Signing up to work with an admissions consultancy is a big step for anyone to take, and the decision comes down to trust – you need to trust that your consultant will provide you with high quality and timely services. The quality of admissions consulting services varies greatly, especially in Taiwan, were a select few consultancies provide excellent services, while most do not. Here are a few things to think about before engaging a consultancy so that you can ensure that they are well-trained, trustworthy people who are ready to fully support you and have your best interests at heart.
1. Avoid consultancies that promote a “guaranteed admission” policy. Guarantees typically sound great! However they create financial risk for the consultancy. The consultancy will seek to minimize this risk by pushing clients to apply to schools that are easy to gain admission to; instead of schools that might be the best fit for the client. Thus, such guarantees cause a conflict of interest that will make it difficult for the consultant to provide the best school selection advice for the client.
2. Ask specific questions to ensure that the consultant keeps up with new trends, academic program changes and evolving campus culture. You need the most up to date information in order to choose the right schools, and to convince the schools that you deeply understand their programs in your essays and interviews.
3. Does the consultancy have a proven track record of satisfied clients? How long has the company been in business and do they publish their track record of admissions success? Ask the consultancy to refer you to some former clients at random so you can ask their opinions about the firm’s quality.
4. Does the consultancy receive commissions from the schools they are recommending to you? Many consultancies will direct clients to the schools that pay commissions to them, rather than provide the client with a true assessment of the school list that is right for them.
5. Are all consulting fees clearly stated in writing, up front, indicating exactly what services you will receive for those fees? Many consultancies use deceptive marketing practices where they provide a very low fee quote – but the reality is that the fee will not cover the most critical application services (like essay editing).
6. Find out the firm’s policies in the event you want to add additional schools.
7. Who is doing the work? With some consultancies, you might meet face-to-face with someone with an impressive background, while another person might actually be doing the real work (i.e. editing) behind the scenes. When one person is giving advice, and another is editing, there is always some disconnect. Ensure that your consultant will be the person who is actually editing your documents.
Choosing an admissions consultancy is an important life decision, and you should make this decision with your eyes wide open. We hope that by pointing out these issues above you to do so. And of course, to understand our firm’s values and professional admissions services, as always, feel free to contact us at david@transcendadmissions.com.