Why You Need Help from a College Consultant
It’s common for students and families to assume that if the student meets the "admissions criteria" that a student is guaranteed admission. Unfortunately this is a false assumption. When you see "admission criteria" or "admission requirements" for any university what you're looking at is an average representation of the accepted students from the previous admission cycle. For example, if University X has an average GPA requirement of a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale that means that a 3.5 was the average GPA of accepted applicants the previous year.
But what goes unsaid to college applicants is that inside the admission office, colleges and universities have inched up their standards and acceptance rates have dropped. Nationally the acceptance rate for undergraduate students is around 70% (2021). The reality is that more students are applying to college than ever before, but the spots available for incoming classes has not increased at the same rate. In 1975 only 3.2% of students were applying to college. In 2006 that percentage increased to 17%, and in 2021 nearly 70% of students are applying to four year colleges (Education Data Initiative. (2021, November 22). College enrollment statistics [2021]: Total + by demographic. College Enrollment Statistics 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022). The reality is with this increase in applications colleges and universities are putting more attention into the details of your application and not just your stats. It’s not just about your GPA, it’s about the academic rigor over the course of four years. It’s not about being class president or editor of the school newspaper, but about how you articulate the impact of what you’ve accomplished and how those activities and skills align with your values and with the college you’re applying to for admission.
Guidance counselors and college counselors are great resources, but they can only provide so much individualized attention on the college process while balancing other responsibilities. This is where a College Admissions Consultant (also known as an Independent Education Consultant) can be the most impactful.
As a College Admissions Consultant, our role is to breakdown the admissions process and illustrate the blind spots to best address your needs in the college admission process. College Admissions Consultants are not just experts in admissions, but also experts on colleges. A quality college consultant maintains up to date knowledge of college program offerings, internship experiences, clubs and activities, as well as trends in admissions. Applying to college is the easy part. The process actually starts ideally the summer going into junior year, developing a personal profile, identifying colleges of interest, major of interest, essay brainstorming and development. A good college consultant helps a student develop a strategy to give them the best chance of admission and create a strong personal narrative for the application. By using our Roadmap to College Application E-Book you’ll develop strong profile that allows you to stand out in an applicant pool and ensures that you are choosing schools that are the best fit for your needs and breaks down the each part of the application process in a manageable way all while learning the skills necessary to transition to an independent college student.