Advice on Starting a College Admissions Counseling Business

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an educational consultant, and I am rather insulted with this discussion. I hold a Masters in Education, with a specialization in college admissions counseling, and now I have a stay at home mom without a background on the topic hanging out a shingle.

I have suggested to our professional organizations, that like Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Teachers, Cosmotologist and countless others that we license this field so people can not do this. No only you taking away our livelihood, but you are taking away from the students you serve. I just had a mother who was frantic two months ago learn that with taking the advice from a person similiar to this mom, that her son is on graduation day from college face $ 80,000 in debt all because of bad advice.

I just talked to our senator, and to our national organizers. I hope we put you out of busi ness-- or in the alternative you take 50K and go back to school to get trained.

I hope you are not providing help with essays.

[Anonymous]

What organization is this? (I'm a soon-to-be-retired lawyer and this is a type of volunteer work that sounds appealing.) Many thanks in advance.

Anonymous wrote:I have a family friend who is a retired lawyer who does this not as a way to make extra money, but on a volunteer basis for an organization that helps first generation, underprivileged kids. While perhaps the market to make some extra cash might be saturated, services like this are really necessary for kids who are from families who are not aware of how to navigate the system. In addition to essay help and test prep, what is really helpful is:

1) Expanding their awareness of school possibilities. Beyond the fact that many don't even know that ivies are fully need-based, there are a number of really high quality private liberal arts colleges (think Amherst, Reed, Bowdoin, Oberlin, Haverford, etc.) that provide need-based financial aid. A lot of kids from first generation, underprivileged backgrounds don't realize this. They also don't realize how great the education can be at some of these schools that are less known by the public, and more known by the academic community and those from upper middle class backgrounds.

2) Helping them navigate all the fee waivers for SATs and application fees if that is really a concern for their families. It's a lot of paperwork for an 18 year old to handle.

3) Helping them with the FAFSA and CSS profile. Again, if their families are not financially savvy, this can be daunting for a 18 year old without any guidance.

4) Helping them understand the various options for student loans...which ones can be consolidated, how government programs like IBR work and how to enroll in them, understanding interest rates, etc.

5) Understanding early admission vs. early action vs. SCEA vs. rolling admissions vs. regular admissions.

6) Making them aware of SAT II subject tests and the timing thereof. My husband, for example, who grew up in a rural area and went to a regional school wasn't even aware they existed until grad school.

Again, volunteering isn't a way to make money, but if you are looking for an outlet to make some meaningful change in people's lives, it might be worthwhile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What organization is this? (I'm a soon-to-be-retired lawyer and this is a type of volunteer work that sounds appealing.) Many thanks in advance.

Anonymous wrote:I have a family friend who is a retired lawyer who does this not as a way to make extra money, but on a volunteer basis for an organization that helps first generation, underprivileged kids. While perhaps the market to make some extra cash might be saturated, services like this are really necessary for kids who are from families who are not aware of how to navigate the system. In addition to essay help and test prep, what is really helpful is:

1) Expanding their awareness of school possibilities. Beyond the fact that many don't even know that ivies are fully need-based, there are a number of really high quality private liberal arts colleges (think Amherst, Reed, Bowdoin, Oberlin, Haverford, etc.) that provide need-based financial aid. A lot of kids from first generation, underprivileged backgrounds don't realize this. They also don't realize how great the education can be at some of these schools that are less known by the public, and more known by the academic community and those from upper middle class backgrounds.

2) Helping them navigate all the fee waivers for SATs and application fees if that is really a concern for their families. It's a lot of paperwork for an 18 year old to handle.

3) Helping them with the FAFSA and CSS profile. Again, if their families are not financially savvy, this can be daunting for a 18 year old without any guidance.

4) Helping them understand the various options for student loans...which ones can be consolidated, how government programs like IBR work and how to enroll in them, understanding interest rates, etc.

5) Understanding early admission vs. early action vs. SCEA vs. rolling admissions vs. regular admissions.

6) Making them aware of SAT II subject tests and the timing thereof. My husband, for example, who grew up in a rural area and went to a regional school wasn't even aware they existed until grad school.

Again, volunteering isn't a way to make money, but if you are looking for an outlet to make some meaningful change in people's lives, it might be worthwhile.

it sounds like questbridge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What organization is this? (I'm a soon-to-be-retired lawyer and this is a type of volunteer work that sounds appealing.) Many thanks in advance.
...

it sounds like questbridge

No it doesn't. Questbridge matches super high achieving poor kids with great colleges and universities who offer them terrific financial aid (true full rides in many cases). What PP described sounds more like DC-CAP.

[Anonymous]

I don't know the name of an organization in the DC area--the family friend who does this lives on the West Coast, and is involved through some program in the bay area. However, I would be shocked if similar programs didn't exist in every major metro area.