Should you pay for a consultant?

Consultants grew up around private admissions, because no one publishes what gets a student in. The district's regular application is a form and a ranked list of schools. No interview, no essay, nobody reading for an impression, and nothing for a consultant to work on.

Lowell and Ruth Asawa SOTA are the public exceptions, and each takes a narrow kind of help. Lowell's December application asks for written answers, which a writing coach can work on, though the January essay is proctored at your student's own school. Ruth Asawa SOTA turns on an audition or a portfolio, so the person worth paying there teaches the art form.

Private admissions asks a lot of everyone in it. Thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds interview, write essays, and make an impression on tours, and their parenting adults project-manage all of it on top of their actual lives. So if hiring help makes that more bearable and it fits your budget, there is nothing wrong with it. And if you'd rather do it yourselves, plenty of families do, ours included.

A writing or essay consultant works with your student on their applications. This can be a gift, especially if you have a teenager who would rather do almost anything than take feedback from you (which is to say, a teenager), or a student who needs a little extra support around a learning difference. Sometimes a calm outside voice gets more done in an hour than you can in a whole weekend.

A full admissions consultant is broader, and it's a private-list service. They help you build a list, manage the calendar, prep for interviews, and hold your hand through the process. Some families find that worth every dollar. Whether it's worth it to you comes down to how much of the load you want to carry yourself.

A consultant is an option, not a requirement, and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably selling something. It's also expensive, and for many families simply out of reach. You are not behind, and you are not failing your student, if you skip it.