According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), there are plenty of students and parents who feel overwhelmed enough by the college selection process that they decide to hire an educational consultant. The NACAC defines education consultants as those who “work outside the secondary school setting to provide individualized college admission and related services to students and parents.” Primarily, educational consultants help students do the following things: 

  • Choose suitable colleges to apply to
  • Plan college visits
  • Prepare for college entrance tests
  • Get through the entire college application process

Consultants also charge fees, so if you’re considering going that route, NACAC suggests you consider the following before you write the check: 

  • Does your school have counselors who spend a significant amount of time counseling students through the college admission process?
  • Have the school’s counselors received special training through regional or national workshops for college counseling?
  • Is there a college and career center with access to books, applications, computer programs and other materials? 

If you answer Yes to these questions, you probably can handle your college search independently. If you do decide to hire a consultant, NACAC advises that the person you hire should have had at least five years experience working in a high school as a college counselor or for a college or university as an admissions officer. In addition, NACAC suggests you ask the following questions of an educational consultant before hiring him or her: 

  • Do you have counseling experience, certification, and a credential or master’s degree in counseling or related field?
  • How long have you been a consultant?
  • Do you have high school counselor or college admissions experience?
  • Are you familiar with the academic program in my high school?
  • How regularly do you visit college campuses?
  • Do you have a brochure that lists your services and fees?
  • Do you have reduced rates based on a family’s ability to pay?
  • Can you provide me with names of clients you have worked with? 

These are other alternatives to an overworked high school counselor and a paid consultant: 

  • Commercial counseling centers, which offer a broad array of services for fees
  • Private counselor sites online. These are relatively new, they charge, and you should evaluate them the same way as you would as other consultants and commercial centers.
  • Community based organizations that hold college fairs or have large collections of college literature and resource guides


 

For more information, visit the National Association for College Admission Counseling Web site.