IvyWise Review

Founded in 1998 by Dr. Kat Cohen, IvyWise has established itself as a global player in college admissions counseling. Catering to students aiming for colleges and graduate schools in North America and the United Kingdom, IvyWise boasts a seasoned team of admissions consultants and tutors. In this comprehensive IvyWise review, we’ll score them along five key metrics so that you have a full picture of whether IvyWise is a good fit for you.

The IvyWise consultant team features a compact ensemble of 35 experts, 28 of which provide help in undergraduate admissions on their website. The consultants come from a mixture of backgrounds, with alma maters like Vanderbilt, Sarah Lawrence, UChicago, Duke, UPenn, NYU, Boston University, Yale, Rice, and Princeton.

The consultant hierarchy at IvyWise is structured into three tiers – Principal, Master, and Premier. Principals boast a minimum of three years’ experience as a Dean or Director in undergraduate admissions. Masters are distinguished by their extensive backgrounds in admissions, college counseling, and/or longstanding tenure with IvyWise. The Premier tier is reserved for the most seasoned counselors.

In terms of undergraduate admissions counseling, IvyWise has 6 in the Principal category, 9 in Masters, and 13 in Premier on their site as of the writing of this review.

IvyWise employs a traditional approach to the college admissions process. To begin engagement with them, families will get on an initial consultation with a consultant. This is an extensive 90-minute meeting with a dedicated counselor. During this session, the consultant will explore the student’s background, academic aspirations, and provide recommendations and tips.

The initial consultation does cost money. The 90-minute meeting cost ranges from $1,400 – $4,400. The price varies depending on which tier of admissions consultant you get. From there, students can choose to get an additional quote for a bespoke multi-year program, or end the engagement.

IvyWise offers a range of programs from tutoring services, transfer assistance, graduate admissions etc. There is also a program called WiseStart for Kindergarten to 8th grade, focusing on subject tutoring and skills development. 

However, our review will focus on their undergraduate admissions offerings.

The programs at IvyWise are structured based on hourly commitments. For a comprehensive engagement involving regular check-ins and support throughout the application season, accommodating the completion of 10-12 applications, IvyWise recommends an investment of 25-40 hours. Alternatively, a more streamlined program with fewer check-ins and covering 6-8 applications is proposed at 20-25 hours.

These consulting sessions cover the standard list of topics at most consulting companies, including coursework and extracurricular plans, identification of suitable teachers for recommendation letters, planning school visits, aids in the identification of target institutions, and actively engages in the brainstorming, drafting, and editing of all written application materials. 

The exact pricing will vary based on counselor, availability, timing, and length of program. But here are the base costs:

The starting cost for IvyWise’s comprehensive program for a 9th / 10th grader is $30,000 (20-29 hours).

The starting cost for IvyWise’s comprehensive program for an 11th grader is $25,000 (20-24 hours).

For seniors, they have a 10-hour program, 15-hour program, 20-hour program, and 25-hour program, depending on the number of applications.

• 25-hour program: $33,750 – $81,250 (8-10 applications)
• 20-hour: $27,000 – $65,000 (6-8 applications)
• 15-hour program: $21,000 – $52,125 (4-6 applications)
• 10-hour program: $14,000 – $34,750 (2-4 applications)

The lower end of the range is for families who select the lowest tier counselor (Principal). The upper end of the range is for families who selected the highest tier counselor (Premier).

Finding a truly qualified consultant is half the battle. Some consultants have not gone to top-tier schools themselves, and repeat advice they hear from others. Also, some firms have a qualified “face” of the company, but then bait and switch you with a less experienced consultant after you’ve paid. That’s why we always start each review by doing full due diligence on the company’s consultants.

Let’s look at the cornerstone of IvyWise – their team of experts. According to their claim, each professional boasts a minimum of three years’ experience in the admissions domain and has held roles as Deans or Directors at universities, bringing strong institutional knowledge to the table. 

From our research, a number of the consultants in their lowest tier are part time admissions consultants. Another potential downside is the variability in quality of experts. Someone with 3 years of experience in the admissions domain (Principal Tier) is very different from someone who is a seasoned pro (Premier Tier). 

We do like their personalized matching system. Instead of assigning counselors arbitrarily, students are presented with a selection of potential matches tailored to their individual goals, and needs. This method ensures that the student gets their pick of the consultant. This mechanism can offset the variability in experts.

The biggest risk when applying to college is following bad advice. You only have one shot, so you need to make it count, and choosing the right admissions service can make a big difference. We use a 50-point evaluation system to determine the likelihood a service will help a student get into their desired college.

We like that IvyWise gives students a chance to receive feedback from multiple counselors using their IvyWise Roundtable service (which is a part of their comprehensive programs). Allowing students to submit their application drafts for evaluation by multiple counselors is a unique offering that will likely enhance expected outcomes. This collaborative approach ensures a thorough and well-rounded assessment of a student’s application materials, positively impacting the perceived overall effectiveness of IvyWise’s services. 

We also appreciate the inclusion of family-facing project managers, known as Client Relations Managers, for those enrolled in IvyWise’s comprehensive programs. These managers play a role in creating and monitoring detailed admissions actions plans. They also keep family members informed about upcoming deadlines and the overall progress of the application process, adding a personalized touch to the consulting experience. 

We notice a huge price discrepancy between the tiers of admissions counselors. As such, we do feel that families who shell out 3-4x more money to get the highest tier consultant can expect better results than families who pay the base price.

College is already expensive. College consultants shouldn’t be more expensive than they need to be. We want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, and that your investment is translating into real improvements in your outcomes.

College admissions consulting prices and offerings vary. For this IvyWise review we’ll consider their pricing for the most common needs:

• 12th graders who need help with essays for 1 school: IvyWise does not offer help for just 1 school. You can enroll in their program for applications to 2-4 schools for $14,000 – $34,750.
• Non-12 graders who want advice on the college admissions process: $933 per hour (minimum purchase of their 90 minute initial consultation which ranges from $1,400 – $4,400). *Note: This number is calculated by dividing the minimum financial commitment for non-12 graders by the expected number of hours of one-on-one consulting.

The cost of admissions consulting through IvyWise is considerable. When considered on an hourly basis, even the most basic comprehensive package costs more than $1,000 per hour—a figure well above the industry average. This price is for their lowest tier package, which means their least experienced or qualified consultants. We feel that you can find equally qualified consultants at much more affordable prices elsewhere. 

We are also concerned by the necessity to pay for the initial consultation. While the provision of direct and thorough feedback is beneficial, the upfront financial commitment may pose a challenge for potential clients in assessing the suitability of IvyWise’s services for their students.

College applications are already stressful enough. So any admissions service should be thoughtfully designed and easy to use. We consider factors such as customer support responsiveness, accountability, time commitment, and scheduling constraints.

Overall, we found IvyWise’s responsiveness to be a mixed bag. While contact information and a dedicated contact form is readily available on their website, when we called IvyWise during a weekday afternoon we were unable to get in touch with anyone. When emailed, we received a support reply from their enrollment team within a couple of days. 

We like that students can select their own counselor and can easily switch between counselors. We also like that students have direct email access to their Client Relations Liaison as well as their counselor. The Liaison assists families with scheduling and admissions logistics. 

Families also have access to myIvyWise, a proprietary portal that facilitates collaboration between parents, students, and their counselors. The portal is used for scheduling and tracking sessions, post-session notes and feedback, essay and material draft submission and editing, as well as application completion monitoring. 

We are concerned that there seems to be no clear refund policy, suggesting that families may have little recourse in the event they are unsatisfied with the services.

College admissions is a complex process, with many moving parts. And with the stakes so high, mediocre consultants simply won’t cut it. You really want to find the “best,” but it can be hard to differentiate one firm from another. In this section, we take a look at what makes this service stand out, for better or worse.

IvyWise has a few concerning X-factors: we’re weary about the designation of different consultant tiers, particularly when the top tier consultants are 2-3x more expensive than the lowest rung consultants. Given this cost gap, it brings into question the competency and experience of their bottom tier consultants. Speaking of price, we also don’t like how difficult it is to get firm figures regarding cost and find the lack of transparency regarding pricing to be a red flag. 

But this isn’t to say IvyWise doesn’t offer unique services. We like that they have programs starting as early as kindergarten to help students get into competitive primary and secondary schools. We also appreciate that IvyWise does not limit its scope to U.S. universities, instead broadening their targeting institutions to include schools in the United Kingdom and Canada—which may prove beneficial to students hoping to study abroad or looking for opportunities outside of the States. 

Additionally, IvyWise distinguishes itself by offering specialized support for students aspiring to pursue collegiate athletics, as well as degrees in design, visual arts, and performing arts. This tailored guidance for specific niches reflects IvyWise’s ability to address the unique needs of students following distinct educational paths.