New Online Services Aim to Democratize Admissions Counseling

Websites offering online college-admission counseling have proliferated in the past few years, with services whose prices range from free to thousands of dollars. This week saw the launch of two new options that claim to make low-cost resources more widely available.

Chegg, an online textbook retailer and student-services website, entered the market on Tuesday by announcing a fee-based platform that connects college applicants with advisers for one-on-one video, audio, and chat counseling. On Thursday the online college-information hub Campus Explorer will announce its own free college-counseling resource, Campus Steps, which aims to help students communicate with their high-school counselors, manage application materials, and learn about college options.

Chegg sessions start at $24 an hour, a price point the company says will make private college counseling more accessible. Other companies selling counseling packages include Unigo, whose rates start at $99 an hour, and AcceptU, whose plans start at $425 an hour, with a three-hour minimum.

“It probably will open the private counseling option to a wider group of those interested in pursuing additional help with college advising,” said Patrick O’Connor, associate dean of college counseling at the Cranbrook Schools, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and former president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. “Price has always been a barrier for many. At the same time, I would also wonder if there would be some folks that would hesitate to participate in anything with a price. There’s concern that one session might lead to another—not ‘one and done’ but ‘Part 1 of 10′—so it’s closer to affordable but still not within reach.”

Chegg also is giving away up to two free hours of counseling services to 10,000 students registered with the Center for Student Opportunity, a nonprofit organization that supports first-generation college students.

Free online admissions resources, such as Campus Steps, Open Access College Advising, and the smartphone application CollegeSnapps, can be good alternatives to expensive private counseling, according to Mr. O’Connor.

“The free resources are always helpful for people who want to take the upper hand and become their own best college-counseling expert,” he said. “I hope [Campus Steps] would get students driven back to their high-school web page, which often has free resources, and steel their courage to go see their high-school counselor, busy as he may be. I think it’s good news because it expands the audience.”

Before signing up for a private college-admissions counseling session, Mr. O’Connor recommended asking advisers about their credentials and experience.

“The gold standard continues to be if the person is a certified educational planner through the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners,” he said. “To sit for that exam and pass it suggests you really have to know what you’re talking about.”

“They don’t necessarily have to be certified school counselors, but it would be important to get a sense of their interaction with the college-admissions process,” he said. “Have they worked for an admissions office? How long have they worked with students? With students of what backgrounds? Some kind of direct interaction beyond their own college application would be a must. If that’s not evident, I would probably keep looking.”