Personalized College Admissions Counseling with John Baylor

I worked for John Baylor’s OnToCollege from 2016-2022. An aspect of his business that I did not get too involved in was his personalized College Admissions Counseling.

I recently asked John to summarize what he offers and what the cost is for his services. Here was his response:

We charge $4995 for these services; without ACT/SAT Prep, $4500 typically.

We begin with a 90-minute initial interrogation/consultation to learn the hopes and dreams of the student and her family, to put together an initial list of colleges that makes sense, to plan college visits, to brainstorm about a possible Personal Statement topic, to decide the future testing schedule, to consider future class choices, and to plan a meaningful volunteer activity or deeper extra curricular involvement. The family leaves that first meeting with a clear blueprint of the future-- often relieved, pleased, and confident.

We meet about every 3 months thereafter; I am also always available to them by phone. 

Then in July after junior year we begin the essay writing process in earnest. I do not write the essay, but I do guide it, ensuring an effective topic is chosen and well written. The essay help is where I think I make a huge difference. My estimation is that each year about 2 of our annual 5-or-so Platinum seniors had essays that went from potential disaster to strong asset thanks to our help. Application essays are usually not well understood or executed without some guidance. 

The essay gets a solid draft by Labor Day and then a final version by mid-October so that the student can apply Early Decision or Early Action if she chooses. Then all the applications, including supplementary essays, get completed in mid-December for Regular Decision.

One more thing: if she qualifies for need-based aid or seeks the best schools that discount the most (the best value schools armed with merit based scholarships), we can really help because we know where the best values are.

If you are interested in talking further with John about his services, please let me know, and I will introduce you to him. If you would like to get more information from families that have used his services, I can give you the names of those as well.