Weighing the Costs of College Consulting

Parents recognize that having a child admitted to a top choice college is a significant stepping stone to later success for the student. College graduates have broader career opportunities, higher earning potential, and a significant social and networking boost as they launch into the “adult” world.

It’s not surprising then that more and more parents are choosing to work with a private college consultant during the critical final years of high school. College is often the second largest financial investment for a family, after buying a home. And just as most families use a realtor when buying or selling a home, it can pay to have an objective and experienced third party advisor to help navigate the process.

The Costs of College Preparation
Getting into college is a great deal of work and stress, not only for the student but often for the parents. Test preparation, extracurricular activities, private tutoring, and summer educational opportunities can all help your student become a high calibre college applicant, but come with associated costs in energy, time and money.

Parents often struggle to decide which of these activities are going to result in the biggest “bang for their buck” in assisting a student with college applications. It can be heartbreaking to find that both the student and parent didn’t choose the right courses, activities or opportunities during high school to ensure that the child will get into the college of their choice.

Making the Right Choices
College consultants can help parents and students mitigate the costs associated with college preparation by helping the student focus on the right choices for successful college applications.

The discussion begins by helping students and parents answer the top question – which college is best for the student? Parents and students often take a different route when considering this issue – simply looking at a list of prospective colleges and deciding what is a “good enough” school for the student, instead of finding an ideal match. A college consultant brings experience with and information about prospective colleges that families might otherwise have to spend hours researching, which immediately lowers the time investment for parents and students.

Once the students has established a short list of “best choice” colleges in their particular field of study, the college consultant can work with families to develop a blueprint for success – choosing the best activities and courses of study that will ensure the student is well prepared when Senior year comes around. Parents save on time and energy by having a reliable partner in the quest for a successful college admission, and frequently save money as they’re able to channel funds into the most appropriate activities to help their child.

Ultimately, just as with working with a real estate agent, a college consultant can be a significant time, labor, and stress-saving resource for families. When facing the second largest financial investment your family will make, it’s worth considering whether a fractional investment of those funds should be devoted to college consulting to make sure that the process goes smoothly with the best result for your child.