The Hidden Costs of a Local Counselor

Meet Sarah G., a working parent with a high-achieving high school junior named Alex. Between school, sports, extracurricular activities, and preparing for the SATs, Alex’s schedule is packed. Sarah feels overwhelmed by the thought of navigating the complex college admissions process on her own. With so many moving parts and deadlines, she wonders how to provide the best support for her child without adding more stress to their already hectic lives.

Sarah knows that working with a college counselor is one way to avoid the stress and frustration of navigating college admissions alone. However, scheduling yet another meeting each week—or even finding time to research and enroll—might not be possible. At this point, she still faces a major decision: local or online? In-person or virtual? Believe it or not, it’s a conversation that we at Empowerly have with families often!

When weighing the pros and cons of local vs. online college counseling, what should you know? Don’t stress. We’re going to give it to you straight, and discuss the upsides—and potential downsides—to both local and virtual counseling resources.

What exactly does a college counselor do? 

Forbes explains, “College counselors help students choose schools, decide on majors, apply for financial aid, select high school courses and extracurricular activities, prepare for college entrance exams, and polish their essays and applications.”

Some counselors start working with students as early as middle school. Thanks to advancements in remote communication technologies, many college counselors now offer virtual consulting services, allowing you to get started from the comfort of your home. 

For instance, Empowerly operates as a fully remote organization with a network of specialized and dedicated expert counselors, essay editors, research teams, and more. We assist students throughout the college application process, regardless of their location, providing access to a larger pool of counselors and resources. This improves the chances of a successful and enjoyable college admissions experience for your student.

Why is college counseling such an important investment? Working with a qualified counselor, you can see your odds of all of the following increase: 

• Getting accepted into a desirable summer program
• Being hired for an amazing internship
• Gaining admission to your college or university of choice
• Discovering your passions and potential career paths early
• Avoiding excessive tuition costs
• Selecting the right college in terms of culture, opportunities, and prestige
• Handling transitional phases as you enter young adulthood

At Empowerly, we’ve seen these chances improve by up to 11x times, compared to not working with a counselor. In today’s competitive landscape, that’s a significant advantage. College counselors can also assist with changing majors or making career transitions, impacting your life for years to come.

There are other advantages to both local and virtual counseling. Let’s explore the differences.

Local counselors often come with personal recommendations, allowing you to gather insights from friends or classmates you know who have worked with them. If you prefer in-person meetings, a local counselor can facilitate those.

However, public school and university counselors are often overbooked, providing limited time for individual students. Even if you do secure regular meeting times, there’s no guarantee that your local college counselor would be the best fit for your teen. When choosing from a limited pool, the likelihood of finding a mentor who can specialize in your student’s specific interests—from majors to projects to selective programs—plummets.

Lastly, local counselors typically work independently, outside of a team or peer network. Without access to a team’s resources or continuous professional development, it’s difficult for any one person to stay abreast of every trend and change.

Online college counseling programs work collaboratively to help every student thrive. Not only do digital resources always provide up-to-the-moment information, but enrolled students have access to multiple layers of support and a world-class network of professional connections that extend beyond their college acceptances.

In addition, online counselors tend to work extra hard to earn your trust, offering case studies, references, and evidence of their program’s success. Virtual meetings provide increased flexibility, no commute time, and the ability to match with a counselor across different time zones. This option offers as much one-on-one time as needed, often resulting in more personalized support.

As a parent, finding the right mentor for your teenager is the bottom line. Opting online allows you to choose from a much larger range of counselors, giving you the choice back. Whether you want to filter by major specialty, professional field, or admissions experience, the level of customization and personalization ensures that each individual student gets the attention and care they deserve.

• Individual Attention: Online counselors can offer more one-on-one support compared to overwhelmed local counselors.
• Digital Skills: Practicing interview skills in digital settings is valuable for the future workforce.
• Proven Success: Programs with thousands of satisfied students and strong admissions data show effective results.

Personally, I lean towards online counseling. Think about it this way: working online gives you the freedom to be matched with an expert from a totally different background than your hometown. Not only can you make use of a full digital suite of tools to help you, the online accountability tracks your progress. Plus, depending on your interests, you can work directly with former admissions officers from top schools like Stanford, Harvard, or UC Berkeley! They’ll meet with you, review your essays, and send you emails about your work between sessions, depending on the level of support you need. Even better, you can interview expert counselors in a range of career fields. If you’re motivated, you can even learn what you would be interested in pursuing for your career. 

• Customizable Matching: Find the best-fit mentor with a diverse pool of far-ranging counselors.
• Multiple Specialists: Access various experts, including resource and editing teams, for comprehensive support.
• Professional Insights: Get additional feedback through college list verification and reviews from former admissions officers.

And finally, a small perk to ours (the Empowerly program) in particular: we can even set you up with a virtual internship. Empowerly’s unique tools include test prep, research opportunities, and AI-powered tools like the Empowerly Score®, which provides data-backed insights to improve admissions chances. The proprietary Empowerly Portal offers updated resources and databases for students to access at any time.

Choosing a college counselor, whether local or online, offers clear benefits over navigating the process alone. There’s even statistical proof that virtual college admissions counseling can help combat educational inequality. Stanford University’s Department of Education conducted research proving that online college admissions counseling sessions markedly improved student outcomes as opposed to those who had no mentorship nearby. The difference is clear! 

No matter what you choose, there are obvious benefits to working with a college counselor as opposed to trying to face the application process on your own. The professional experience and connections that counselors bring can significantly impact your educational and professional journey. They can help with more than just applications, including finding summer programs, competitive internships, and financial aid guidance.  

In the end, the best college counselor is the one who can help you the most. We’re here to help you figure it out! If you want to continue the conversation, you can always talk to Empowerly. Our team spends on average 25x more time with students than the average high school counselor, and 98% of students who have worked with Empowerly and been accepted into Ivy League and top 25 schools. The Empowerly team is here to help walk you through every step of the way.