Should You Hire the Services of a College Admissions Consultant?
The college admissions processes continue to evolve over the years. Nowadays, the admissions process is becoming more and more competitive and complex. The personal guidance that a professional Admissions Counselor can give will help determine the best options for your child. These professionals can also help you establish realistic expectations from a competitive standpoint.
If you are on the fence about whether or not you should hire college admissions consultants for your child, carefully think if you will be able to do their job. Can you help your child strategically choose universities and colleges? Can you guarantee that they can get the best chance at enrolling in the best school? Do you have competent knowledge about the current admissions trends?
If not, then it would save you time and resources to delegate the task to seasoned college admissions consultants.
It is Different Now than Before
If you think that the college application process that is now was the same twenty years ago, think again. For one, the rate of high school graduates and the number of students attending college significantly increased.
Aside from that, students these days are more exposed to aggressive marketing campaigns done by universities seeking qualified and talented applicants. As you can see, all these contributed to the stress that parents and students feel. Instead of having the upper hand in choosing the school they want, the students need to prove their worth first.
Shift in Focus
Most of the time, parents and students approach the college admission process by focusing on the schools they want to attend. While this is important, it is better if the focus is first on the students. Parents should pay attention to the inclinations, attributes, preferences, and interests of their children.
These, along with the student’s admission and academic profile, should be the basis of choosing the school. In this case, college admissions consultants can genuinely help. Instead of focusing solely on the schools that the student wants to attend, the college admission consultant can help the student identify his real choices. The consultant can direct the student to a school that will nurture his talents and skills.
More often than not, college admissions counselors work with students so they can explore their career and educational goals. Through this, the students can identify the things that they value the most. This can help them decide the best college environment for themselves.
The good thing about college admission counselors is they explore academic structures and various curricular options first before listing down specific colleges. The recommendations made by the counselor are both reasonable and from a level-headed and competitive standpoint.
Conclusion
With that, the answer as to whether you should hire a college admissions counselor or not is clear. Yes, you should. If you care about your child’s future and his happiness, you need somebody who can help him make the right choices. His decisions may not be a reflection of what you want, but it will surely be according to his inclinations, preferences, and personal choice.