ESSAY: The Heat of the Moment- Why Bother Hiring a College Consultant Anyway?

Yes, it’s a classic song by the 1980’s rock band, Asia, but that’s not important right now.  I want to take a few moments to address an important question for families who have high school-aged children.  One of the most common questions I hear from parents who have consultations with me is some version of: "Why should we hire you?”.  Great question.

First, no, you don’t need to hire me (or someone like me).  Depending on the goals of the student, parent(s), the financial situation surrounding them, and the level of support coming from the student’s high school, there is a real possibility you don’t need the type of help afforded by retaining the services of an independent college counselor, or IEC for short.  Now, this isn’t to say that there aren’t good reasons to retain IEC’s, there are, but you should understand what your goals are first, how much knowledge you possess about attaining those goals, recognize that you don’t know what you don’t know, and that if you did attend college, that your journey took place a generation ago (sorry to rip the Band-Aid off like that but I’m just being honest) and times have most certainly changed since you were an undergraduate student.

If you are in a position where you want more hands-on attention and help than a school-based counselor can provide (no disrespect whatsoever to them - most caseloads prevent counselors from getting too deep in the weeds with any one student) and you are applying to schools where having this type of attention and expertise is warranted, it can be a fine investment, and at a minimum, provide a level of comfort for the parent(s), a sounding board for the child(ren), and a referee for the household.  All that said, there are a number of important questions you should be asking.

Let’s start with some obvious ones: what are your needs as a family?  Assessing what you hope to gain by retaining an IEC should help you find a well-suited counselor.  For instance, are you looking for a specialist who works primarily with athletes or musicians?  What about a student with a learning difference?  Or is your student transferring from a community college to a four-year school?  There are experts who have specific training and experience working with these groups of students.  Myself, I’m a generalist – I work with many different populations but specialize in none.  That has allowed me to work with the 4.6 and the 2.8 GPA kids, the athletes, entertainers, the curious and the confused, all with relatively equal skill.

What type of training, certifications, degrees, and experience(s) does this counselor bring to the table?  IEC’s come from all walks of life.  Some have 40 years of experience; some have 40 minutes of experience.  Some are college grads, some have an advanced degree, some have more than that… and some have none at all.  You might want to know about the counselor’s own academic journey before hiring them.  Does the counselor have a master’s degree in counseling?  Or a certification in college counseling from a reputable source?  Does the counselor maintain membership in organizations like the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) or a regional version of that group (here in California, that would be WACAC), or a group that offers some background credibility to the counselor, like IECA or HECA? Does that counselor participate in conferences (either as an attendee or as a presenter)?  Does that counselor visit colleges and universities themselves?  All of these are viable questions you can ask to get a better sense of the level of experience, training, and general knowledge that they can bring to bear for your family. 

Then there’s what I think matters at least as much as all of that: the level of comfortability the student has with the counselor.  Parents, you shouldn’t be making this decision in a vacuum.  I tell families this all the time: mom/dad, you might be responsible for paying my salary, but your child is the one I answer to.  That student needs to feel comfortable in meetings with this counselor, be capable of trusting and understanding where the counselor is coming from and that they are pulling in the same direction, so to speak. 

The next big question is: what do you get from this counselor, and for how much?  Again, this is where you need to have a reasonably good idea of what type of help (and how much of it) you want or need.  Some counselors are on the ‘pay-by-the-hour’ plan.  Others are ‘package exclusive’.  Some have multiple plans to meet the needs of different types of families with different budgets (that’s how I roll).  Are you looking for full-time help or just a few meetings and a good starting spot to work from on your own, or something in between the two?  Take the time to get a clear breakdown of costs and benefits with any counselor you speak to or meet with.  No one wants a surprise here!

If you don’t know where to begin, start with the school counselor.  See how comfortable you are with them and the level of support they can provide.  If you don’t feel comfortable for whatever reason, then the next logical step is to seek out someone in an IEC capacity who is able to help you move forward and navigate these important areas in a manner that will benefit the family.  I would encourage you to pick more than one IEC to interview and to lean on friends and family members who have been down this road recently and worked with someone whom they trust and respect.  I can’t tell you how invaluable former client referrals have been to my business and it speaks volumes about how taking good care of one family frequently leads to someone they know calling me for help.

The college process has always required patience and diligence. What’s different now is how early uncertainty shows up, and how loudly it echoes online. Parents don’t need more hot takes. They need help deciding what actually deserves their attention and the attention of their child.  I hope this helps.  Happy hunting!

If I can be of any help, feel free to touch base via LinkedIn or email me directly to chat: rob@premiercollegeguide.com.