During free consultations in which prospective clients have the opportunity to ask us questions about Ivy Coach’s services, we occasionally encounter know-it-alls. You know. Parents who already have a complete understanding of the elite college admissions process and don’t hesitate to tell us. In fact, they typically start off the conversation with a line like, “I went to Harvard. So did my husband. My son went to Yale, my daughter goes to Columbia. So I already really understand the college admissions process. My third child is a little bit different…” And what goes through our heads? “Another armchair college admissions expert/parent. How can we get off the phone faster?”

We’ll never understand why some folks reach out to us if they already feel they know it all, if they already feel they don’t need our help. In our experience, these people will very rarely become our clients. Instead, they just set up free consultations to pick our brains even though we expressly state that our free consultations are only designed to answer questions about our service offerings. As much as we may tell them this, they nonetheless find themselves disappointed when we’re unwilling to offer free advice. They’re also disappointed when we won’t endorse the plans they’ve mapped out for their children because that is what they want — our stamp of approval so they know what they’re doing is right (and it’s often not right!).

So, to the know-it-alls, to the armchair college admissions experts/parents, if you truly feel you have a great understanding of the elite college admissions process, why reach out to us? Why waste our time? Why not go it alone and see what happens? Sorry, we just had to vent today because know-it-alls, well, they drive us crazy. In any case, if you don’t think you know it all, feel free to sign up for a free consultation with Ivy Coach to learn about our services.