A head’s up to parents about so-called “educational consultants.” If you are going to spend thousands of dollars on a consultant trying to get your child into a “top college,” whatever that may be for you, be sure to vet the consultants carefully. There are scores of phony “educational consultants” out there with marginal qualifications that may consist solely of a slick website and a membership to the Collegiate Counselors Association. Check out names, as in Google the staff names or run background checks: Some who advertise as “admissions counselors” are in real life part-time lecturers at local non-selective colleges and have absolutely NO experience as college admissions counselors. Some of those slick websites out there list “success stories” with first names and last initials that mask their relationships to the “admissions counselors” themselves, as in the “success stories” are brothers, husbands, and friends, or former students for whom they wrote a single letter of recommendation. Ask for last names and contact information; any legitimate consultant will provide those. And ask those “success stories” what their relationship is to the staff members. Check company addresses and be leery of any that are clearly residential; most reputable consultants do not operate out of their apartments. If you are the parent of an international student applying to a U.S. college, be absolutely sure that your child is fluent in English before you pay someone to help with college applications; thousands of international students struggle throughout college because of their very limited English skills. Spend the money instead on a gap year in which your child takes a year-long English immersion course. Beware of snake oil promises like “Two Day Success seminars” where the staff pretend that they’ll help your child complete a successful college application. How do they do this? They pressure your child to apply to safe schools that don’t consider essays or extra-curricular activities, while providing “Mad Libs”-type essay prompts that children complete to craft so-so essays. Your child will be accepted to the safe school, thus qualifying as a success. These kinds of “consultants” do nothing your own child couldn’t on her or his own. Don’t throw your money down the toilet.
If you are a parent looking to help your child, find a good therapist, preferably one with expertise in educational psychology or adolescent development, who also specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy. A good therapist-client relationship will help your child clarify his or her goals, write genuine application essays, and manage college application anxiety (that can manifest in a variety of ways – short tempers, procrastination, sullenness, minor physical ailments). I’m not saying that all educational consultants are quacks, but there are a lot out there and before you spend your money, be sure you know what you’re getting. Don’t just interview these “consultants,” as many I know are charming but highly manipulative people. In other words, don’t trust just how you feel about them – look for concrete facts that point to a long-standing relationship with student services in higher education. Don’t fall for professions of all too highly touted “alternative facts.”
I’ve been in higher education administration for 30 years, at some of the top Research 1 universities in the country. My children both have graduate and professional degrees (as do I). Despite my experience in higher ed administration, in no way would I ever claim to have some special facility with college admissions and I would never call myself an educational consultant. But I do interact with college students on a daily basis, and I’ve seen the stress and despair that many experience when the college they attend is not a good fit for them.
If your child isn’t ready to tackle the challenges of applying to highly competitive colleges, then give them some space. Students can excel in all kinds of institutions. We have a skills deficit in the U.S. There are public, low-cost technical colleges throughout the country that provide superior education in technical skills that can lead to high paying jobs and later, advanced studies in engineering, health, and other fields. There are many paths to learning – and good-paying jobs and lifelong happiness.
