Why Consultants are Needed

Dear Ken,

I read your article and it reminded me of a time when I used to live in Bedford NH and commuted to Medford MA for work... only positive thing I can say 93 off peak hour is a straight shot! Anyway, I read your article in the Editor's Corner of EASFAA' s quarterly and I wanted to speak up in favor of those of us who are independent consultants and provide honest and helpful services to college-bound families and students. Although there are some bad apples in every profession, please do not throw away the baby with the bath water! I am a full-time educational consultant and proud of it. I feel that my job is often misunderstood. Sometimes I am approached by fellow members of the Financial Aid community with questions such as "do you tell your clients how to shift or hide assets?" It's because of those comments and in the spirit of collegiality that I wanted to reply to your article.

I'm sure you were not targeting IECA consultants when you made your comments but I'd like to tell you what I do as an IECA consultant. My background is in college admissions and financial aid, college student development and knowledge of secondary educations. As an IECA Certified Educational Planner, I have visited over three-hundred colleges and talked with students, directors of admissions and financial aid at many colleges (and boarding schools). IECA consultants are bound by strict codes of ethics and have to demonstrate very specific qualifications. In my practice, I help students realize their full educational potential through a variety of personality and educational assessment, academic evaluation and personal interviews. I provide students with options that fit their needs. Students who apply to colleges that fit their needs are a bonus for you and everyone working in higher education, because they persist longer, are better prepared financially and are less of a drain on the financial aid office.

Many of my families are worried about the cost of college. I help them select colleges that fit their student academically and socially and financially. As you know, many EFCs come up to $25,000 or more, but some families simply cannot afford to pay them. The stock market has taken a beating and some parents have been out of work for years. I helped a mother with twins last year, who had a zero EFC. She was in no shape to take out loans, yet, because her credit rating was good, she was a prime target for many flavors of PLUS and alternative. By directing her children to colleges that fit them and where they were at the top of the applicant pool, she was able to send both to college without taking out loans. As a consultant, I help families identify colleges and options that fit and are affordable.

Secondly, let's be honest: most institutions are leveraging their aid. It's more than likely that the enrollment management function has been configured to yield the maximum number of students with the least amount of institutional "gift" aid. Thus the student who can pay 90% of the tuition receives a discount of 10% and is made to feel good. And even if the aid isn't leveraged, students don't know on which doors to knock. For example, a student in my practice who was a National Honor Commended Scholar at the top 5% of her class, was an out-of-state student who attend a Big Name University and received no merit aid, while in-state students with a much less competitive academic profile attended on a full ride. The student did not realize she could have attended lesser-known, second or third-tiered institutions on a full scholarship –and still received a good education. Merit aid works in quirky ways. Families don't know how it works and it doesn't always work fairly for the student. There is a difference between institutional interest and student interest. Families who are price-sensitive tend to be susceptible to enrollment practices and may end up at the wrong institution for their child. No matter how much of a bargain a college is, if it's not a good fit for a student it's not a bargain.

Often, the financial aid office is helping the admissions office put together a class – the right class for the institution. Financial aid officers are not likely or able to recommend another college when a parent says: "it's too expensive to send my child to attend your school e.g. Boston Conservatory of Music". Are you going to encourage that tuba or sax player to try xyz/Moravian College instead? It's not realistic to think that financial aid officers can spend time advocating and advancing the concerns of individual students and families. They simply weren't meant to integrate pre-college guidance and financial aid counseling into the entire process. With colleges hiring marketing firms that produce glossy view books that describe the campus environment as one thing when it really is another, many students and families can get derailed. Unattached to any institution, consultants give families specific suggestions that are more affordable, while in keeping with the student's best interest, abilities and values.

Thus one of the goals of the pre-college counseling process is to help a child attend a college that is a good academic and social as well as a good financial fit. Families need to think about what is affordable sooner rather than later. The "feasibility" part is dependent on the family's values – not mine. Some families are more than happy to pay their last dying dollar to send their child to a specific college. The majority however, want to see a range of colleges that fit their child's needs, values and their pocketbook.

As a member of IECA, NACAC, RIASFAA and EASFAA, I wanted to clarify the work some of us consultants do with families. I feel as though I'm actually helping you at the college level by setting up some realistic expectations of costs before families apply, so that when they sit down in front of you, they will have some money set aside or at any rate, will be better prepared to borrow. If they have considered how to pay their costs for four years, they will remain at your institution longer. I think there is room for consultants such as us in your midst and I would like to invite EASFAA members to attend any of the IECA conferences or to obtain more information about us at www.iecaonline.com. Many thanks for lending me your ear!