"Our philosophy is, we want students to feel empowered, to control the process, not have the process happen to them," said Mark C. Davis, director of college counseling at Exeter.
Frank C. Leana, an education counselor and the former director of college counseling at Trinity School on the Upper West Side, said that the process had become "a little more pressurized for Manhattanites".
"If some of the superpowers would agree to set limits on the percentage of the class that they admit early, the process would be better," said Lawrence J. Momo, director of college counseling at the Trinity School in Manhattan, where 76percentt of the school's 105 seniors applied early decision this year.
Some high school counselors argue that they unnecessarily speed up students' decision process, favor the savvy (including those with access to the most sophisticated college counseling) and — in the case of so-called binding early decision plans — restrict applicants' efforts to compare financial aid offers (because students applying to binding programs agree in advance to enroll if accepted).
"We also tell [our students] that the decisions they are about to receive are a reflection of a process, not indictments of them or their abilities," said Nanette Tarbouni, the director of college counseling at John Burroughs School in St . Louis
Last year, Brooklyn Friends School also moved the process back to 10th grade, but with meetings with students and parents that include the head of college counseling, the head of the upper school and the head of school, Larry Weiss.
College admissions is a complicated process and it has been reported that at some schools almost 75% of students take tutoring and college counseling help.
College counseling services nationwide are seeing more use.
There are also several Internet-based college counseling services.
But college counseling is easier because you have a transcript".
