If you're already feeling out of your depth by the complexity and pitfalls of the US uni application process, the helping hand of a professional could come as a welcome relief.
What does a professional university consultant actually do?
- Our consultants take only a limited number of students, and are on call for as long as 2 years or 18 months in advance of the application deadline.
- And that's in a perfect world. It's much more intense if the student calls at the last minute, eg: two months before the application deadlines!
- Our consultants guide their students all the way through the process until the last application has been submitted.
- First we help you narrow down your grocery list of unis to just the best candidates...with loads of soul searching, price checking and visits along the way.
Our consultants will:
- Guide and advise about all aspects of the application.
- Help to ensure a good "fit", so you apply to the universities that are right for you.
- Oversee work on all essays, starting with the Common App, where you submit the same essay and basic information to all unis.
- Support you through additional submissions; for example, many unis require an additional essay or two. We can provide oversight and suggestions, without actual editing, to ensure your applications appeal to the particular universities where you are applying.
- Keep you up to speed with timing, so deadlines are met (eg you'll need to reserve your space well in advance to sit SATs or ACT tests).
- Help you organise, plan for and write itemised financial forms and investigate scholarship opportunities.
Our consultants can help you plan several years out
- Which courses you should be taking --the most rigorous you can handle!
- Extra curriculars you should be involved in, offices you should hold or run for in order to show leadership and involvement.
- Recommend community service activities (some unis require as many as 90 community service hours).
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All this is quite aside from the midnight hand holding of both parents and students as you hits bumps along the road.
But behind the scenes, our consultants visit hundreds of colleges and universities in the US each year.
- They know which which unis filled their classes last year (or not)...
- Which ones motored through their waiting lists but still had space in their freshman class (and might again this year)...
- And which ones might ease in a good football player or rower with slightly less wonderful grades.
- They attend meetings, conferences and college fairs (in Europe and in the US) throughout the year, where they compare notes with peers but especially with the admissions officers themselves, and keep up their relationships with these crucial gate keepers non-stop.
Contact The Good Schools Guide – University Advice Services
Tel: +44 (0)20 3286 6824
