Publication Date: Wednesday Sep 17, 1997

COLLEGE PREP: Outside help for an inside edge

For 1997 Paly graduate Alyssa Campbell, attending college was never in question. But rather than wading through college brochures herself, and limiting her options to familiar "brand name" schools, Campbell went straight for some outside advice. "We felt very strongly that having an outside counselor was very important in the educational search," said Connie Campbell, Alyssa's mother. "The Palo Alto high schools are deeply committed to their students, but they don't have the capacity nor the manpower to counsel every single student. At this point, parents our age are fairly removed from the college process. Outside expertise is very useful, especially for Palo Alto students who have so many college choices."

In 1996, 79 percent of Palo Alto seniors went on to four-year colleges, five percent more than two years before. Counting two-year colleges, 92 percent of all Palo Alto seniors attended college. As these numbers increase, more and more students like Campbell are turning to private college counseling agencies.

In fact, as the college admissions process becomes more competitive, outside counseling has become more a necessity than a luxury--even for honor students.

"We can't stuff all these kids into Harvard or Stanford--nor should we," said Glenn Singleton, president of Pacific Educational Group (PEG), a private advising service. "With the growing number of kids interested in attending four-year colleges, kids are arriving here saying, 'I don't want a brand name school.'"

To help with the college admissions process, the Campbells chose PEG, which offers college admissions counseling and educational planning.

"They can open up opportunities that you don't even know about," said Alyssa Campbell, who began her freshman year at the Art Institute of Boston last month. "Instead of going to a school that you've heard about and you might fit in, they find a school where you will fit in."

Services offered vary among agencies, but they generally include assistance in college selection, admissions counseling, standardized test preparation, academic tutoring and scholarship and financial aid counseling. Some companies offer college tours and graduate school counseling as well.

Because each program is individually tailored to the student, costs vary widely. At PEG, a full-service, one-on-one junior and senior year program can run $2,000. At Sierra the College Advisors, a Palo Alto-based college admissions consulting firm that opened in 1996, most families spend "a couple hundred or significantly more," said Carlos Watson, the company's executive director.

Although it may seem expensive on first glance, the cost is a "mere fraction" of the investment of a future education, Watson added.

"Having the college selection process go well is extremely important in today's economy," Watson said. "Now in this new global information-based economy, job security is scarce, and it demands that students have a first-rate education and know how to succeed in life."

In an historic, four-room house on Hamilton Avenue, the walls decorated with triangular felt banners, paintings of universities and framed Polaroids of the "Sierra Family"--the more than 100 students who have received counseling at Sierra--advisers are busy helping students prepare for college. In one room, Gunn High School senior Brian Hsu is meeting with Jeff Livingston, one of the seven Sierra advisers, to begin writing his personal essay responses.

"The point of the admissions essay is to give the admissions office a feel for who you are," Livingston said. "It is fundamentally an essay about you."

In an open area in the center of the house, two other students read college literature in a library-type space containing college brochures, applications and videos from institutions across the nation. A third student browses the Internet on one of three terminals with Web access and CD-ROM programs equipped with college sites and programs.

Advisers say it is wise to begin the college search during the junior year in high school. At that point, college advisers assist students in narrowing their colleges choices, selecting classes for their final high schools years and preparing for standardized tests. They also focus on choosing co-curricular and summer community involvements and jobs that will make the student more desirable in the eyes of college admissions directors.

Once the senior year begins, the focus shifts to the actual application process--essay writing, college tours and scholarship searches.

"It's a long process, but we like to work with students up until their parents wave goodbye to them," Watson said.

Woodside High School senior Liz Dalrymple started the college search process with Sierra during her junior year of high school. With her busy schedule--she works at Palo Alto Hardware, plays tennis for Woodside High and writes for the school newspaper--Sierra helped Dalrymple develop a time line and meet deadlines for each step in the college admission process.

Now at the start of her senior year, she has completed one application essay, is working on a second, and is in the process of visiting campuses and looking into scholarships. Next summer, she plans to work at a women's shelter in Palo Alto, a job she got through Sierra.

Dalrymple's top three prospective colleges are UCLA, U.C. Berkeley and Georgetown.

"There's a lot of competition out there, and people who are the best of the best," Dalrymple said. "It's a really big process--I didn't think I could do it on my own."



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