soon depending on when you will be applying to colleges and submitting his transcripts (fall of Senior year) All of those things are extra work for him and he would need to "buy into" the idea.

He told me he definitely wants to get some tutoring and retake the SAT. We were happy with his scores, but he’s got room to improve them, and it could really help scholarship opportunities.

 

I don’t know if I can talk him into self-studying for an AP. There aren’t any that line up with what he’s taking now. It would mean adding a full course next semester. He is currently taking honors precal and physics, and I was thinking maybe I could get him to study for the math 2 and physics SAT subject tests.

 

He’s going to do all DE next year.

 

I am encouraging him to work hard for another award in his main activity, basketball, that is within reach. He can do some extra service with an organization we’ve worked with, and he is taking on a small leadership role at his co-op.

 

That’s all I can think of, and none of it is mind boggling.

 

I guess maybe I should focus on helping him get the SAT scores up a bunch and keep the GPA up with strong grades. He is planning to take all DE courses next year, so if he does really well in those, I can update his app with first semester DE grades.

[Jazzy]

The major way to save money in Texas is by taking as many classes as possible at CC (especially if DE is tuition free, just fees and books), CLEP tests and AP exams. You can easily knock off the Core Curriculum (42 credits that transfer as a block) and maybe some extra requirements too if you plan your senior year courses carefully and use your summers. I know a young man who DEed 2 classes/semester his jr/sr years of homeschool and graduated from UTD in 2.5 years. That saves a lot of money. UTD was really nice and had him flagged at freshman orientation so that they could help him pick his courses since he was already core complete.

 

The ECs the consultant might be referring to are the Eagle Scout scholarship at TAMU (and Gold Award for GSA or Stars and Stripes for AHG).

 

UTD is a solid financial safety for your situation so you've got a good option in the bank already. Good luck!

This is exactly what I’m planning to do with the next child in line. I wish I would have planned ds’ high school years a bit better.

 

Thanks, all, for the input! I appreciate it!

[chiguirre]

This is exactly what I’m planning to do with the next child in line. I wish I would have planned ds’ high school years a bit better.

 

Thanks, all, for the input! I appreciate it!

 

 

Take a look at the CLEP list for your CC and see if there is anything he might be able to do based on his past or current classes. My CC (Lone Star) offers credit for GOVT 2305 and both semesters of US history as well as psych and sociology. They also give credit for College Algebra and Precalculus. There are prep courses available at Modern States:

 

 https://courses.modernstates.org/

 

UT Austin and TAMU both give credit for College Physics (algebra based) for a certain score on the SAT 2. You can also exempt Latin with an SAT 2 test or get a couple of semesters credit for any of the SAT 2s for living languages. If you google external credit by exam and the college name you can usually find there score cuts for the different tests and the classes you get credit for. This is something your son can do on his own once you explain what he's looking for.

[GoodGrief]

He told me he definitely wants to get some tutoring and retake the SAT. We were happy with his scores, but he’s got room to improve them, and it could really help scholarship opportunities.

 

I don’t know if I can talk him into self-studying for an AP. There aren’t any that line up with what he’s taking now. It would mean adding a full course next semester. He is currently taking honors precal and physics, and I was thinking maybe I could get him to study for the math 2 and physics SAT subject tests.

 

He’s going to do all DE next year.

 

I am encouraging him to work hard for another award in his main activity, basketball, that is within reach. He can do some extra service with an organization we’ve worked with, and he is taking on a small leadership role at his co-op.

 

That’s all I can think of, and none of it is mind boggling.

 

I guess maybe I should focus on helping him get the SAT scores up a bunch and keep the GPA up with strong grades. He is planning to take all DE courses next year, so if he does really well in those, I can update his app with first semester DE grades.

 

Your ideas are reasonable, and I doubt the consultant could come up with much more that would make the expense for her services worthwhile. Maxing the GPA/test scores is probably his best bet at this point, in addition to widening the search for schools with good merit aid, competitive and otherwise.

 

People balk (reasonably) at thinking about college before high school begins, but my experience with my older two daughters and financing college has led me to the conclusion that a rough/flexible plan starting in 7th-8th grade is worthwhile.

 

[Milknhoney]

I am an admissions counselor for a private university. Admissions counselors do everything that consultants do, except they get paid by the college instead of the family. The primary difference being that we're only experts on the one college we work for, whereas you'd expect a consultant to be knowledgeable about a broad variety of schools. However, I would NOT expect a consultant in my area to be as knowledgeable about how to pay for my university as I am. I get calls from consultants who are helping out a client and they ask me pretty basic questions.

 

As a previous poster said, I think paying a consultant might be worth it if they are doing all the leg work for you, and you need that. Or if you are trying to get into extremely competitive schools. But otherwise, I don't think so. If you've got the time, I suggest contacting the admissions counselor who handles your region at each of the universities your son plans to apply at. That person should be able to tell you exactly what scholarships are available, how to apply, what criteria they are looking for, etc. They likely have a list of external scholarships to point you towards as well.

[Jazzy]

Your ideas are reasonable, and I doubt the consultant could come up with much more that would make the expense for her services worthwhile. Maxing the GPA/test scores is probably his best bet at this point, in addition to widening the search for schools with good merit aid, competitive and otherwise.

 

People balk (reasonably) at thinking about college before high school begins, but my experience with my older two daughters and financing college has led me to the conclusion that a rough/flexible plan starting in 7th-8th grade is worthwhile.

 

I am planning for my 8th grade daughter right now. She is much more of a go getter and likes taking tests, so hopefully it will be easier.

[Jazzy]

I am an admissions counselor for a private university. Admissions counselors do everything that consultants do, except they get paid by the college instead of the family. The primary difference being that we're only experts on the one college we work for, whereas you'd expect a consultant to be knowledgeable about a broad variety of schools. However, I would NOT expect a consultant in my area to be as knowledgeable about how to pay for my university as I am. I get calls from consultants who are helping out a client and they ask me pretty basic questions.

 

As a previous poster said, I think paying a consultant might be worth it if they are doing all the leg work for you, and you need that. Or if you are trying to get into extremely competitive schools. But otherwise, I don't think so. If you've got the time, I suggest contacting the admissions counselor who handles your region at each of the universities your son plans to apply at. That person should be able to tell you exactly what scholarships are available, how to apply, what criteria they are looking for, etc. They likely have a list of external scholarships to point you towards as well.

Will they have information that isn’t listed on the website, or is the info that’s on there pretty much all there is?

[Milknhoney]

Will they have information that isn’t listed on the website, or is the info that’s on there pretty much all there is?

 

I suppose that will vary by institution. Mine is intentionally vague in print, so someone who calls and talks to us will definitely get more details. 

[wapiti]

Will they have information that isn’t listed on the website, or is the info that’s on there pretty much all there is?

 

I doubt that a consultant will have info that isn't on the website, info that isn't also available to you some other way, like looking at web forums where prior student's scholarship experiences are discussed (or by calling there yourself, as the PP said). They would need very extensive experience with a particular college to have significant info on merit scholarships that's not otherwise available, the level of experience more typical of a high school's college counselor where there are many data points.

 

There are some schools that include a scholarship estimate in the Net Price Calculator (in that case, the NPC will ask about GPA and test scores). I don't know how accurate any particular NPC is for that, but it's worth having a look.

 

Our school counselor pointed us to the College Board search tool because it includes data on "average" non-need scholarships for a particular college, though now that I've looked at them, at least one of them I know is not really reflective of the situation - the College Board page gives an average merit of 10 or 20k for a particular college where I know that, in fact, that college only offers a handful of super-competitive full-tuition scholarships and zero other merit.

 

Our school counselor was able to give a typical merit range for a private college that's popular with students from this high school, where >20 kids apply each year, and that was helpful to know.  That college likes students from this type of high school and the typical merit info was a little different from (more than :) ) what I'd have expected based on what I read on forums.

Edited December 11, 2017 by wapiti

[JanetC]

Wapiti -- that is why I prefer collegedata.com

The Money Matters tab will not just give average amounts of aid, but also the number of students who received it

[MarkT]

Probably not very applicable but I purchased this book based on WTM forum recommendations.

How to Prepare a Standout College Application: Expert Advice that Takes You from LMO* (*Like Many Others) to Admit 

https://www.amazon.com/How-Prepare-Standout-College-Application/dp/1118414403/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513079301&sr=8-1&keywords=alison+cooper>

We are using for Honors college essays.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would create quite specific individual questions on your topics and post them here.

You may want to google search this forum first - the WTM search engine is horrible.

use this style in Google  - important

Standout College Application site:forums.welltrainedmind.com

 

[Jazzy]

Thanks, Mark!

[kewb]

I used a consultant with both my kids. He was expensive but worth it for us. It changed my role from nag to support. Question-go ask consultant. Don't like the deadline-take it up with consultant. He was a great help with the essay and helping my kids understand what they were looking for. That said, we did not utilize him for scholarships or financial aid information. That was not his area of expertise.

Here is the most valuable piece of information I learned about state school versus private school. Many private schools have money to give in the form of merit aid and needs based grants. Depending on what you qualify for it can bring the cost way down. In some cases it can cost less than or at least equal the state school. We had our kids apply to private schools with the understanding that they would not be able to attend without the financial aid. My average sat score son got in to excellent schools and received generous aid from most of them.

[swimmermom3]

We worked with Barbara H. here on the board and her help was invaluable. I thought her rates were reasonable and she did a wonderful job in teasing out of my son a strong essay that reflected who he is. He was accepted to all 8 schools that he applied to and received scholarship offers for all as well. She helped us craft the list.