Understatement alert: applying to college is a daunting process.
Enter the college admission consultant — also known as an IEC (for Independent Educational Consultant). IECs are a booming business — over 160,000 families work with them every year. And they can help enormously:
But IECs are also expensive, generally costing around $5,000, but sometimes going up to $10,000 or more.
This article will walk you through:
(Want to learn Prompt's approach to writing college essays that have helped thousands of students get admitted to every top-50 school? Explore our detailed College Essay Help guide here.
Think of IECs as admission guides — they take you through every step of the admissions process, and can even improve your high school career by advising on courses and extracurriculars.
Here are the services most commonly provided by IECs:
IECs are popular because they provide real value. Sometimes, however, families choose not to use them because they can seem expensive.
One way around the cost factor is figuring out where you really need the support. Though every family is different, in our experience families tend to most want:
These services are top of the list for many reasons:
We often find families feel confident on doing some things on their own:
That being said, creating a college list is often easiest for students applying mostly to public universities (e.g., in their state) or who know they want to focus on highly-selective colleges only (e.g., Ivy League or similar). Sorting through many liberal arts colleges can be a difficult task, and one where a consultant’s guidance can really help.
Nevertheless, many families end up working with IECs specifically for guidance on the application and essay.
If you think you’re likely to fall into this camp, the smart way to handle this is either (1) work with a consultant that specializes in the application and essay process, or (2) work with an application and essay-focused service (such as us at Prompt) that can efficiently and expertly give you the guidance you most need.
In the end, each family is unique, and what they need support with can vary tremendously. Make this decision based on as objective an assessment as you can make of your particular needs.
Consultants have strengths in different areas:
IECs may also have strengths in multiple areas. Press the consultants you’re interviewing for specific examples of their strengths. Many may say they are strong at everything, but we know everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Align your consultant’s strengths with the areas in which you feel you need the most help.
Building on the strength question above, dive deeper into what makes the IEC special. Ask questions like:
Their answers may change your thinking on what services you need – be open to changing your mind!
Now, get into the results. Ultimately, it’s the outcomes that matter – being happy with the school you ultimately attend (and not paying for something you can’t afford). Take it as a good sign if the IEC’s clients get into and attend colleges similar to the ones you’re targeting.
But, you should push even further. IECs have a lot of control over where their students apply and what their students’ top choices are. We find the most important metric is what percentage of students get into one or more “reach” colleges. IECs define reach colleges differently, but the gist of a reach college is that it’s where a student doesn’t have a high chance of admission based on their academic profile.
For example, all highly-selective colleges are reaches, regardless of your own academic profile (think Ivy and Ivy-equivalent with under 4,000 admits per year). Other colleges will be reaches for students who are in the bottom half of admitted students academically (e.g., test scores, GPA, strength of curriculum). Understanding the acceptance rate of the IEC’s students at “reach” schools will give you the best sense of their capabilities. For context, at Prompt, 3 in 4 of our students get into one or more of their reach colleges, a rate far above what would be predicted by their academic profiles alone.
The transfer question is also critical. Students who transfer to another school likely didn’t start at a college that was a good fit for them. It’s an IEC’s responsibility to guide students to the right colleges for them. If an IEC has students who transfer, ask why. It could be a simple aberration, or because the student or parent went against the IEC’s recommendation. But it might also be that the IEC should have done a better job working with the student to identify what truly mattered to them.
Essays tend to be the most time-intensive and stressful parts of the application process. It’s essential to go into the process knowing how your IEC approaches essays and how much time they’ll be devoting to them.
Prompt finds students applying to 10 or more highly-selective colleges may need 60 to 80 hours of one-on-one essay coaching — that encompasses brainstorming, planning, written feedback, and revising.
Prompt has also found that more than 90% of applicants submit their applications within 48 hours of a college’s deadline. (That’s so bad!) Ideally, your IEC should be able to guide you so that you’re done far in advance of the deadline.
One of the best essay questions you can ask an IEC is nuts-and-bolts basic: “what do colleges look for when they evaluate essays?” You need to know that the consultant understands what goes through the mind of an admission officer and how they make decisions. At Prompt.com, we’ve (unsurprisingly) done extensive research on this question — the answer you’re looking for is that colleges are looking for proof an applicant will succeed in college and beyond. They’re mining your essays and other personal components for traits that indicate success such as drive, intellectual curiosity, initiative, contribution, diversity of experiences.
Ask your IEC what research they’ve done about admissions officers, what they’re looking for in applications, and don’t hire if they haven’t done their research!
Many consultants work on a fixed cost for a set of services. Others charge an hourly rate. The hourly rate may be a better option if you want to get a few hours of a consultant’s time on any subject. For example, maybe you feel comfortable with building a college list but want to make sure you and your student aren’t missing anything.
For more advice on college admissions, check out:
Interested in learning more about Prompt's college essay coaching? Contact us today!
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