College consultants take families by the hand

Parents anxious about getting their kids into the right schools are seeking out professionals in college consulting, a field that has burgeoned in recent years.

Last update: October 20, 2006 - 10:32 AM

When Gillian Gabriel became a self-described "basket case" over finding a college for her son, she sought professional help.

The Bloomington mom hired a consultant when her son Nathaniel was a junior at Edina High School. Gabriel had graduated from Duke University, and she wanted Nathaniel to go to a highly ranked school as well.

"Growing up on the East Coast, that brand-name school thing is big," she said.

The Twin Cities is one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation for college consultants, said Mark Sklarow, who heads the Independent Educational Consultants Association.

Five years ago, the association had one member from the Twin Cities; today, there are 12 or 13. In just the past year, national membership has jumped from 350 to 600, despite strict degree requirements that mean the association admits only one of every 10 applicants.

The Gabriels' consultant, Susan Sykes of Hopkins, suggested they broaden their search. She included excellent private schools with lower public profiles, such as Kenyon College in Ohio, where Nathaniel ended up.

"She knew how many good, smart kids would not make it into these top schools, and talked me gently through that," Gabriel said. "Much of her job was managing my anxieties."

Nationally, one of every five students who enroll in a private four-year college has used a consultant, Sklarow said. Consultants meet with parents and students for an average of 10 hours. In the Midwest, the average cost is $115 an hour, though most consultants prefer to work with students periodically over two to three years for an average cost of $2,850.

Sykes urges parents to look past the name-brand schools and find a college that fits the student.

"Parents see this as a referendum on their parenting skills, which it is not," she said. Some parents are unrealistic about their child's chances to get into so-called "best" schools, she said, because "they really want that bumper sticker. They want to say they're in the Honors Program at Michigan or Cornell or Princeton."

Sykes sees two big misperceptions among her Minnesota clients. One: A high ranking means a school is a great place for undergraduates. That's not necessarily true, she said. Two: If a school is on the East or West coast, it's the best. She said that the gut "I'm not going to Iowa" reaction she gets from many students is a mistake in a region that's rich with fine colleges.

College rankings guides bear a big part of the blame, she said.

"If high-profile colleges were to tell U.S. News to kiss off," she said, "it would take away 25 percent of the frenzy."

MARY JANE SMETANKA