IvyWise Review: College Admissions Counseling with a Team Approach

IvyWise is one of the best-known and most expensive college admissions consulting firms in the country. Based in New York, it pairs students with counselors who used to work in admissions offices at schools like Harvard, Yale and Duke, and it charges accordingly. If you're comparing it with other firms, our list of the best college admissions consultants covers the field.

Here's the short version. IvyWise is worth a look if your student is aiming at highly selective schools and your family can spend tens of thousands of dollars in cash without cutting into what you've saved for tuition. It's a poor fit if you'd need to borrow, if your student's list is mostly state schools, or if what you need most is financial aid help. Our breakdown of what a college admissions consultant costs shows how far below IvyWise most of the market sits.

What Is IvyWise?

IvyWise is a private admissions consulting firm that helps students get into selective colleges, private schools and graduate programs. Its founder and CEO, Dr. Katherine "Kat" Cohen, has run it for more than 27 years, according to a June 2025 IvyWise press release, and the firm works out of Manhattan with most sessions held over Zoom. For a look at how this kind of firm fits into the bigger picture, see our explainer on whether college admissions counselors are worth it.

IvyWise says its counselors are former deans and directors of admission with more than 440 years of combined experience, per its college counseling page. The counselors listed there include former admissions staff from Harvard, Yale, Duke, MIT, Swarthmore and USC. Counselors are grouped into tiers (Principal, Master and Premier), and the tier you pick drives the price. Knowing how college admissions officers decide who to admit explains why families pay for that background.

College counseling is the main business, but IvyWise also works with K-8 families on private school placement, college students applying to transfer, and applicants to medical, law and business school. It also runs a pro bono Scholars program that it says serves 10% of its students, all high-achieving and low-income, at no cost. Low-income students should also look at QuestBridge, which is free.

How Much Does IvyWise Cost?

IvyWise doesn't publish prices. Its initial consultation page says an enrollment advisor covers "services and prices" on a free discovery call. Based on the most recent reported figures, plan on $1,350 or more just to start, about $28,000 or more for an application program, and $50,000 or more for a multi-year package. Our college admissions consultant cost breakdown explains how those prices compare with the rest of the industry.

The two best-sourced numbers are Bloomberg's September 2023 report that IvyWise's application programs "start at $28,000," and PrepScholar's September 2026 roundup, which says multi-year and Unlimited packages run $50,000 or more. PrepScholar sells competing packages, so treat its figure as an outside estimate.

Cohen has told CNBC that families working with independent consultants "can spend upwards of $100,000 to $200,000" over a full program that starts in middle school. Use our college application checklist to see which parts of that process you'd be paying for.

Here's what that means in practice. A family that signs a $40,000 two-year package is spending about what one year of in-state tuition, fees, room and board costs at many public universities. If that $40,000 would otherwise go into a 529 plan or toward tuition, the counseling has to raise your student's odds at schools that offer far more aid or value than the alternatives, or it costs you twice.

How Does IvyWise Work?

IvyWise starts with a free call, then a paid 90-minute consultation, then a custom quote for ongoing counseling. Most families end up in a multi-year program or a senior-year application package. The steps below cover the college counseling side, which works much like its graduate school, transfer and K-8 services. Our college application checklist lays out the timeline those programs follow.

Free Discovery Call

Every family starts with a free call or online form. An enrollment advisor walks you through services and prices, and in many ways it's a sales call. Ask for a written quote by counselor tier and a list of what's included before you book anything. Our questions to ask before hiring an admissions counselor are a good list to bring.

Paid Initial Consultation

The initial consultation is a 90-minute Zoom meeting with a counselor you choose from a list matched to your student. IvyWise reviews your student's profile beforehand. You leave with a written evaluation, a strategic action plan, a "Profile Building Catalog," a testing plan if you need one, and a recommendation for ongoing work. TCI's research put the cost at $1,350 and up, depending on the counselor. If you're mainly after a list of extracurricular activities that help a college application, you can get that for free.

Paid Initial Consultation

The initial consultation is a 90-minute Zoom meeting with a counselor you choose from a list matched to your student. IvyWise reviews your student's profile beforehand. You leave with a written evaluation, a strategic action plan, a "Profile Building Catalog," a testing plan if you need one, and a recommendation for ongoing work. TCI's research put the cost at $1,350 and up, depending on the counselor. If you're mainly after a list of extracurricular activities that help a college application, you can get that for free.

Long-Term Counseling And Unlimited Programs

Long-term programs run by grade. Eighth graders work on 9th-grade course choices, 9th and 10th graders build activities, juniors build a college list and testing plan, and seniors meet weekly or more on essays and supplements. IvyWise also sells Unlimited College Admissions Counseling, which removes the hourly cap and adds 20 hours of project mentorship, 20 hours of tutoring, executive functioning coaching and a 12-week practicum. Compare that with what you can do on your own using our data on building a stronger college application.

Roundtable And Application Services

Seniors in long-term programs get the Roundtable, a weekly review during application season where a team of counselors reads the student's list, essays and supplements like an admissions committee would. Students can resubmit as often as they want. Trustpilot reviewers mention the Roundtable more than any other feature. For seniors who sign up late, IvyWise sells one-off services: an Application Boot Camp, a single Application Review by a former admissions officer, a Portfolio Review, and a Deferral and Waitlist Consultation. If your student is waitlisted, read how a college admissions waitlist works before paying for help.

Specialty Counseling And Research Mentorship

IvyWise has counselors for recruited athletes, visual and performing arts applicants, students with learning differences, and families thinking about donations to a school. It also runs a Research Mentorship program that pairs students with a mentor on an independent project. These are the services that are hardest to find cheaply elsewhere, and they're where a firm like IvyWise has the clearest edge. Our list of what colleges look for in students explains why research and depth in one area carry weight.

The $300,000 Elevation Experience

In June 2025, IvyWise announced the Elevation Experience, a four-day college tour by private Gulfstream jet that costs $300,000 for one student and one parent. The first tour, in October 2025, visited Columbia, NYU, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT and Georgetown with a former admissions officer along. It's a product for a very small group of families, but it tells you where IvyWise sets its prices. Self-guided campus visits cost a tiny fraction of that, and our college application checklist shows when to schedule them.

You’re much more likely to get in with IvyWise’s help than the average student for these elite schools. Of course, there’s no guarantee. But if you can afford it, the results are impressive.

Tutoring

IvyWise can't take the SAT or ACT for your student, but it sells test prep and subject tutoring. That's become more relevant as more colleges require SAT and ACT scores again. Test prep is also where you can save the most, since the best SAT prep courses start at a few hundred dollars.

IvyWise also tutors for graduate school exams like the GRE, GMAT and MCAT. Our roundups of the best GMAT prep courses and best MCAT prep courses show the self-paced options for a few hundred dollars.

What Results Does IvyWise Report?

IvyWise says over 98% of its students got into one or more of their best-fit schools over the past five years, and that its students are "6x more likely" to get into top universities than the general applicant pool, according to its homepage. It publishes five-year acceptance rates by school. For Harvard, it lists 32.50% for IvyWise students against 3.79% overall. Our explainer on why college acceptance rates are dropping shows how low those overall rates have gone.

Read those numbers carefully. They're self-reported, IvyWise doesn't explain how it counts them, and its students start out stronger than the average applicant. Families who can pay $50,000 for counseling also tend to send their kids to well-resourced high schools. The numbers show IvyWise works with strong students, not how much of the result IvyWise caused. Nobody can guarantee admission, and PrepScholar's 2026 roundup notes that IvyWise packages carry no money-back guarantee. Our explainer on undermatching shows why a strong student's list matters as much as their application.

IvyWise has a 4.8 rating from 41 reviews on Trustpilot, with reviewers praising specific counselors and the Roundtable essay reviews. That's a small sample for a firm this size, and Trustpilot notes IvyWise hasn't recently invited customers to review. One complaint we've seen in past reviews is feedback that came across as condescending rather than constructive. That's worth asking about on the discovery call, alongside our list of questions to ask college admissions officers.

Yes, and they're high. Everything after the discovery call costs money, and the price depends mostly on three things: your counselor's tier, how many hours or years you sign up for, and add-ons like tutoring and research mentorship. A senior who starts in the fall with a few application reviews pays far less than a family that starts in 8th grade. Our college admissions consultant cost breakdown explains each pricing model.

Before you sign, get the total in writing: counselor tier, hourly rate, hours included, what happens if you go over, and whether any part is refundable. IvyWise doesn't post a refund or cancellation policy online. Depending on what you choose, a full program can cost more than four years at some state colleges. Planning for the full cost of college with our best order for paying for college keeps the counseling bill in perspective.

How Does IvyWise Compare?

IvyWise isn’t the only college admissions consulting company. You can find plenty of competitors.

One competitor is CollegeAdvisor, a similar company offering help with essays and applications. It’s a subsidiary of U.S. News and World Report. There’s a free program for low-income students, but most should expect to pay for one-on-one coaching, essay editing, and its online application organization system.

Command Education is another competitor who offers similar services and charges high fees, but gets results for their customers. 

Who Is IvyWise For, And Who Should Skip It?

IvyWise is for families who are targeting highly selective schools, can pay $25,000 to $50,000 or more in cash, and want a team of former admissions officers reading every essay. It also makes sense for students with a specialized need (a recruited athlete, an arts portfolio, a learning difference) where an experienced specialist is hard to find locally. Our breakdown of whether college admissions counselors are worth it walks through the same decision for any firm.

Skip it if you'd need to borrow, use a home equity line or pull from a 529 plan to pay for it. Skip it if your student's list is mostly in-state public universities or schools that admit most applicants, where a $40,000 counseling bill can't move the odds enough to pay for itself. And skip it if your real question is how to pay for college. IvyWise is an admissions firm, and our best order for paying for college does more for most families' bottom line.

Most families start with a free discovery call. You can fill out IvyWise's Get Started form or call 212-262-3500, and IvyWise says it responds within one business day. Remember that only the call is free. The initial consultation is a paid service that has reportedly started at $1,350. Before you book, read our explainer on how to prepare for a college interview, since the same preparation helps you judge a counselor.

IvyWise also runs free webinars on admissions topics, which are a no-cost way to hear how its counselors think before you pay anything. Our college application checklist is a good companion.

How Do I Contact IvyWise?

The best way to reach IvyWise online is through the email contact form, which can also get you on track for an informational call and initial consultation.

If you prefer phone, you can call the company at 212-262-3500. You can also call toll-free at 877-489-9473 or send an email to [email protected].

Is IvyWise Worth It?

IvyWise is worth it for a narrow group: families who can pay cash, are targeting highly selective schools, and want former admissions officers on a team that reviews every piece of the application. Its counselor backgrounds, the Roundtable review and its specialty counselors are real advantages. Its results claims are strong but self-reported. Our explainer on whether college admissions counselors are worth it covers how to weigh that.

For most families, it isn't. A school counselor, a free program like QuestBridge, an independent consultant at around $6,300, or a service like PrepScholar covers the same core work (college list, essays, deadlines) for a fraction of the cost. Spending tens of thousands to compete only makes sense if a degree from a specific elite school matters for your student's path and the money won't come out of what you've saved for tuition. Our college admissions consultant cost breakdown has the full price range.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Does IvyWise Cost?

IvyWise doesn't publish prices. Reported figures run from $1,350 and up for the initial consultation to about $28,000 and up for application programs and $50,000 or more for multi-year and Unlimited packages. Our college admissions consultant cost breakdown shows what the rest of the market charges.

Is IvyWise Legit?

Yes. IvyWise is a long-running New York consulting firm whose founder, Kat Cohen, has run it for more than 27 years, and its counselors include former admissions officers from Harvard, Yale and Duke. Being legitimate doesn't make it a good value for every family, as our admissions counselor explainer shows.

Does IvyWise Guarantee Admission?

No. No consultant can guarantee admission, and IvyWise's packages don't come with a money-back guarantee. Its success rates are self-reported. Be wary of any firm that promises a specific school, and read how college admissions officers decide who to admit.

Is The IvyWise Initial Consultation Free?

No. The discovery call with an enrollment advisor is free, but the 90-minute initial consultation with a counselor is paid and has reportedly started at $1,350. If cost is the issue, Empowerly's review notes it offers a free 30-minute consultation.

What Are Cheaper Alternatives To IvyWise?

Your school counselor and QuestBridge are free. An independent consultant averages about $6,300 for a package, PrepScholar's application packages run about $6,900 to $16,000, and Empowerly is estimated at $10,000 to $30,000. Compare them in our best college admissions consultants list.

Can IvyWise Help With AI And College Essays?

IvyWise's counselors coach and edit essays, but the writing has to be your student's. Colleges differ on what they allow, which we covered in what 24 admissions offices told us about AI in college essays.