I’ll start off with a confession:

After spending several years as a college professor, I was a bit surprised (and humbled) at how much I didn’t know about changing college admissions trends and the step-by-step process of applying. Keeping abreast wasn’t part of my job; it was to design courses and effectively teach students after they had been admitted.

As individuals, how many times do we navigate this process? Not many. Making sense of where to begin, where, or how to apply can be quite the learning curve. Rather than re-learning the ins and outs yourself, this is where independent college counselors step in.

Limited school-based resources

Lack of in-depth college application assistance at the school level is one of the factors giving rise to growth in independent counselors. Similarly, as more people seek out advanced study beyond the bachelor’s degree, similar dynamics are experienced at the university-level.

Find out which school-based resources are available to you. But you may also find knowledge gaps that need to be filled in along the way. Independent college counselors consult with students and parents to eliminate a steep learning curve, explore best-fit college choices, and devise a workable game plan to proceed through the application process.

Focus on fit

A good college counselor is student-centered, focusing on strengths, personality, social preferences, and other factors linked to academic success. This means adopting a “best fit” approach, identifying specific colleges and programs where students flourish academically, socially, and professionally. Recommendations are made in line with carefully cultivated experience, serving students’ best interests. Oftentimes, this also means bucking a trend of hyperfocus on college rankings, instead taking a fresh look at each individual student to match to college choices.

Beyond books or forums

Tap into a vast pool of knowledge beyond what books, website, social media groups, or online forums have to offer. College counselors seek out firsthand, up-to-date knowledge of admissions trends and specific college offerings. Collectively, we have years of earned experience through ongoing professional development, a “beyond the brochure” view of colleges informed by campus visits, a proven process to strategically move through application submission, and access to a wide network of college counselors and admissions experts.

Time and attention

Time is the most important non-renewable resource. It takes a lot of man hours to read, review, synthesize, and apply the depth of knowledge in researching college options, navigating admissions policies and procedures, and pulling together polished application materials. Exactly the excess time that busy parents are in short supply of.

Independent college counselors set aside ample time to assess client strengths and needs, guide and supply direction and feedback through each stage of process: exploration, application, and final decision-making. They also support parents by working directly with students, applying a gentle nudge forward when necessary, to complete application-related tasks and stay ahead of deadlines.

Do you need a college counselor?

Yes, if your student is:

• Academically talented, highly motivated, and excited to explore colleges offering the best opportunities
• Yet to be introduced to a wide range of college options
• Open to coaching for academic and extracurricular skill-building
• Undecided and in need of direction in identifying career interests
• Interested in maximizing free money while minimizing costs of college attendance
• Completely overwhelmed about where to start, how to stay organized and ahead college deadlines

As an independent college counselor, I begin working with families early in the college preparation and application process, sometimes as early as 8th or 9th grade. Getting to know students, their strengths and interests takes time, and so does walking families through a thorough exploration of college choices. I provide recommendations for high school coursework, extracurricular and summer activities, standardized testing, data-informed recommendations in devising a targeted college list, one-on-one support at every stage of the application process, and more.

Think “less stress” and fewer sleepless nights across college application season.