Pro – by Makaylah Gerling

With college decisions around the corner, students continue to stress over their submitted applications, and the years of hard work endured for this moment. With the growing complexities of college applications in recent years, college admission counselors are an instrumental asset to many aspiring students. Insight from college admission counselors can offer everything from a precisely laid out schedule to general tips.

A college application should reflect a students’ dedication and hard work throughout their high school years. A student may have a picture-perfect grade point average, a critical role in community involvement and successful athletic pursuits, but have their application face repercussions as a result of their failure to grasp the meticulous details of an application that can impact their college decision. 

So the question arises: why not? Why not take advantage of the resources available to invest in your future? Why not take the advice of those who have carefully studied the college admissions process tiresley to provide students with the best odds?

In an academic world as competitive as it is today, students are drowning in stress and are seeking a guide in their troubles. According to an article from Signature College Counseling, “A top 10 school in 2006 had a 16% admissions rate. Today, that rate is just 6.4%, a decline of almost 60%.”

With college acceptance rates dropping drastically across the board, student stress levels hit an all time high. One advantage of investing in college admission counseling is the way it offers a clear and concise schedule to its clients, especially to those who don’t have the best time management skills. By laying out a clear schedule, college admission counselors hold applicants accountable for staying up to date while simultaneously reducing stress. This schedule can entail conference calls, supplemental writing, application submission and editing sessions. By offering a direct path it ensures that applicants aren’t cramming their applications, leading to poorer submission quality. 

Also providing a clear structure, repetitive sessions with a college admission counselor can aid in reducing the rumors surrounding applications. While teenagers tend to seek information from unreliable news sources like TikTok and Instagram, a small post or video can lead applicants to false information. Clouding the view of applicants, rumors continue to infiltrate their minds and affect their judgment. By simply hopping on a call with your college counselor, it can turn into a simple Q&A to help ease the nerves and clear the air with helpful, reliable information.

Moreover, the presence of a college counselor can make your application stand out in a pile of thousands cookie-cutter applications. College admission counselors know what will catch an admissions officer’s eye and how to maximize your potential on paper with what you have in your toolbox.

Some may argue that the large amounts of money poured into the counseling process is an excessive expense that serves as an unfair advantage to those who don’t have the financial means to pay for these resources. While this is an important argument, college admission counselors may have varying price ranges and programs for those who don’t have the financial means to pay the full price. 

Through all the positives that hiring a college admissions counselor offers, why would you risk the map of your future when you have the opportunity to maximize your potential and strive to achieve your goals? It’s time to make the right choice for your future and prioritize the next chapter of your life. Embrace the opportunity to confide in a professional who understands the entirety of the college application process, and allow them to showcase your strengths.

Con – by Jessie Chen

With increasingly competitive college admissions and acceptance rates in the single digits, students have turned to college admission counselors to plan their academic paths, extracurricular schedules and help write college essays and supplementals. When student’s work through their college application process, it is worth students foregoing a college counselor and working on their applications independently. 

For many, the biggest problem of hiring college admissions counselors is the price. The Princeton Review charges $3,499 for seven virtual meetings, guidance and help on college essays. Their premium plan costs $14,999 for monthly meetings and communication with experts. Given that a four-year tuition for top colleges costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is worth contemplating whether spending additional thousands is a prudent investment for students. 

At The Princeton Review, an hourly meeting with a college admissions counselor costs $499, while an average family in San Diego makes $26 an hour and top earners earn about $45 according to Ziprecruiter. Affordability is the biggest obstacle to hiring a college admissions counselor for many families. For those with limited resources, the expense can create a sense of inequality in the admissions process. Those who are able to afford a counselor admissions counselor have access to more resources making it ultimately unfair for other students. The expense is not justifiable for many families especially when there are free resources available like school counselors. 

College admission officers look for authenticity, strong writing and a personal perspective in essays, but many college admissions counselors’ approaches are overly formulaic, and may apply standardized strategies that fail to address an individual student’s unique strengths, interests and goals. A college admission counselor, no matter their experience, may lack the understanding of a child’s unique talents and character. Because of the short time that a college admission counselor has known their client, they can only understand them to some extent. Meanwhile, parents have a unique understanding of their child’s strengths, passions and personality that no college admission counselor can replicate as parents have witnessed their development over the years. College admission officers often look for essays that reveal who a student is beyond their grades and test scores.When students submit generic essays, it misses the opportunity to connect with the reviewers. It can also create an over reliance on the college admission counselor and prevent students from fully engaging in the application process, as these personal essays are opportunities for self reflection. By opting for assistance, students miss out on opportunities of independence and ability to share their unique aspects of themselves. 

Moreover, the effectiveness and experience of college admission counselors can vary, and an inadequate match can lead to poor guidance and support. Some college admissions counselors might focus on prestigious and high ranked colleges, potentially overlooking alternative paths that could be a better fit for the student, or a counselor’s vision for the student’s future may not align with the student’s personal goals. 

Instead of enjoying their last year of high school with senior activities, like prom, graduation or college visits, students will have added stress about perfecting their specific formulas for essays. The involvement of a college admission counselor can make students feel a greater urgency to meet specific expectations or achieve a certain outcome. 

While college admission counselors can help students improve the quality of college essays, it is ultimately up to students to take responsibility and perform their roles during the application process and have their own voice, but ultimately, college admission counselors can not take all the responsibilities of the student. College essays are opportunities for self-reflection and expression, which is irreplaceable by a counselor as they can only do so much, but it is up to the student to have a solid foundation.