In 1990, Penn had an acceptance rate of 40%. Today, it hovers above 5%. In recent years, the college admissions process has become more ruthless, more viscous, and more cutthroat than ever before. With such a competitive process, it might seem obvious that students would be selected based upon merit, but the unfair reality is that the college applications of many students are heavily influenced by an advantage given to them by wealth: access to a college counselor. At Lower Merion, juniors have the opportunity to meet with a college counselor, but for many, this guidance goes beyond a five-minute meeting. The growth in popularity of college “consulting firms” have led to an increase in students receiving professional one-on-one college guidance outside of school, with the industry valued at over 1.8 billion dollars in 2018. While this practice might be viewed by some as a reasonable use of a family’s resources, in reality, it’s deeply unethical and serves to make the admissions process heavily favorable to the wealthy. Ultimately, private college counseling, well-intentioned as it may be, is an immoral practice that damages students who don’t use it and degrades those who do.

College counseling limits the autonomy of students and reduces the individualism that should be at the forefront of every student’s college admissions experience. The college admissions process is individual, and should be very much unique to each student, but putting applications in the hands of a consulting firm reduces this individuality. Professional college counselors know what gets into schools. By using college counseling, you’re essentially ceding some level of autonomy, some part of who you are as a person, to a formula. Private counselors often will heavily edit essays and supplementals, which will lead to a polished essay that lacks individuality. All these edits have the goal of aligning to the “gold standard” of college admissions. At the same time, students often will receive guidance from these professionals on how best to tailor their academic and extracurricular endeavors to better suit this perception of what colleges expect, overshadowing what students are actually interested in. This serves to reduce the overall individualism involved in college admissions, a process that should be primarily driven by individuality.

When we talk about institutions like Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and any other bastion of elite education, we’re talking about greatness, or at least the expectation of it. Going to one of the nation’s best colleges is a privilege, not a right. Yet college consulting seems aligned specifically so as to subvert this principle. By focusing on how to “game” the system over promoting real excellence, the use of college consulting stands in direct opposition to the meritocratic values that are so foundational to America. Even worse, the downfall of the meritocratic foundation of college admissions lends an unfair advantage to students of a wealthier background who are able to afford additional college counseling. This leaves students who aren’t able to access these extra resources in the dust of those who can afford extra support. These students with access to counseling may not necessarily be more deserving of the opportunities resulting from that support. It is undeniably incorrect that a wealthy, unqualified student may be admitted to a high-level university over a disadvantaged yet more qualified candidate. The increase in private college counselors serves to perpetuate the reduction of the meritocratic values that should be held by institutions. According to IvyWise, the self-proclaimed best college consulting firm of 2024, their students had a 40.8% chance of getting into Cornell, as opposed to the average 8.87%. This drastic increase in rate of admission demonstrates how access to professional college counseling has a profound impact in the college admissions process.

We understand the motivation behind why parents and students use college counseling. As the admissions process has grown more competitive, the prestige of the college you attend has, in the eyes of many, become a metric for your success, or even your worth as a person. And when it seems like everyone else is doing it, it’s hard to resist the draw of college counseling. But just because everyone is doing something doesn’t make it right. And besides, you as a person—your work ethic, your values, your character—these qualities will endure, regardless of where you go to college. If you’re smart, or hard-working, or disciplined, you will be smart or hard-working or disciplined regardless of where you go.