College Admissions Counseling for $200,000?

Recently there was an article about a college admission consultant that is being sued after charging a client $200,000 and then not providing services. The allegations are that this consulting firm met with the young man from Kazakhstan who wished to attend an Ivy League college. After having $200,000 wired to an account in Hong Kong the group told the young man that he wasn’t Ivy League material and did not provide any more services to him. He eventually was accepted at Columbia University.

As a lawyer I am always cautious about believing everything alleged in a complaint. There is often two sides to the story. The story, however, if true, is more than a little disturbing. Charging someone $200,000 for college admission counseling is offensive if it actually occurred. Even if services were provided there is absolutely no justification for that kind of charge.

I understand that there are consultants that charge large amounts and basically guarantee admission to an Ivy League college. However, since no one is guaranteed admission to any particular college, I find such guarantees less than honest. But if the consulting group in question really did not do anything to justify a fee of $200,000 other than meet with the young man this raises serious ethical questions about the firms actions.

Students and their families who are searching for a college admission consultant should understand that there are many very qualified firms available that can help them with the process of finding the right college. But if the terms sound too good, maybe they need to start asking some questions. Again, no one can guarantee admission to any college. Yes, there are some students that you can definitely say are likely to gain admission particularly those who are development cases where the family may donate millions of dollars to the school. But never, never, pay anyone $200,000 to do college admissions counseling.