Why You Should Hire 
a College Counselor

WHAT DOES A COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CONSULTANT DO?

Slammed doors. Shouting matches.
Students and parents have conflicting approaches.
At Ivy Coach, we share the correct approach.

And we prevent murder.

Good independent college counselors optimize students’ cases for admission to their dream schools. Beginning whenever the student comes to the private college counselor, they’ll create an action plan for their high school years (or the remainder of their high school years), so they’re taking the most rigorous coursework possible, sitting for the proper tests, getting involved in extracurricular activities that will wow, setting themselves up to secure powerful letters of recommendation from their school counselor and teachers, demonstrating interest in colleges, and so much more. Most importantly, good independent college counselors relieve the stress in families. No more slammed doors — no more fights over dinner about college essay topics.

Of course, there are college counselors who write a lot about “school fit.” Their goal is not to help students earn admission to the best university possible but instead to a school they feel the student will love. And, don’t get us wrong, we understand that a student who loves the bright lights of the city isn’t necessarily going to love attending Dartmouth in rural New Hampshire. Fit does matter. But, in our experience, the majority of students fall in love with the best college they happen to get into, which is precisely what we do: we help students earn admission to the best college or colleges they can get into based on their academic profiles.

It’s not that private college counselors who lead with the word “fit” aren’t good counselors. It’s just that we find it’s a bit of a cop-out. Our mission at Ivy Coach is to help students get into their dream schools and we want families who are interested in our services to understand our objectives.

THE APPROACH OF IVY COACH

Your child has a 33 ACT,
plays the flute, and debates.
She wants to go to Harvard.

We’ll burst
her bubble.

Ivy Coach, a family business, was founded by a New Yorker. As such, we unapologetically tell it like it is — whether students or their parents wish to hear it. That’s right. We do not believe in sugarcoating. We’re allergic to it.

If a student isn’t going to get into Harvard, we’re going to tell that student they’re not going to get in because we’d rather that student hear the sobering news from us than hear it from Harvard after they waste their Early card on the school.

Some students and parents push back, “But we never want to wonder throughout the rest of our lives if Harvard was possible.” Our answer? “You’re not going to have to wonder. We’re telling you now that it’s not going to happen. But if you apply to Harvard, you’ll be left wondering if Columbia, Dartmouth, or Brown could have been possible if you had heeded our advice and applied Early.” In almost every instance, our families listen. It sometimes takes them a day or two for the news to sink in.

And if we had to sum up in one word why our students get in, that word is weird. We help make our students weird through their activities and storytelling that reflect a singular hook (rather than well-roundedness). Sure, we make sure that our students go beyond their rigorous high school curriculums and sit for the proper tests (it’s perplexed us for many years how often parents think the courses and testing are what they are!).

But in elite college admissions, when universities like Harvard deny five full classes worth of students with perfect or near-perfect grades and scores, these are merely the table stakes. Our students, through their applications, dare admissions officers not to offer them admission by showcasing how they will change the world in one super specific and always unusual way. Or, as we like to say, weird. And it’s always based on their genuine interests. In short, weird wins.