5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring an Admissions Expert
5 Questions You Need to Ask Before Hiring an Admissions Expert
Applying to college is a major commitment not just for high school seniors but their entire family. From visiting colleges to completing applications, soliciting letters of recommendation to acing interviews, there are many elements to this process that require a high level of thought and preparation.Given how competitive and time-consuming the landscape of admissions has become, many families with the resources to do so seek help from an admissions expert (also called an independent counselor, educational consultant, or application specialist in some circles). Navigating deep waters with an experienced guide can make the process run much smoother and position students to maximize their chances of gaining admission to the schools of their dreams.Not every admissions expert is equally valuable, however. It is crucial that you do your due diligence in investigating the expert’s background and fit before beginning any work together. How will this expert enhance my process, empower my own voice, and improve my standing?Before agreeing to work with anyone, be sure to ask the questions we discuss below and get the answers you’re looking for.
What is Your Level of Experience?
You want to make sure that you’re working with someone with significant experience in the college application process. Successfully guiding one’s own child through the process is not enough. Ascertain your admissions expert’s experience placing students at elite schools as well as working with students similar to yours.The nuances of creating an application that compels admissions officers requires more than just writing expertise. Your admissions expert should be well-versed on college policy and trends in the admissions world in addition to having keen writing skills and an understanding of how to teach them to students. Further, he or she should have a working knowledge of local high schools—how students are advised, which colleges are popular next steps among the student body, and what requirements the high school places on students to fully support their applications.Be wary of signing up to work with an admissions consultant who lacks experience in any of these areas. This will help you feel confident in the advice of the expert you ultimately hire.
What is Your Approach?
Each independent counselor will have a different way of working with students in the same way that each student’s learning style is unique to him or her. Before making a major commitment, be sure that your student is compatible with the expert’s methods.Does your student need a more hands-on approach, with regular in-person meetings? Or does she work better with deadlines and space to create? How often should you expect updates from your admissions expert? What hours is he reachable? Is there a clear roadmap in place to shepherd your student all the way through the process?A worthwhile admissions expert will have a strong sense of the rhythm of the academic year and clear processes for helping students balance their application work, school work, and extracurricular/family commitments. He or she will also have an ability to connect to students where they are and help them draw out their highest quality work to date.As with test prep tutors or any other authority figure, the strength of the relationship between student and counselor will go a long way in determining how effective it is. Do the research on the front end of the process to find an expert that jells with your student’s needs.
Do You Guarantee Results?
This should be a very quick, “No!”No one can guarantee any admissions results (without breaking the law at least). The admissions process at highly selective schools is too competitive for anyone operating ethically to make those claims.It’s important that families have the proper expectations when signing up to work with an admissions expert. A truly valuable educational consultant will have an acute awareness of the kinds of students highly-selective schools are looking for as well as the kinds of experiences that register favorably. He or she will be able to help a student tailor the application to address these issues as thoroughly and honestly as possible.Working with a high-quality admissions expert will improve your chances of being admitted by helping your student raise the level of each component of the application, thus representing herself in the best light possible. This, coupled with a well-thought out college list, will virtually assure that students who put in the work end up with fantastic college options at the end of the process.If any admissions expert you consider promises to deliver specific results, walk away.
Will You Write My Student’s Essay for Him or Her?
This should be another quick, “No!”One of the major reasons families hire admissions consultants is to boost the quality of the personal statement and supplemental essays. And they will. However, the essence of the work must come from the student.Students are uniquely equipped to share their story—their passions, shortcomings, accomplishments, and life lessons. While an expert can help them figure out the most compelling way to articulate these things, he cannot create them from thin air.We spend much of our time helping students to find their voice so they can be their own best advocate. Not only does this create meaningful essays that impact admissions officers, it empowers students with a skill they will need in order to thrive in college.Savvy admissions officers can tell when a student has had too much help in putting together her application. They also have a sense of how 17 and 18-year-olds write about the world versus seasoned adults. Work that registers as authentic outperforms work that may be more technically perfect but doesn’t represent who the student is.A great admissions expert will have ways to pull valuable information from a student and help them shape it into something special.
How Do You Stay Informed?
College admissions is an industry of trends. Understanding how the results of the previous admissions cycle might affect the current one is a major responsibility for independent counselors.Investigate how your potential expert stays on top of trends and keeps himself relevant in the field. Do they attend conferences? How many campuses have they visited personally? When was their last communication with admissions officers at schools that matter to you? Do they have any relevant professional memberships?Dig deep into your expert’s level of knowledge before you sign up to work with him or her. Be sure their knowledge of schools is current, and their attitude is one of someone interested in continual learning as well. Taking dated advice will not produce the results you’re looking for.Be sure your admissions expert is truly an expert. You should be comfortable with their process for keeping their knowledge base up to date and their ability to translate that knowledge into actionable items for you and your student.As you partner together, it’s important that everyone is working on the same page and there’s a clear understanding of the process and your goals. From there, you can work together to create the best plan of action to bring those goals to fruition.The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary 20-minute conversation today!Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our newsletter. See what others are saying about us