<p>Why do people use educational consultants? My daughter is smart and gets good grades in the subjects that she likes. (She likes math.)</p>
<p>Not all people need or use consultants. They are expensive, certainly. But they help determine a list of schools that ‘fit’ the child. This can be very helpful if you are short on time, for whatever reason (i.e., applying late).</p>
<p>I used one with my daughter and it was money well spent. </p>
<p>With so many boarding schools to choose from it made narrowing down our choices much easier. </p>
<p>They have insight into the schools that you are not going to find anywhere else. Our consultant had a personal relationship with admissions officers, coaches, etc. My daughter was more than just a name when she showed up for an interview. They had talked to our consultant and knew quite a bit about my daughter before she even arrived. It made the interview much more useful (for us at least). </p>
<p>Its nice to hear peoples opinions online but I can’t imagine picking a boarding school based on what an anonymous person wrote on college confidential.</p>
<p>@Rose, not all people use a consultant, in fact, a lot of parents don’t. People who have used them that post here have reported positive experiences for the cost - but then again people who haven’t used them have been relatively successful at finding a good match for their student on their own. Think of it as applying the same research strategies you and your child are going to need when it’s time to look at college - just 3-4 years earlier. :-)</p>
<p>I’m confused about consultants. Do the BS’s actually embrace the use of consultants? Why would they find consultants credible when consultants are being paid by their clients/prospective students? Wouldn’t BS’s become suspicious of the authenticity of an applicant if a consultant is used? In the end, does using a consultant hurt or help an applicant?</p>
<p>From what I have observed, a consultant does help and is credible - the good ones, anyway. Be very careful on how you choose your consultant! The good ones have built their reputation for credibility with the schools. The schools will certainly remember how the kids did that the consultant recommended, and if the consultant has not been truthful or accurate on past students, their credibility of course would suffer.</p>
<p>We didn’t use one, but know of familes who did. We’ve only ever heard of positive experiences with consultants. Seems they go through a certification process. As Exie says, essentially using strategies typically done for college applications. In many ways, the things the applicant needs to do for college applications are similar to boarding school applications.</p>