Its still a great resource, IMO
I find it interesting is that so many well regarded IECs have children that attend or attended what I consider to be regular colleges. So, even those in the know and very well connected end up sending their kids to where some us plebs send our children.
I think this whole thing is a bit overblown.
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We had a great experience with a college counsellor, but you can do it on the cheap.
My son did a little tutoring at our public library and was told about another volunteer, an older woman, who did college counselng for free. It was formerly her job.
A lot of the stuff she told us we could have come up with on our own. But some things really helped. For instance, she told us to schedule an appointment with the high school guidance counsellor and have a face-to-face chat. Our kids go to a huge public high school, not especially fancyālots of middle-class kids and lots of working-class kids, many who are recent immigrants. The counsellors have huge workloads.
But the guy was happy to talk with us for fifteen minutes. He knew our kids, sort of, but Iām sure he became a better advocate for them just because of the face time. And his subsequent meetings with the kids themselves meant more.
There were other pieces of advice the pro-bono counsellor gave us that weāre sure made a difference in our kidsā successful college search.
The point is, we were relatively savvy but somewhat at sea concerning a lot of the details. āCounsellor letter? How are they supposed to get a worthwhile counsellor letter at their massive, impersonal public high school?ā
Seek out free advice. Itās out there.
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Lots of people are using the letters IEC (independent educational consultant) to mean private college counselor. Unless something has changed, the IEC is a non-profit group of private counselors that have dues and requirements to be included as an IEC member. Interestingly, many of the more highly regarded private counselors do not associate itself with IECA.
IECās are independent educational consultants. The membership organization that many (but not all) belong to is IECA,is the Independent Educational Consultants Association. The other organization many belong to is HECA, Higher Education Consultants Association. Calling a private college consultant an IEC is perfectly acceptable, but it doesnāt guarantee that the consultant is a member of IECA, HECA or that they are certified by the AICEP (American Institute of Certified Educational Planners). If one is using an IEC (perfectly acceptable term) it is recommended to check to see if they belong to IECA, HECA or are certified by AICEP. Anyone can hang out a shingle a call themselves a college consultant (they should hot use the word counselor unless they have a degree or license in counseling). There may be many good consultants who do not belong to these organizations, but there are also some very not-so-good ones out there.
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nope
Will agree to disagree. Some call themselves ECās (educational consultants), some IECs , some call themselves education or college planning consultants. Actually they should not use the term ācounselorā as outside school systems that is typically a term that requires a degree and/or license.
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Looking at their own website the IECA appears to offer a distinction between IECs and IECs who are IECA members. This differentiation by the trade organization seems to support the use of the term in the absence of membership.
Not an expert, but if not the case please explain beyond a simple nope as that doesnāt serve to inform us new to the terminology. Thanks.
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Agreed that ānopeā is not so helpful.
Regardless itās good that there are professional organizations that require private college consultant members to have some level of relevant education, experience, and/or ethics.
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Correct. ECās might also belong to NACAC or are CEPs (certified educational planners), but the term āIndependent Educational Consultantā is widely used (unless people think the over 2K members of the IEC facebook group, who are verified private consultants are wrong).
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There is a lot more to this discussion (and distinction) and probably not worth having it given that people here are at varying levels of interest/experience in this area. I try and not mention all my ānails on the chalkboardā feelings, and typically only do, when I think people will appreciate it. My mistake.
I am a counselor. Kickball in the 80ās at a day camp.
Counselor? By degree? Licensure? What type of counselor?
an IEC for kickball.
The C in IEC stands for consultant, not counselor. Like jym said, most states tightly regulate who can call themselves a counselor, in a professional setting.
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Again, not sure worth our time.
If you want to research the association, you will see how it evolved and why it matters to some people. For me, it was an elitist clown show with 50ish members througout the country that offered very little. If we want to call them the kleenex of college counseling - no problem. I just think we are on another level.
Youāve all made your points. As CC is not a debate society, please move on. Thank you.
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Getting back to the postā¦
no matter what we call the profession, $120k per year is more than I would spend on college consulting.
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And this dude likely has no certifications.
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