What do I mean by the above? There are educational consultants who may research programs, schools and universities from the comfort of their armchairs and never or rarely do they step foot on a campus. They might call a program and chat for a few minutes about the best fit for a student.
Or there are consultants who travel the world looking at programs and campuses who feel the ‘vibe’, understand the neighborhoods surrounding university campuses, approach to learning and what life is like. Let’s talk about this.
First, it is known just by the title of my company, World Student Support, that I assist families and their students with applications worldwide. I visit schools in the US and worldwide.
For the past few years, I attended and helped organize IECA’s European Symposiums. The initial one took place in Milan, Italy hosted by Bocconi University. Not only did we have sessions regarding universities in Italy, we visited a variety of campuses in Milan. What did it show the group of us as we toured these campuses? First, we walked everywhere. It indicated to me that Milan is a city that is easy to navigate by foot. There is also a major international airport, a few wonderful universities and fabulous fashion design universities. We, as a group were able to see these schools first hand and observe students in action.
We did the same in Madrid, Glasgow and repeated this in Paris. Though, we will use more public transport in Paris, as we did in Glasgow and Madrid.
Even in the US, touring universities and schools, we get to see everything in action and view the facilities and see how the facilities look. For example, one school I toured years ago in Chicago has a new home. I toured it a couple of years ago and its new home and upgrades are amazing. I would not know this had I not gone back to see it.
How many programs do consultants tour a year? That varies. Some might do one a month. If a consultant is a Certified Educational Planner (The American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (AICEP) awards the CEP credential to professionals, working independently or in schools, who have achieved the highest level of competence in educational planning. Only the best and most experienced counselors qualify to become CEPs aicep.org), there is a minimum requirement of visiting 70 programs in five years. That would make 14 a year. Organizations like IECA, HECA and others offer tours for counselors and IECs. IECs can tour on their own and meet admissions officers as well. Many of us tour more than 14 schools a year. In addition, we attend a multitude of conferences annually.
So, what of the armchair advisors, what do they know? In many instances, they know what we know. They know the statistics. They know what SAT/ACT and GPA it takes to get into a university, they know what the cutoff is for an IB Diploma score, they know what it takes to get into a boarding school. But, do they know the ‘vibe’, the true neighborhood? What have they seen, beyond what they have heard? What organizations do they belong to? What ethical guidelines do they follow? Those are the questions to ask an armchair consultant.
The final question to ask any consultant: If your student wishes to study in a place where the consultant has never been before, let’s say, the EU or the UK, should you hire that person? Is this a situation where the armchair consultant is out of their comfort zone? I would hope that this person would have the integrity to refer out. That is why we have the network we do. I have colleagues worldwide where I can comfortably refer to them when I am out of my wheelhouse. The same for colleagues who may refer to me when they are in the same situation.