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College applications are a lot for one person to juggle, and private college counselors have emerged to help organize student’s workload at a price. Senior Cece Kirk got a private college counselor her junior year at Archie Williams. Cece’s counselor assists in finding compatible schools, editing essays, and holding her accountable to important deadlines. 

Cece began to seriously research colleges during her junior year. She began attending Archie Williams college zoom meetings and meeting with a private college counselor.

“When we got back from COVID, we had all these online meetings that [Archie Williams admin] recommended [students] to go see and that was the beginning of my research process,” Cece said. “[The rest of the help] was mostly my private college counselor.”

Cece’s friend’s parents connected her with a counselor, and she is grateful they did. Many of her friends have private college counselors, so it was a familiar concept. While private college help  is often quite expensive, Cece is not aware of how much her parents pay for her college counselor.

“[The idea to get a private college counselor] was definitely my parent’s, I think it was one of my friends’ parents that recommended me to my college counselor,” Cece said. 

Cece and her private college counselor typically meet every one to two weeks. Initially, she helped narrow down Cece’s college list and introduce her to schools to fit her needs. Now, she holds Cece accountable to deadlines and assists in the college essay process.

“She helped me figure out what I want in a college, the different types of colleges, the different majors, what I want to do when I get older, just kind of like figuring out the plan. She’s been really helpful with the essay process,” Cece said. “She definitely helps me know… my reach schools and where I can get into.”

With hundreds of schools to choose from, Cece’s private college counselor makes the pool of options less overwhelming. 

“[Without my college counselor,] I would definitely be a lot further behind than I am now, she really helped me narrow down to what colleges I want to apply to. Without her I would probably be very lost,” Cece said. “I think it’s really nice to have one person who’s focused on you and is really attentive to your college needs.”

Cece’s private college counselor will continue to assist her this year with college applications and decisions.