Full disclosure: we are not, in this blog post, suggesting that you hire us. Rather, we know from experience, there will, for many parents, come a time in the admission process in which hiring a consultant is the best path forward. So, whether it’s us or someone else, be mindful of your child’s status throughout the process so you can hire someone if you need to before it’s too late.

Know Your Limits

The right time to hire a consultant is when your kid is applying to college and you realize there’s something you don’t know about the process. A lot has changed since you applied to college. You might know how to raise kids as a single parent, or even how to run a Fortune 500 company, but it’s important to realize that there’s a lot about the post-Millennium application that is new to you. 

For a lot of parents, the moment they seek outside help is the moment they recognize they don’t know what they’re doing. But, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that the time to purchase a new Brita filter is a month before the old one stops working. So, buy yourself a ten-pack of filters at Costco and consider preempting the breakdown with the college process.

Seek Help Before Stagnation Hits

New Brita filters, doctor’s checkups, and oil changes are preventive measures we take for a reason. Otherwise, we end up spending extra time and money dealing with mishaps that forethought and planning could have prevented. We see it all the time. Parents try to help their kids through the application process, it ends up being too much, and kids who just want to be done with it all turn off and give up. You want to get some support from a consultant before this happens.

It’s a lot harder to help a student who is already burnt out, has been spinning their wheels, or has begun arguing with their parents about their college to-do list. So, streamline the process. Consult someone who will guide you and your kid through targeted, relevant objectives, as opposed to superfluous actions you might be unwittingly adding to their plate.

Find the Right Approach for You

We are not the service for everyone. We conduct a very in-depth process through which we come into your family for a little bit. We help our students with every single aspect of the college process, from making a list of schools that match their interests, to building an impressive resume, to asking for teacher recommendations, and crafting standout Common App essays. When we build out extracurriculars, we push kids outside their comfort zones to create truly impressive projects. We might not be the solution for someone who doesn’t want to check in every week, do a quarterly call, or engage in a more hands-on counseling process. Whether it’s us or another counseling service, having someone on the outside who can act as a check throughout the college process is never a bad idea.

Need some help with Common App essays? Reach out to us here. We’re great at helping students craft personal stories that impress admissions teams.