In information that doesn’t bode nicely for highschool seniors throughout the US, college admissions are getting more durable than ever. Admission charges proceed to plummet as faculties are receiving increasingly functions and, in flip, might be extra selective about their acceptances. Competitors on the high faculties is so powerful that many universities are saying they’re turning away candidates with excellent SAT scores. Harvard, for instance, had greater than 30,489 candidates in 2009, a ten p.c improve from simply two years in the past. The consequence was a 6.9% acceptance price. The story is similar at many faculties throughout the US college admissions counselor.
With such stiff competitors dad and mom and college students are sometimes left to surprise what extra they’ll do. Joel S, a father of three from Brooklyn, NY says “if excellent SAT scores and being concerned in a ton of extracurricular isn’t sufficient, what’s? Does my son have to separate the atom to get into Harvard?”
This confusion has left many turning to college admission advisors or consultants for assist.
4 years in the past, the Unbiased Academic Consultants Assn., a nonprofit in Fairfax, Va., estimated that some 22% of the freshmen at non-public, four-year faculties had used a college advisor. These usually costly advisors promote themselves to college students as their ticket into the Ivy League or different high faculties. However do they work?
Some candidates say sure, no doubt. Michelle T, a scholar at Columbia College in New York, used the assistance of a college admissions advisor, alongside along with her steering counselor and lecturers throughout her software season. “No doubt, the college admissions advisor was essentially the most useful individual. My lecturers have been nice, however the advisor actually knew his stuff and helps me write an essay which lots of people thought was nice. Additionally they knew all in regards to the college and actually helped with the little issues,” Michelle says. Dr Sahil Mehta, President of HigherEdDoc which runs Ivy Assist, the consulting agency that Michelle employed, agrees.
“Getting admission to your dream college isn’t a simple job. In these tough occasions, when there may be cutthroat competitors in each subject, you mayneed assist making your software nice. In such a situation, it turns into essential to hunt skilled’s companies to get by way of the admission course of” Dr Mehta says.
The admissions advisors appear to supply assist with the whole lot from deciding on the faculties to use to, brainstorming and enhancing a private statement or frequent software essay, and interview preparation. Some even assist with writing letters to attraction a wait-list determination.
The associated fee related to these packages is usually excessive, working wherever from $150 per hour to as much as $1000 per hour. Many corporations have “limitless packages” the place prices can run as excessive as $50,000 for these advisors to assist college students with their software. Ivy Assist says it fees round $150 per hour and has a number of packages that college students and their households can select from.
For households with the assets to take action, hiring an advisor looks as if an affordable factor to do. In any case, every needs their little one to jot down an awesome college private statement and interview nicely. However do not bounce the gun simply but although. Dr Mehta warns “an advisor may also help you make your precise software nice, nevertheless in case your SAT scores and GPA should not excessive sufficient, you continue to won’t get into an Ivy League faculty.”