Sunday, October 11, 2009

Ten Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Educational Consultant

Recently, the Independent Educational Consultants Association put out a bring Q and A for families who are considering using an educational consultant to work with their child(ren). Below are the questions and University Advisors' answers are in CAPS:

1. Do you guarantee admission to a school, one of my top choices, or a certain minimum dollar value in scholarships? NO

2. How do you keep up with new trends, academic changes and evolving campus cultures? How often do you get out and visit college, school, and program campuses and meet with admissions representatives? WE ATTEND CONFERENCES AND VISIT SCHOOLS TO STAY UPDATED ON WHAT'S HAPPENING IN COLLEGE/GRADUATE ADMISSIONS.

3. Do you belong to any professional associations? YES. WE BELONG TO NACAC AND HECA.

4. Do you attend professional conferences or training workshops on a regular basis to keep up with regional and national trends and changes in the law? YES

5. Are all fees involved stated in writing, up front, indicating exactly what services I will receive for those fees? YES

6. Will you complete the application for admission, re-write my essays or fill out the financial aid forms on my behalf? NO. THE STUDENT DRIVES THE PROCESS AND COMPLETES THESE FORMS.

7. How long have you been in business as an educational consultant? OVER TEN YEARS

8. What was your background prior to going into educational consulting? What was your training and education? UNIVERSITY ADVISORS HAVE MASTERS DEGREES IN COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION AND RELATED FIELDS. WE HAVE WORKED IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS AND HIGHER EDUCATION AS WELL.

9. Will you use personal connections to get me in to one of my top choices? NO

10. What specialized training do you have? WE ARE EXPERTS IN MANY ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES AND HAVE WORKED WITH STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT ABILITIES.

No comments: