College consultants match teen with school |
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"The college planner is the child's advocate. Sometimes the parents want the kid to go one place, and the kid wants to go another place, to another state. A college counselor is hired as the advocate for the child, and what she is able to do is really get the kid on neutral territory and find out what the kid wants because ultimately it is the kid's college experience," Beren says.
What a college consultant costs
There is a wide variation in the average costs of college consulting, according to Sklarow. Hourly fees range from $60 in small communities to over $300 in New York. Sometimes, the consulting is done as part of a package that includes several years of advice. Those range from $700 to more than $6,000, with the average being just above $3,000.
"The $60 will pay for one hour of advice. The packages that most consultants use may cover three years of advice and assistance in choosing high school classes, exploring summer opportunities, researching colleges, doing career exploration and investigating learning styles," Sklarow says.
The variation of $700 to $6,000 is often a geographic difference. A family living in a small town in the Southeast will pay one-seventh of what a family pays in a New York suburb, Sklarow says.
How the consulting process works
Alan Haas, president of Educational Futures in New Canaan, Conn., an hour north of New York, has 25 years of experience as a college consultant.
This former high school principal says parents may have to spend money to save money.
"The objective is to make the right match, so that the greater investment and the financial and educational future of the child are preserved," Haas says.
Haas says a family must determine if, by hiring a consultant, they can feel more confident that the educational needs are filled and the financial investment is sound.
"We offer an initial personal consultation. At the end of the session, if I do not feel we can be helpful or the investment is necessary, I inform them. A legitimate consultant is an educator first, and second of all a business person," Haas says.
Haas meets with the son or daughter and parents, for a two-hour discussion that costs $600. Then he writes a detailed report that can be used as a road map, with advice for standardized tests, time management, use of leisure time, summer-vacation options and strategies for teacher recommendations. These options are what a student needs to take control of the process himself, Haas says.
"If I feel we could be helpful, the parents want to make the investment and the child wants to work with us, we then contract for our comprehensive college program. Ideally, we would like to begin the formal process early in the junior year, when it really starts to count. Our fee is currently $7,000 to $8,000 over two full years," he says.
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