Frequently Asked Questions

What sets Peak apart?

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With over 30 years of combined experience in college consulting, the team at Peak is committed to lifelong learning. We regularly attend conferences and visit colleges across the country to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in admissions.

What truly sets us apart is our personalized, relationship-based approach. We tailor our services to each student, working closely with them throughout the entire application process. We strongly believe in working with students for the time it takes to complete the task, regardless of how long the task takes. This allows us to focus on building strong relationships, setting clear goals, and ensuring students and families feel confident and supported every step of the way.

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Why hire an educational consultant when there are so many resources online or in books?

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While there are countless resources available today, they don’t replace the value of personalized guidance from a trained expert. College is a major investment—up to $360,000 at some of the most popular institutions—and making informed decisions is critical.

We stay current on trends in admissions, visit hundreds of colleges, and invest in ongoing professional development.

For many students, choosing a college is their first major life decision. Having an experienced, neutral guide often allows students to open up more than they might with a parent, helping them navigate this complex process with more clarity and confidence.

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What about my child’s high school counselor? Why would we need a private consultant?

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We value and collaborate with high school counselors whenever possible. However, the average high school counselor works with over 400 students and juggles many responsibilities—from scheduling to crisis intervention. This makes it difficult for them to provide the individualized attention that the college application process requires.

Educational consultants have the time, expertise, and flexibility to offer in-depth, personalized support. Additionally, high school counselors typically don’t have the time or resources to visit colleges or attend conferences as frequently as educational consultants do.

The best results happen when we can partner with school counselors as part of a team effort.

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Why should we pay for these services?

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Paying for college is a huge financial investment, and it is important that the process is done in a way that avoids heartache for students and stress for families. Many families “overpay” for their child’s education, so planning ahead and working with an education consultant can save families money, time and frustration in the long-run. 

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We help students craft a college list that is a good “financial” fit for a family. We guide students towards schools that the family can afford and where they can maximize their aid packages. Choosing the wrong college can be a terrible financial decision and can be avoided by investing in an educational consultant. 

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Additionally, applying to schools that are not a good “fit” for students is expensive and can be disheartening for students. These costs add up (application fees, sending test scores, visiting the campus). By crafting an appropriate college list, we can save families thousands of dollars in fees and travel expenses alone. 

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We try to keep our rates affordable and package most of our services as a flat fee. Once a student onboards with us, we are available to answer any questions or concerns and guide the students through their first year of college. Doing this work is more involved than it initially appears. We attend professional development, conferences and visit schools across the country, in addition to the time we spend with students. We invest in our own professional development so that we can provide the best guidance to your family.

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With such a complicated process how do you keep students organized? ​

We use CounselMore, a comprehensive college planning platform that streamlines the entire application process. CounselMore includes an application and assignment tracker that keeps all documents and important information organized in one place.

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After each meeting, we also provide students and families with detailed notes to ensure everyone stays informed and on track.

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Watch the video below for an overview of CounselMore’s capabilities.

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Can you guarantee acceptance to the school of my choice?

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No, and no ethical consultant can. Our role is to help students find schools that are a good fit and then guide them through presenting the strongest application possible.
 

We follow the ethical guidelines of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and never accept fees from colleges or programs.

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How do you match students with schools?

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Crafting a college list begins with extensive conversations between the consultant and students. This is a time of self-reflection, during which the consultants learn about the student’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the characteristics they are looking for in a college. We use these conversations as a starting point to craft the college list.

 

Creating an extensive, personalized college list requires a significant amount of time. Consultants use the information and data they have gathered from college visits and conversations with admissions officers as well as an extensive network of professionals and organizations. The college list is a dynamic document and changes as students continue to explore colleges and universities. Our goal is for each student to have a finalized college list by the end of July of their rising senior year.

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When should we start working with Peak?

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We start working with students as early as freshman year. We can help with class selection all through high school and develop extracurriculars. Most of our students start in mid sophomore year.​

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We also offer a Senior Rush package, subject to consultant availability.