Across the United States, juniors and seniors face the daunting task of navigating college applications. According to the nonprofit news organization Marketplace, the widespread adoption of the Common Application in the early 2000s led to a dramatic decline in admission rates, as the number of applicants increased significantly while admitted class sizes remained unchanged. This major change and the move away from test scores have left students scrambling for help to succeed in the competitive application process. However, public school college counseling resources are often overwhelmed, with counselors swamped by hundreds of seniors. In fact, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250-to-1 student-to-school counselor ratio, but the national average was 376-to-1 in the 2023-2024 school year. In California, the 2023-2024 ratio was above the national average, with 443 students for every counselor. To remedy this, many families turn to outside resources for college support, paying thousands of dollars for private college counselors or independent educational consultants (IECs) to improve their children’s applications. 

The private college counseling industry has experienced exponential growth in recent decades to meet the staggering demand from students. According to Time, fewer than 100 people worked as full-time IECs 30 years ago. In 2022, Mark Sklarow, chief executive officer of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), said that number had risen to more than 8,000. The cost of an IEC’s services is staggering: in 2018, the IECA reported that the mean college counseling package fees across the nation ranged from $850 to $10,000, with average prices ranging from $4,000-$6,000. This price tag does not deter families, though; one in five incoming Harvard students reported receiving help from a privately hired counselor in 2021. Of these students, 48.9 percent of those who disclosed their parents’ financial status reported a combined family income of $250,000 or more; 9.8 percent reported a parental income of less than $40,000, according to The Harvard Crimson. 

In such an affluent area like Marin, the tenth richest county in America by median household income (U.S. News), it’s common for students to use private college counselors to guide them through admissions. In a November 2017 Bark survey, 29 percent of students reported working with a private college counselor and 18 percent were considering hiring one in the future. Now, according to the September 2025 Bark survey, 36 percent of students are working with private consultants and 25 percent are planning to hire one. 

Senior Zachary Schuman who works with a private college counselor believes that it’s exceedingly common for Redwood students to work with an IEC. 

“[It feels] like 90 percent of people have [private] college counselors,” Schuman said. “[My family, specifically,] wanted to give me the best chance at getting into a college I really want to go to. If I could get any advantage, they were willing to [pay for] that,” Schuman said. 

Working with a private counselor has helped Schuman identify and focus on schools with the strongest programs in his intended major.

“I meet with [my counselor] every two weeks. She helps me stay on track with my work, proofreads my essays and gives feedback about what I could improve. Or, she’ll give me ideas about [how to start an essay],” Schuman said.

He acknowledges that this resource is expensive and that it may give him an advantage over students who can’t afford a private counselor.

“It does place pressure [on me], knowing my parents are probably paying a decent amount for someone to help me. But, that does add pressure to complete my work and get it done, which is beneficial,” Schuman said.

Samantha Walravens is an award-winning journalist and author who’s published two books. Her writing background led her to launch a college consulting business five years ago. Walravens limits her practice to ten students per year and is currently working with nine seniors, some at Redwood and others across the U.S.

   “I call myself a coach,” Walravens said. “I see my role as helping students explore their interests, choose their classes and find activities that excite them. To me, that’s the beautiful part of the journey. It’s not just filling out the applications; it’s how you can pursue your interests in [and] outside of school.”

Walravens understands the inequity private college counselors can create, which is why she runs her practice on a sliding scale and tailors costs to each family’s needs. She also takes on three to four students every year free of charge, in an attempt to make private counselors a more accessible resource. 

“The inequity of it weighs heavily on me, because I would love to help everybody. Part of the reason I got into [private counseling] is that public high school guidance counselors are so overwhelmed,” Walravens said. 

But, oftentimes, private college counselors aren’t necessary and students are more than capable of completing applications independently. Senior Siena Ledesma is not using an IEC for her college applications, after her family paid a significant sum of money for a private counselor for her older sister and didn’t find it very helpful. Ledesma is an independent person overall and her parents felt confident in her ability to stay on track with applications on her own. Despite this independence, Ledesma still faces challenges when applying to college alone. 

“Getting started [with essays] has been the hardest, because when I have to create all the ideas for myself, I have to rack my brain for things I’ve done [that fit the prompt],” Ledesma said. “I also hate having my parents and other people read my essays. So, I think this has been a big [area of] growth for me, allowing my parents to look at my essays because [I’m] sharing vulnerable things.”

Working without a private consultant has also increased Ledesma’s independence and perseverance. 

“I read my essays and I’m confident in what I’ve been able to accomplish. [But, the process has] definitely taught me determination. Even last night, I was looking at some suggestions [from my parents] and I [hated] them. But, then [when] I was looking back, I was like, ‘Wait, okay, I see what you’re saying,’” Ledesma said.  

Sometimes Ledesma is stressed when it feels like everyone else has a private counselor, but often she’s relieved that she doesn’t have to worry about someone setting harsh expectations about what she can achieve.

“Some people are surprised that I don’t have [a private counselor], because I think it’s a standard that everyone has one at Redwood,” Ledesma said. 

Despite most Redwood students relying on IECs for applications, the school’s public-access college support system is thriving. Becky Bjursten runs Redwood’s College and Career Center (CCC) and works in conjunction with all the school counselors to create a strong team that can handle applications for this year’s graduating class of 466 seniors. One of the CCC’s strongest resources is college visits during the fall.

“[Redwood] has college admissions representatives coming, working with students, registering interest and helping them through the process,” Bjursten said. “So for me, I feel well-versed in all the colleges I can advise students about. It’s very up-to-date information for seniors. That’s a resource that I don’t think private college counselors have as much access to.” 

Bjusten also doesn’t believe IECs are necessary for seniors who are quickly stepping into adulthood.

“I can’t guarantee 466 seniors a weekly appointment, but I also think in terms of students who are really ready for it to be fully independent at college next year, they don’t need that level of hands-on support most of the time,” Bjursten said. 

However, Bjursten still sees high levels of pressure from the community.

“I’ve had students come to me and the first thing they say [is] ‘I don’t have a counselor outside of school,’ as if that’s an expectation [and] a norm,” Bjursten said.

Overall, Redwood’s competitive culture may have influenced an unrealistic expectation for the college process, where everyone needs a private counselor to succeed. But luckily, Redwood’s public CCC resources provide sufficient support for students who aren’t interested in paying for private counseling.