Many students are starting to get their acceptance or rejection letters from colleges. While it can be a stressful time for families, it is also fueling a $3 billion industry. @MorganRadford reports.

NY Mag profiled an Ivy League college admission consulting firm working with parents of New York private high school students. Here is the setup: ▫️190 clients paying $120k each a year for their child ($23m total revenue) ▫️In exchange: children get basically 24/7 access to a “peer” (someone who went to an Ivy League) for help on essays, personal projects and study tips  ▫️Consulting firm advertises it gets a high % of clients into preferred schools (but there’s no way to verify because parents will never publicly admit they are paying $120k to get their kid a consulting edge) Craziest number: during Decembers, students that don’t get early admission can pay an emergency “$250,000 for two weeks — just enough time to get their regular-decision applications in fighting shape by what, for some schools, is an early-January deadline.” The text below is how one parent frames the decision to use the consultant.

High school students and teachers: get to know the different SAT prep options available. There are plenty of free and paid services to choose from. bit.ly/3hBFgA6