help with the college application process? Did anyone use companies for this?

[DavidS]

Nope and Nope for our two college-bound kids.  One ended up at UVM and the other is starting UMass-Amherst in the Fall.  Both are happy with their choices.

[chopper]

Union crane operator. $86 an hour plus, full union benefits, pension, retire after 20 years.

[tenders]

How old is the student? 95% of the work of a successful application to a competitive college has been done by the end of junior year - high school course selection, grades, extracurriculars, and standardized test scores. The student might squeeze a handful of additional points out of a test by retaking it senior year, but no magical essay can overcome weakness in those other areas.

[creektech]

Union crane operator. $86 an hour plus, full union benefits, pension, retire after 20 years.

I hadn't thought of that but a real possibility but only if it matches the kids' interests. My son and his first cousin graduated HS in the same year. My son has his PhD, and his cousin is a Master Electrician with an associates. They make nearly the same annual salary and the electrician's benefits may be a hair better.

[ltlurkr]

I have one junior engineering major and one starting in the fall. Both at UC Berkeley.

Read a "Who Gets in and Why" by Jeff Selingo. I wouldn't hire a college counselor unless 1) he/she comes recommended by someone you trust or 2) you and your kid can't work effectively as a team. Even then, you can DIY a lot of stuff like building a college list, test prep, etc. and mainly just pay essay/application guidance.

If your kid is a rising senior, there isn't much that can be done other than the essays. That's not a bad thing, it's just some of the counselors try to get clients when they are entering 7th grade so they can "shape" their application.

[rz]

Things have definitely changed.  I think my HS GPA was just under 3.4.  One AP class. No sports, a few clubs.  Good SAT score. I got several scholarship offers... the most was a 3/4 tuition to Univ of Miami (FL).  Had half tuition offer to Rensselaer Polytech in NY.  Ended up taking a smaller scholarship to smaller private school that was much closer to home. 

My son (who is on spectrum), has a 3.0 GPA right now. He's taken one AP class. No sports, no clubs (although he says he wants to join yearbook club next year).  There's zero chance he'll get into one of the 12 Florida State universities.  They all have a minimum GPA of like 3.8. And from what I've heard, even that isn't enough to get in.  You have to be in all kinds of sports and clubs as well. He's pretty much guaranteed entrance to one of the state colleges though.  And if he gets an Associate degree with at least a 2.0 GPA, he can then transfer to one of the State Universities.

[creektech]

One thought if a student is considering engineering... There are still "open enrollment" universities out there. Find an ABET accredited engineering program at one of these schools, preferably one that offers graduate programs (so profs are engaged in current research). With the appropriate HS math prep, virtually any HS grad can get in. The resultant degree is just as marketable as the name schools. The only detractor is that the student may be slightly less competitive iii they want to pursue a PhD later on.

[Buzz]

We used a prep company to help Baby Buzz get into Hoity-Toity High School (of Billionaire Boys Club fame; special series starts this weekend on CNN), and then the SAT test prep company we used helped w/ his college apps back when. The kid had some D-1 baseball scholarships in hand, but then he blew out his shoulder before his senior year in HS, so his plans got altered in a big way.

If your kid(s) want to max out their collegiate options/opportunities, taking advantage of a known successful college application service can certainly be worthwhile. Things have definitely changed since the 1960's when I applied to college (and went to UCLA). Now just gotta get Baby Buzz married off and start cranking out some grandkids so we can re-familiarize ourselves w/ the current application paradigm(s).

Good luck.

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