College resources

Students work with Ms. Handel in the College and Career Center. (Josephine Rivera-Hoagland, The Puma Prensa)

By Josephine Rivera-Hoagland, editor

“As educational counselors, we endeavor to help you identify the best educational options for your child.” The bold words dominate the header of the website of Mallory, Baron, Ross, Kindler & Adeosun, singing out to parents and students alike. This, of course, is a private college counseling site. Their services range from test preparation to role playing for college interviews, all for a few thousand dollars. 

For students with a private college counselor, the application process is streamlined. Your school counselor may take weeks to get back to you, but with a private one, advice is only a phone call away. 

Counselors can cater to their individual students, painting a flawless portrait of applicants for selective colleges. Your blemishes are minimized while your personal triumphs are shined to perfection. Some students received summer activity help, while others got testing advice. One senior, Jerry Ji, got advice early on about “activities, grades, and extracurriculars,” but otherwise the counselor mostly helped him stay on top of applications. “I would be much more lazy [and would have] procrastinated more” without the help, he said. 

While most students are left asking parents, teachers, or one another for application help, counselors make themselves far more available for questions, often sharing their phone number. Confused on a deadline? They know when it is. Don’t have time to proofread? They got you there too. Under a private counselor’s wing, students have a head start on a very crowded playing field.

Kim Handel, the College and Career counselor, noted that “a lot of students have a hard time getting started” on applications, despite the resources available. In the counseling department, students “can’t get that same level of support in terms of getting someone who’s sitting down with you” to go through the process, but “I do think there is information out there.” 

And it’s true: Search up “college application advice” and watch as 449 million hits populate your screen. However, sifting through all that information takes time that seniors don’t have, which is where counselors step in. 

Colleen Morris, senior, had a private counselor to help with activities and the general application, as well as a physics tutor for junior year and an essay editor over the summer of 2022. 

Counselors “can give you a really good objective look at your chances, because sometimes it’s easy to be too self-deprecating or too egotistical. They can put you in your place,” said Morris. Realistically, many top students will not get into top schools due to the sheer number of students applying; counselors can show you “safety school” options as well as “reach schools” to maximize your chances of getting into a “decent” school—whatever that may mean to you. 

Private college counseling has flourished in the past two decades, presenting itself to already affluent families as a key for private college admissions. College is a pay-to-play game, with applications already costing an exorbitant amount for middle and lower class families. Once you factor in the AP and standardized tests, specialized camps and programs, tutoring, graphing calculators, laptops, and time dedicated to personal statements that together create an Ivy-League student, you’ve reached astronomical prices. Adding in private counseling gives students the extra push to reach the prized ivory towers at Harvard, Yale, or Columbia. 

However, that sort of prestige isn’t always the final aim of hiring a private counselor, as senior Carmen Jimenez pointed out. 

“I don’t have anyone in my family who knows a lot about the college process,” said Jimenez. “I was really lost in the beginning of the admissions process, and [counseling] helped me get started. It’s a huge privilege to have a resource” like college counseling. 

There is no doubt that private college counseling provides opportunities for upper class students to cross the precarious bridge of elite college applications. No other resource compares, and in the coin toss that decides your rejection or admission, a private counselor may just give you the edge to tip your chances. It may not level the playing field any more, but it wasn’t really a fair game to start with, was it?