Finding a college admission consultant to work with is a very personal decision. While it might seem like just another item on your college to-do list, it’s basically the decision to partner with someone who’s going to shepherd you through the entire application process, oftentimes, from beginning to end. This is someone who is going to be in your life for a year or more and who will likely need to really get to know you (your interests, your personality and your potential) in order to help you match with your perfect, top-choice college. Needless to say, this is also someone who should be very knowledgeable about what the college landscape looks like. There are different types of consultants. Some offer an in-depth experience, others are more hands-off and can just provide some light editing to existing essays. Whatever you decide, you should first know what it is you need in a consultant.
Make a List of What You’re Looking For
One activity we have our students do is make a list of adjectives that describe them—this helps with the college essay process (more on that later). When searching for a college application consultant, you should start out by making a list of a different sort. Parents, make sure you do this with your kids. They are the ones engaging in all the hard work. It’s really crucial that you’re on the same page about what they need and what they want in the process. Write down the areas in which your kid most needs assistance. That might be building a college list or fleshing out a resume. But before you do that, you should also understand where you are in the college process and what you know about it.
Structure
If it seems like you’ll need more in-depth, one-on-one attention, you’re going to want to consider a well-established firm. We have always worked with our students exclusively over the phone, so we didn’t have to adjust our methodology for the pandemic. We don’t limit the number of hours our students work with us because we don’t want them to feel pressure. We find this allows for flexibility.
Our philosophy is that you’re trying to stand out in a sea of applications to a group of anonymous adults just getting to know you by your GPA. The best way to establish a connection is to tell great stories through your essays that make you come to life and demonstrate your unique personality. Our method allows us to get to know our students and brainstorm and workshop different ideas that help them stand out and show a different side to them not present elsewhere on their application. Our process is great for students who will put in the work and want to play around with ideas and styles of writing. It’s all a preference.
A Customized Experience
Everything we do is tailored to the client. That’s because the college application process is a highly personal experience. For the reasons we established in the above paragraph, you really need a consultant who’s going to get to know you. This can be really hard to do if you’re only meeting with someone one or two times. We’ve found our approach of being very hands-on and having consistent communication yields the best results. Some consultants have a goal of helping students get into a list of top-rated schools. Our students get into top-rated universities AND stay there. We often say the only statistic we care about is that we have a 0% transfer rate.
In sum, the college process is an individual experience. No two essays or resumes are alike. As such, you should really find a consultant who fulfills your individual needs.
If it sounds like TKG is the right fit for you, call us here. Our specialty is creating a customized college application process for each, individual client.