When I was applying to college in the U.S., the Internet had yet to be born, so I only knew about universities in my state. The application consisted of a single ACT score, biographical information, and payment. Times have changed.
With so much information available online, students from around the world can learn about any college with the click of a mouse. The Common Application allows students to streamline the process of applying to college by providing a single application with biographical information, test scores, an essay and activity list that goes to many schools. This has increased the number of institutions an individual student can apply to and thus made all colleges more competitive. The top 100 colleges in the U.S have literally thousands of applicants each season. The Harvard Crimson reported a whopping 42,742 applicants in this 2018 application cycle.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/2/14/applications-numbers-2018/
As the selectivity rates of American colleges continues to spiral, we have seen an increase in the need for Educational Consultants to help families navigate the process. Here are some of the many reasons that families elect to hire an Educational Consultant:
- If you want to help your child stand out from the rapidly increasing crowd – Most families are too close to see the obvious about their child. They tend to unwittingly drive negative stereotypes about their student or fail to see that an essay is lackluster. It takes an experienced outsider to choose the things to highlight as well as the things to diminish about an individual profile. An experienced consultant can point a student toward a good college fit and know how to best manage the contents of the application.
- If you homeschool or have a nontraditional educational profile – While U.S. colleges are getting more comfortable with homeschoolers, the burden of proof is with the family to show that the student is prepared. A homeschooling family must submit the same type of school report that a traditional school would submit. This includes a transcript, course descriptions, school profile, and counselor letter. An experienced Educational Consultant will help you prepare documents that are professional and trustworthy.
- If your child is gifted – These students frequently take an unusual path through their secondary education such as taking some classes and standardized tests extremely early. Their activities are often adult-level and unfamiliar. Twice Exceptional students (gifted kids with disabilities) have amazing strengths and sometimes glaring weaknesses. All of these factors need to be explained carefully to potential colleges.
- If your student has an interrupted educational journey – Some students experience devastating health issues that force them to leave school, sometimes for extended periods. Others might choose to suspend school temporarily to pursue a business opportunity or a mentorship of some kind. None of these issues is a deal breaker for selective colleges, but must be explained well.
- If you need to preserve the relationship between parent and child – It isn’t easy being a teen or being the parent of one. Even families with close relationships find that the ordeal of college applications can bring their relationship to the breaking point. I am frequently hired as an Educational Consultant to become the voice of reason in a child’s life, to push when they need to get moving, enforce deadlines, and to be honest about their work. The wise parent knows that their relationship with their child must go the distance and college applications are not the hill they choose to die on.
- If you are affluent and don’t have time to help your child with applications – Some busy families are able to outsource everything and this includes hiring an Educational Consultant to oversee the college application process.
- If you are middle class and need scholarships for your child to attend college – Many people are under the mistaken assumption that only the wealthy should hire an Educational Consultant. While there are certainly some firms that charge a huge fee, many do not. And, even if the initial outlay may seem high, when compared to the overall cost of college it is a small price to pay for finding the best fit and being prepared to compete for scholarships. I often work with students to fine-tune their scholarship applications and prepare for interviews. The training has allowed many of them to land full ride or full tuition scholarships. A few hours spent with an expert can mean the difference of thousands of dollars in scholarships.
For many reasons, an Educational Consultant can be a valuable ally as you navigate the important high school years and college applications with your child.