What you are about to read may be controversial and may generate a lot of debate. I welcome it. I believe education is a right and that everyone should have the information needed to access the opportunities that best align to their unique needs. In Colombia, more and more students are looking to access higher education abroad both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. As demand grows, so does the number of companies, schools, and consultants offering services to support students and families in the admissions process. In my interactions with students, families, schools, and the numerous institutions that are a part of the college admissions world, I have found that there is a lot of misinformation, as well as some questionable practices taking place. This is my attempt at building transparency and giving students and families some additional tools to navigate this often confusing landscape of college admissions advising.

College admissions is a multibillion dollar industry. Yes, BILLIONS (The College Board alone had earnings of $1.2 billion dollars in 2020). College applications, exams, test-prep, summer programs, and more all form part of this industry that is often criticized for capitalizing on family’s commitment to providing the best opportunities for their children. Colombia is not exempt from this phenomena, and, due to the current political climate even more families are considering options for study abroad when before they may have preferred sending their children to some of the excellent universities available within the country.

We all want the best for our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and our nephews. We want them to be able to pursue their passions, to find happiness and success, and to struggle a little less than perhaps we had to. The chance to study abroad is one way that students can access more opportunities -opportunities to learn or strengthen a second or third language, opportunities to understand other cultures, opportunities to study at unique programs that are not available within one’s own country, opportunities for more lucrative jobs, and opportunities to migrate to other parts of a world that are comparably safer or have a better quality than where a student currently lives. These are all legitimate reasons for wanting to seek higher education in the exterior of the country and there are many more. The challenge in achieving this goal or dream, however, is understanding the route to getting there. Every country has a different process, a different system, and then even within a country there can be major differences between the admissions processes from university to university. And this is where the college admissions industry comes in. For every person or institution committed to supporting families, increasing access, and making the experience more transparent and enjoyable, there is another person or company preying on the vulnerability of students and families to make a buck.

So what can students and families do to get honest, quality support during this process? One step is to understand the most common support roles, the potential strengths and weaknesses of each role, and the questions that you can ask when considering your options. When you are armed with information, you are better positioned to advocate for your child and truly get the best outcome possible. The three most traditional supports for selecting and applying to colleges and universities are 1) the school-based counselor, 2) the independent education consultant (IEC), and 3) agent. Let’s look at each in more detail:

1. School-based counselor. The school-based counselor is a professional within the school that supports students to varying degrees with their college application process. In Colombia, this role can look very different from school to school. In some schools, the high school psychologist has as a part of his or her duties the responsibility of guiding students in the selection of their major and university and in the application process. In other schools, there may be a person or team of people who are dedicated solely to college counseling. In the best of cases, these school-based college counselors are bilingual, part of a professional association (InternationalACAC, for example), and have time in their schedule to meet with every student to work through the admissions processes.
   • Possible Pros: School knowledge – school-based counselors know the school and can coordinate with other members of the school community to support the student; this may include such as the school registrar for transcripts, teachers for letters of recommendations and support with essays, among others. Perspective – school-based counselors are able to observe students in their element, positioning them to help students recognize their leadership and other strengths in a way that an external support cannot. Advocacy – school-based counselors are able to advocate for both their students and their school and can a school to better support its future graduates year after year.
   • Possible Cons: Time restraints – school-based counselors’ time may be spread thin with multiple responsibilities that limit how much individualized support they can offer to each student. Budget restraints – school-based counselors may not get the training or access to universities that they need due school budget restraints. English proficiency – many schools in Colombia have high school psychologists that are not bilingual, limiting their ability to support the admissions processes with international universities. Instability/change of personnel – schools have been experiencing high turnover in recent years so there is always the risk that the school-based counselor may leave the school during your child’s process and get replaced by a person who does not know your child and has less or no experience in college counseling.
   • Questions parents can ask to better understand the support their child will receive:
     • Is college counseling offered by the school?
     • What does college counseling mean at the school? Is there a curriculum? When do students begin receiving college counseling?
     • Does the college counselor meet individually with students and their families? How often?
     • What qualifications does the college counselor have for this role? Bilingual? A part of a professional association? Certification? Number of colleges and universities s/he has visited? Participation in training and international conferences?
2. Independent Education Consultant (IECs). The independent education consultant is a professional who as the title indicates works independently of the school and advises students and families on the college admissions process. IECs may work alone or be a part of a larger college advising company. IECs charge for their services; fees may be hourly or based on different packages that the IEC puts together. Each IEC sets the conditions for his or her services – countries, ages/grades of clients, number of universities they support students to apply to, types of programs, etc. IECs that work as a part of a larger company may also be able to connect clients to specialized services such as test prep and portfolio development, others may not offer this as a part of their services.
   • Possible Pros: Personalized support – IECs will put in many hours with each client. Specialized knowledge – this is the IECs business so they want to ensure client satisfaction which means continuously learning and developing new tools and resources. Bilingual and international perspective – IECs should have experience abroad themselves and will be able to share this perspective with students and families. Certification and professional membership – IECs should have certification as a college counselor and be a member of at least one professional association that requires him or her to abide by a strict set of ethical guidelines.
   • Possible Cons: Cost – the fees that IECs charge can be quite prohibitive to many families; while some IECs do take on a certain number of pro bono cases these tend to be very limited. Access to school staff and resources – the college admissions process will require the support of your school (transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc.) whether your child works with an IEC or a school-based counselor and sometimes schools refuse to work directly with IECs, adding additional steps for your child and limiting the collaboration potential.
   • Questions parents can ask to better understand the support their child will receive:
     • What are your qualifications? Bilingual? Degrees/universities? Certification? Membership with a professional association such as International ACAC, IECA or HECA? How many colleges and universities have you visited? Do you have other university visits planned?
     • Do you receive commission from universities for recruiting students? The answer should be NO, especially if they are members of the aforementioned professional associations.
     • What support will you offer to my child and to me as a parent? Are there limitations to the numbers of hours offered? Are there limitations to the number of universities or countries to which my child may apply?
     • What will these services cost? When are payments due?
     • How will you engage with my child’s school?
3. Agents. Agents are individuals or companies (agencies) that provide services related to college admissions. Generally, agents work for specific universities or other entities (countries, testing companies, etc.) and get paid on commission. Often times agencies do not charge families because they are getting paid by the universities to support you, but this also usually means that they will only be recommending the colleges and universities in their portfolio. Other agencies charge fees AND receive commission. There are agencies that will support students and families with applications to the colleges and universities that the families desire, but because they are paid on commission by only certain universities and colleges, this support enters a murky territory that may jeopardize the quality of guidance that they provide. Whatever the case, these agreements should be clearly communicated to families.
   • Possible Pros: Cost – agents often times will not charge and families can get valuable support to meet their specific needs; one strategy may be to only seek assistance from an agent once your child has his college application list. Specialized services – there are agents for different needs such as sports scholarships, test prep, country-specific guidance, visa paperwork, and more. Direct entry – sometimes agents have agreements with the universities that pay them commission that allow them to reduce the requirements for entry to the university; this may mean you do not need to present a certain exam, write an essay, or complete an interview.
   • Possible Cons: Conflict of interest – agents get paid commission and therefore most likely will only recommend these colleges and universities to your child resulting in advice that may not have your best interest in mind. Misinformation – agencies have been known to promote scholarships and other benefits that they can offer because of the agreements that they have with colleges and universities, however, if you contact the school directly you will find that everyone has access to those scholarships and benefits; if you discover that this is the case, run! This is evidence of dishonesty; what else are they not being honest about?
   • Questions parents can ask to better understand the support their child will receive:
     • Do you get paid commission? If so, which colleges and universities are in your portfolio?
     • If I want to apply to a school not in your portfolio, will you still provide assistance? Will it have an additional fee?
     • Do you have a professional membership? If they say yes and are earning commission, you should report this organization to the professional association.
     • What will these services cost? When are payments due?

These roles and the college advising process are extremely nuanced. This summary is just an overview to get you started. I encourage you to ask all the questions that you want and to advocate for your child. Do not assume that an IEC is better than a school-based college counselor, but also make sure that a school gives you all the information you are seeking to know what kind of support you can expect from a school-based counselor. Be wary of agents, seeking full transparency before accepting their support, especially if fees are involved.

And if you have questions, please email me at kncottrell@gmail.com to set up a free consultation on how to advocate for college counseling at your child’s school or how to get started with an IEC.