IvyWise is a well-known name in the college admissions world, and their website makes many bold claims, has polished testimonials, and big promises. But what’s it really like to work with them? Is IvyWise worth it?
In this review, we’ll talk about what IvyWise offers, who’s on their team, what you’re paying for, and where they don’t measure up. This way, you can decide if it’s the right fit or if the hype is just too much.
Pros & Cons
Here’s a quick, honest rundown of IvyWise.com based on what we have so far.
| ✔️ PROS | ❌ CONS |
|---|---|
| You’re getting counselors who used to be deans, directors, or officers at highly selective schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton). | Ivy Wise has a very high price point. We’re talking thousands just for an initial consultation and five-figure totals for full packages. |
| IvyWise covers long-term strategy, course selection, activities, testing, college list, essays, interviews, and even research mentorship. It’s a full ecosystem. | IwyWise.com cites higher admission rates to top schools. However, those numbers come from their own internal data and aren’t independently audited. |
| Students usually get a dedicated counselor plus “roundtable” input from multiple former admissions officers. | Their students rely too heavily on counselors, so the authentic voice in essays gets polished too much. |
IvyWise is a good fit for families who need high-level support and can afford it. Their counselors know the admissions process and help students stay focused. But people often expect more than they actually get because of the company’s reputation.
With all that in mind, let’s look at a detailed review of Ivy Wise.
What Are The Main Admission Consulting Services of Ivy Wise?
IvyWise is first known to most families as the premium choice for admissions consulting. This New York–based firm works with students from middle school through grad school, but their main product is college admissions counseling. And the focus is on selective U.S. universities.
For college applicants, experts from IvyWise.com offer:
- Long-term admissions counseling (starting as early as 8th–10th grade).
- College list strategy and “best-fit” selection.
- Application and essay support.
- Testing plans and academic advising.
- Support for deferrals, waitlists, and transfers.
If you want order and clarity and someone who keeps your teen from putting things off, this sounds like a dream.
But this good first image doesn’t always match the whole experience. You can look forward to getting one-on-one help from a guide. But later, you’ll see that the process feels more like a well-oiled machine than the friendly, personalized help the brand promises.
What’s Included in Those Packages?
IvyWise doesn’t spell out every package on its site in a nice price chart. Still, from their own admissions counseling page, it’s clear that the packages are built around long-term, all-in support:
- An in-depth first call and a written action plan.
- Regular meetings with a counselor over several years of high school.
- Help picking classes, activities, and summers that actually make sense together.
- Brainstorming and editing for the Common App essay and all those extra school-specific prompts.
- Strategy talks about when and where to apply (ED, EA, RD, safeties, reaches).
- A special “roundtable” read where multiple counselors look at your application and give notes.
During peak application season, they say sessions can be weekly or even daily.
The big plus is that there’s a lot of structure. Someone is there to keep your teen on track, remind them of deadlines, and push the work forward.
The other thing to keep in mind is that everything comes wrapped in a premium, high-contact format. If your budget allows, it will make you feel better. If it can’t, the whole thing begins to seem like it was made for a different income level.
Who Is on Their Team (Are They Knowledgeable Enough)?
IvyWise loves highlighting its roster of former admissions officers, some from Ivy League and top-tier schools. And yes, many of them truly know what competitive colleges want. Their experience is real.
One thing families don’t always think about: a great admissions officer doesn’t automatically equal a great mentor. Reading applications and working with stressed teenagers are two very different skill sets.
In Ivy Wise reviews, some students report that their counselor was supportive and patient. Others say it felt more like working with a strict evaluator who had limited time to find their personal strengths.
Do They Offer Any Extra Services?
This firm basically tries to be a one-stop shop and adds a bunch of extra services on top of admissions counseling. They have:
- Tutoring and test prep for SAT, ACT, school subjects, and other exams.
- Research mentorship, where a student works on an independent project with a specialist.
- WiseStart for younger students who need help with private school admission and early planning.
- Support for grad school, law, business, and med school applications.
- More niche help, like art portfolio review, advice on deferrals and waitlists, and transfer support.
All of this can definitely help build a stronger profile, but the academic extras are not cheap and cost more than hiring a separate tutor or local prep center.
On top of that, they promote add-ons, like multi-day college tours with expert guidance. It looks cool, but let’s be honest: those are clearly for families with very comfortable budgets, not for most middle-class households.
Do They Have Any FREE Services?
IvyWise.com offers some free stuff, like webinars, articles, checklists, and their Just Admit It! podcast, so you can get basic advice without paying. They also have the IvyWise Scholars program, which gives full support to a small number of high-achieving, low-income students.
The downside is that most of this free content feels pretty surface-level and mainly works as marketing for their paid packages.
In addition, the pro bono spots are so limited that they don’t really change the service’s overall exclusivity.
Ivy Wise Pricing and Guarantees
IvyWise doesn’t list prices anywhere, so you only get real numbers once you’re already on a call with them. Still, based on what past clients and independent reviewers have shared, prices are extremely high. Here’s what we found:
- A detailed initial consultation (profile review and 90-minute meeting) starts at around $1,500.
- Programs that include unlimited access to their internal Roundtable process start around $14,000.
- Comprehensive, multi-year college counseling can cost around $50,000.
They’ve even been mentioned in the press for offering a four-day Elevation Experience college tour on a private jet for a handful of families, at a cost of about $300,000. So yeah, not exactly everyday pricing.
Overall, IvyWise.com is for families who are looking for a lot of personalized guidance and are willing to pay for a premium service.
And importantly, this company doesn’t offer guarantees. No consultant can promise admission outcomes (ethically or legally), but given the cost, you quietly expect more certainty than IvyWise is able to provide.
Their Professionalism in Terms of IvyWise Reviews
If you scroll through public reviews, IvyWise comes across as polished and legit, but not exactly drama-free.
On Trustpilot, parents mostly sound thrilled: one says her daughter got into USC and calls IvyWise a “big investment but worth it.” Others mention getting into Stanford or ED schools after what they describe as very structured support.
The vibe changes once you open Reddit. On r/ApplyingToCollege and similar subs, people regularly group IvyWise with other ultra-expensive firms and say these services are “almost never worth their price,” with one parent claiming they ditched the big-name companies, paid under $3k to a local counselor instead, and their kid still ended up at Yale.
IvyWise’s website and Facebook page show many positive comments and success stories. For example, they say that 98% of students get into at least one “best-fit” school.
Those numbers sound great. But as we noted above, the company itself reported them, and they’re clearly part of the marketing strategy.
Areas of IvyWise That They Should Work On (Their 5 Worst Sides)
Here are five real weaknesses you should factor in.
Their Pricing Is Extremely High
The biggest red flag is price. Independent sources say IvyWise packages cost tens of thousands of dollars, with some families quoting numbers near $100k for intensive support.
For many, that’s simply not realistic. And because exact prices aren’t listed publicly, you only find out after going through calls with their team.
Personalization Varies
Some clients love the mentorship, while others feel like they received advice that’s all template-like and packaged as “expert strategy.”
Inconsistent Communication Expectations
One dissatisfied IvyWise client we spoke with said they often waited longer for replies than they’d been promised. What’s more, the overall tone felt more critical than supportive, and there was more of a focus on pointing out flaws than actually improving.
Outcome Statistics Not Independently Verified
Well, five times more likely to get into top schools graphs look good, but:
- Data is collected and presented by IvyWise.com itself.
- There’s no third-party verification or public methodology breakdown.
This is similar to the “halo effect.” The stats are impressive, and the counselors are well-known, so it’s easy to assume the cause, even though many of their clients probably started ahead of the curve.
A Lot of Services Feel Upsold
Their previous clients say that once they sign up, they’re encouraged to purchase more. Test prep, special programs, and mentorships—raising the total cost.
Our Verdict
If your family’s got a comfortable budget and you want someone to handle the whole college process for your kid, IvyWise might be worth checking out. You get a lot of structure, reminders, essay help, and access to people who know how admissions offices think.
For everyone else, it’s hard to justify. The prices are sky-high, the results they advertise are based on their own data, and there are no guarantees. You can often get solid help from a good local counselor, cheaper private consultants, and free online resources without dropping five figures.
Right now, IvyWise.com feels more like a luxury extra than a must-have.
By the way, if you’re comparing options, you can also look up reviews of other consultants on BestMBAConsulting.com.
FAQs
IvyWise doesn’t list prices officially. Based on past clients and independent reviews, expect around $1,500 for an initial consult, five-figure packages for full application support, and even higher for multi-year programs.
Yes. They’ve been around for years, have former admissions officers from big-name schools on staff, and are often quoted in the media. That said, some families feel the experience doesn’t always match the price tag.
No. Like any ethical admissions consultancy, IvyWise can’t promise admission to any specific college. They guide and support, but final decisions are always up to the universities.
It might be worth it for families with a very comfortable budget who want intensive, hands-on support. For most, though, the cost is hard to justify when solid help is available from school counselors, more affordable consultants, and free resources.
Yes, IvyWise is a real, established company with a long track record in college counseling. The bigger question isn’t whether they’re legit, but whether their ultra-premium price fits your situation.