Private college counselors prove useful, give students advantage

When class of 2012 alumnus Joshua Harris came upon the daunting task of college applications one year ago, he also happened to be balancing an insanely hectic schedule largely resulting from his drama commitments. When faced with sitting down and writing the numerous essays and supplements required for admission to top universities, Harris, like many students in this competitive day and age, sought help from a private college counselor.

Private college counselors generally aid students in building their applications as well as writing their essays and school-specific supplements. Harris’s experience with private counselor Virginia Luthman was entirely beneficial, and proved to be successful as well.

“[Meeting with a college counselor] provided a very necessary distance between parents and me during writing process, because what a parent may write or want to say is often not right for the student to actually write,” Harris said.

Harris’s schedule was usually hectic and he ended up consulting with Luthman at odd hours.

“I’m pretty sure I was a bit of a pain …” Harris said. “[I was] always in at weird times, usually spent longer than we planned working, and just talked her ear 93 percent of the way off.”

Although Harris recognizes the school’s guidance department to be useful, the luxury of having more time was what made working with a college counselor particularly helpful.

“Ms. Saiki is totally wonderful and totally busy,” Harris said. “Having Virginia meant having a person for whom this was her priority. This is what she does.”

Private counselors like Luthman give students specific, one-on-one critiques on their essays. Harris largely credits his admission to University of Chicago, where he is now a student, to Luthman’s critiques of his essay question responses. 

Much of the controversy surrounding the use of college counselors stems from the fact that people are paying to have advantages such as this in the admissions process. Harris acknowledges this criticism but still feels that there is no reason not to get some extra help.

“It does definitely put students who have them at an advantage,” Harris said, “but they aren’t going anywhere. If I'm not going to have a college counselor, my neighbor still will. So why not give myself the same advantage?”

Harris believes his experience with Luthman was “invaluable,” but also realizes that some people can get through the admissions process on their own.

Senior Cynthia Chen, who is mostly finished with her applications, found other resources besides a private counselor to aid her in the applications process.

“I have three older brothers, and they were able to proofread and answer most of the questions I had,” Chen said.

Chen was also able to make use of other free opportunities to help guide her through the process.

“I attended a summer program where college seminars were freely provided for the attendees about college essays,” Chen said. “Their informational seminars were very helpful in the process, and they were able to answer questions … that I had.”

The expense of a private college counselor also deterred Chen. According to a New York Times survey of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the national average hourly rate of an independent college counselor is about $185 dollars. Rather than charging hourly rates, some counselors offer multi-year counseling packages, for which the national average cost hovers around $3,600.

“Private college counselors are extremely expensive and I do not feel that it is necessary to spend that much money,” Chen said.

Besides the cost, Chen does believe private counselors have a place in helping with student’s applications.

“I believe [private counselors] help in the admissions process a bit unfairly and overall are unnecessary, as college applications are intended to reflect the student as a person, not a college counselor's opinions…” Chen said. “Many counselors will edit essays and I feel in some situations this impersonalizes them.”

Senior Teddy Sun, however, thinks that the help he has found with private counseling at Flex College Prep has taught him “how to write [his essays].”

“Preparing to write my college essays at the start of summer, I realized I had no idea what I was doing,” Sun said.

Since finding counseling at Flex College Prep, Sun understands the application process more and feels his writing has improved. Sun has weekly sessions with a counselor at Flex specifically to edit his essay, along with a monthly session for “them to check up on my overall progress.”

“They don’t write the essays for us or tell us what to write,” Sun said. “They just guide us through the process and advise us on what to do.”

Sun does recognize, though, that counseling such as his does give an advantage to some people.

“It might be unfair to some people because some might not be able to afford this counseling,“ Sun said, “which gives people who can afford it an advantage.”

However, as Chen points out, the unfair aspects of college applications go far beyond private counseling.

“I believe the [unfairness] applies to many aspects of college admissions,” Chen said. “The SAT, for example, is heavily skewed since the wealthy can afford to take SAT preparatory classes … In terms of college admissions, money gives a huge advantage.”