Newstricky| The key insights, support, and structure you receive from your high school counselor could be valuable. However, the in-house counselors have to watch out for every student, so opting for an independent college counselor can be beneficial. Moreover, finding the best counselor is also simple in the internet age. Services like InterlinkED Consulting can connect you with experienced & caring experts quickly.
Nevertheless, you have to assess them well when choosing a college counselor whether they are the right choice for you or not.
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How to Find the Right College Consultant?
Check their results and customer reviews
One of the biggest boons of the omnichannel world is verifying the sources. You can check out the customer results and previous track record of the consultant to verify whether they will be able to guide you through the application process or not. The customer reviews can also learn whether the counselor in question is dedicated to students or not.
But the most important thing is you can find out about their track record, i.e., how many of their students have gotten into their dream colleges with the help of the counselors.
Ensure to investigate the consultants’ biographies.
Customer reviews can help you find out about the track record. However, the needs of every student differ from others. For instance, some students might be looking for an online college counselor, whereas some might be comfortable with face-to-face meetings. Plus, whether the counselor is available full-time or part-time. For instance, most part-time consultants will be unavailable most of the time.
Equally important, you should also find out whether the consultants will guide you through the entire application process. Or just help you with essay and college preparation. But the biggest thing to consider is to find out whether they are interested in finding you a college that can provide you with a career or not.
But it does not end there. You should also review whether they have relevant experience or not. That is to say, if the consultant can help you with the entire admission process or not. Of course, you might want to do everything on your own, or at least something. However, having someone to guide you through and let you know about everything clearly is valuable.
Moreover, they should know how to put your core skills and help you become more competitive in the admission process and shine you above the other applicants.
Arrange a meeting and get to know the consultants before you begin.
If you are planning to take help throughout the application process, it is better to arrange a meeting and see whether the consultant is the right choice for you or not. Of course, the best consultants offer some free consultation in the initial days because they know they can win you over. So, it can also be a way to assess them firsthand and see whether they have the confidence or not.
Moreover, if you are a parent, you can decide if the consultant could guide your kid well or not. Likewise, does he know when to push the students and ask them to be patient? This may seem like superficial qualities, but I understand that these small deciding factors make the difference as a college counselor myself.
Do they provide complete and personalized support?
Most students opt for additional counselors in view of getting personalized support. And that is why when looking for independent counselors, you should always find out whether they will provide personalized and be there throughout the application process or not.
They could have 100 other students, and that doesn’t matter. What matters is they can make time when you need them or not. Moreover, you should also choose a consultant who sticks with you. Meaning, that some consultant services change the consultants based on availability. Understand that it will be difficult to manage with three or four people. Plus, the consultants will not understand your needs simply because they are not focused on individual students.
Do they have substantial experience in the field?
An experienced person understands the process better than you and your parents. And for a reason: they have dealt with multiple students and helped them make their careers. So, always look for consultants’ that have good experience in the field. Note that experience isn’t limited to the number of years. They should also have something to show for the years they have been in the consultant’s business.
Do you get a response timely when you contact the consultants via phone or email?
This may sound like redundancy to the above-mentioned point. However, most people think that personalized support is limited to their hours or the time you spend with them in their official hours. They should be ready to answer your calls and emails at any time you need.
Are they affordable?
Not everyone can spend thousands of dollars to get through the admission process. Especially when you have good results and are capable enough to get into the desired college of your choice, look for someone who suits your budget. Understand that good consultant do have some high prices. But that does not mean that they should also burn your pocket.
Conclusion
Dream college doesn’t mean it should always be the dream. You should take the right approach and strive your way to get into the dream college. And hiring an independent consultant is one of the biggest deciding factors — the right approach —that can help you get into the dream college.
