"Secret" Bad Counselor Advice?
I was speaking with a mom of one of our students who got into an elite (6% acceptance rate) college this month. She reminded me of a forgotten discussion over the past summer.
The topic: to submit or not to submit?
As in, should we go test-optional or submit our ACT?
The guidance counselor at his private high school was firm. Definitely submit it, you're in the 25-75% range.
"What do you think," the mom asked me in August.
I looked everything over, including the factors that guidance counselors frequently miss (but admissions officers don't):
Grades, scores, rigor, extracurriculars, race, ethnicity, how you're applying (ED, EA, etc.), parents' finances and another half dozen or so components of the application.
"Not so fast," I said. I understood the counselor's advice, but it didn't sit right. I chose my words carefully.
"Your counselor's an idiot. Do NOT send your scores. The rest of his application is strong. It would be incredibly stupid to give the admissions committee a reason to deny."
You already know what happened, he got in. But my conversation reminded me how many seemingly life-or-death decisions today's college applicants face. (Seemingly, not actually.). The personal statement, supplemental essays, whether to apply Early Decision or not, what to do about your SAT or ACT scores, you name it.
If you have a current 11th grader, you'll be facing those questions soon enough. You should check out our 11th annual College Application Edge bootcamp, especially the Early Action Discount and super valuable bonus:
When you sign up now, before January 1, you'll 1. save 500 bucks and 2. we'll do your FAFSA, CSS Profile and all other financial aid forms (value: $3,500).
Unlike other summer bootcamps, this one lasts more than a week or two. It actually starts with monthly Instructional sessions in January, and the roll-up-your-sleeves work sessions run June-September, including:
*Heavy essay editing
*Deep insight about true odds of admission at the colleges you're contemplating, so that you create a balanced and strategic list of schools, and
*Help paying, because we take care of the financial aid applications.
Note: I have to limit this offer to six (6) because it's free for our private 1:1 clients and always very well attended, in the office and online (this is our 11th annual bootcamp).
- Andy "Beloved by Guidance Counselors" Lockwood
P.S. This is a group program, that's why we're able to offer it at this price. If you're interested in 1:1 college advising, we still have some spots left for 2026 kids (more for younger students).
P.P.S. Here's what you get when you say YES to our program...
- All the support your kiddo needs to get his/her college applications D-O-N-E over the summer, before school starts in the Fall
- Monthly, interactive group coaching sessions and accountability from Andy Lockwood and team (recorded if you can't make it live)
- (This means you don't have to scream or threaten your child all summer! Your kid = Our project!)
- Monthly supplemental Office Hours to drop in (in-office and virtually) to ask your questions
- A college essay advisor assigned to you -- for brainstorming and edits for the the Common Application essay and supplemental essays
- Timeline of what needs to be done and when so nothing slips through the cracks and you and your child are not blindsided at the last minute by "hidden" deadlines that you should have known about!
- Pre-recorded INSIDER instructional content, including interviews with former admissions officers, sample essays to model (NOT plagiarize!) to review at your convenience
- How to stand out in a “Sea of Sameness” from 50,000 competitor applicants with the same grades and same test scores, and create an application so powerful that admissions officers will (practically) crawl naked over broken glass to admit your student
- How to choose colleges strategically, not based entirely on “Rear Window Sticker” or rank
- How to visit colleges - including the two key areas that you’ll never hear about on an “info-session” (sales pitch) or tour (sales pitch)
- A ninja way to ACE the college interview, by turning the tables on the interviewer
- How to find overlooked “gem” colleges that will give your child a great education at a great price
- Waitlist strategies (huge this year - perhaps bigger next year!)
- BONUS: How to qualify for five figure merit scholarships even if your child didn’t crush the SAT/ACT or write the #1 downloaded AI app over break
- BONUS: Access to proprietary College Guru Software to help you create a balanced, strategic list and identify merit aid opportunities (far more powerful than Naviance because it lacks its inherent, misleading design flaws). Value. $497
- BONUS: Fast Start Call to make sure you get everything you can out of the Bootcamp and answer your questions. Value: $500
- "EARLY ACTION BONUS" - Your FAFSA and CSS Profile, prepared accurately, strategically and on-time! Save hours of confusion and frustration, avoid deadly, self-inflicted wounds/mistakes. Value: $3,500