You May or May Not Need a $10,000 Counselor—You Do Need the Right Insight at the Right Time

When Jordan, a high school senior from Maryland, started applying to colleges, he had access to his school counselor, a few family friends who had “been through it,” and the endless maze of forums and social media.

But what he didn’t have—at least at first—was context.

Jordan wanted to apply to Columbia, Tufts, and Northwestern. He was undecided between political science and economics. His SAT score was good, not stellar. His extracurriculars looked solid on paper, but he had no idea what would stand out.

He considered hiring a top-tier counselor. One offered a $10,000 package with unlimited hours. Another charged $300/hour for essay editing.

But Jordan’s family couldn’t afford that. And even if they could, he didn’t know if he needed it.

What he did know was that he needed someone who had been through this—someone like him, who had recently succeeded in exactly the type of schools he was aiming for.

So he turned to Pathways.

A System That Meets You Where You Are

Pathways wasn’t built to replace counselors. It was built to fill the most common gap in the system: applicants who need tactical, credible, first-hand insight—without a five-figure investment.

Through Pathways, Jordan was able to:

Specify that he wanted a peer advisor who had applied to Columbia and Tufts
Filter for students with SAT scores within his range
Find someone who was African-American like him, from a public school background
Talk to a sophomore at Tufts who had written about community impact and chosen the test-optional path

The conversation didn’t just make him feel seen. It gave him actionable direction: which parts of his story to lean into, how to position “leadership” when it wasn’t in a traditional club role, and how he could show demonstrated interest even with limited travel ability.

One 30-minute consult gave him more usable clarity than two months of late-night browsing ever had.

Counselors, Coaches, Consultants—And Now, Peer Advisors

The reality is: different students need different types of support.

Some students thrive with full-service admissions consultants, particularly when navigating highly competitive schools or complex applicant profiles.
Some students only need help on essays, or recommendations, or picking a final list.
But all students benefit from first-hand, relatable insight—the kind only someone who’s just gone through it can provide.

That’s where peer advisors come in. They’re not replacing professionals. They’re adding something the professionals can’t always offer: recency, relatability, and role-specific insight.

You may not need a $10,000 counselor. Or maybe you do.

But even if you hire the best counselor in your city, you still need the voice of someone who knows what it feels like to apply last year. Someone who understands the weight of every essay prompt, the unspoken trends in test-optional admissions, the strategy behind Early Decision when your GPA isn’t top 10%.

That voice is what Pathways delivers.

The Smartest Strategy Is a Layered One

Think of it this way:

Your school counselor helps you stay on track.
A consultant, if you choose one, might help you build and polish the perfect package.
But a peer advisor? That’s your guide on the ground. The one who says: “Here’s how I answered that optional question,” or “This is what actually mattered at Emory,” or “If I could do it again, I’d have…”

That’s not a luxury. That’s essential.

So whether you’re bootstrapping your application process, building a dream team, or somewhere in between—Pathways gives you what every applicant deserves: right-time, right-fit insight that costs less than a night out.