College Application Consultant Business idea

Job Description of College Application Consultant
  • Help students—and their parents—navigate through the confusing maze of college application forms.
  • Assist in gathering required letters of recommendation and transcripts.
  • Aid in preparation of financial aid forms.

Few processes are more stressful, less predictable, and more important than applying to colleges. A typical application packet for a private college includes dozens of pages of forms, several booklets of instructions, and requests for additional information.

 If that were not enough, most college applicants today apply to more than one school perhaps as many as six or eight including “safety” schools, where they believe they have a near certainty of acceptance; schools where they believe they have a good chance; and schools that are worth reaching for even though the odds of acceptance are low. 

College Application Consultant Business Challenges
A college application consultant assists with the completion and filing of forms and other information, but does not offer advice on selection of colleges; that is a job for a high school guidance counselor or a specialized college selection advisor.

Similarly, an application consultant should not become involved in coaching a student on essays or in obtaining recommendations; again, a high school guidance counselor may be of assistance here. The application consultant should be concerned with making certain that the essay and recommendations are submitted properly as part of the process.

People taking on this sort of job need to be highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of meeting deadlines. Consultants also have to demonstrate confidentiality as they work with applicants and their families to fill out financial aid forms, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which is used as the basic request for aid at most colleges. Some schools also ask for supplemental information on forms of their own and may ask applicants to mail in copies of current federal tax forms.

Consultants may also offer assistance in applying for scholarships from community organizations, national service groups, unions, and corporations. Be sure you make no promises about acceptance to any school; your job is to present the student’s information in an accurate and timely fashion. Do not become involved in falsification of credentials, scores, recommendations, or other elements of the application; it’s not just the student’s reputation that could be damaged.

Know the Territory of College Application Consultant Business
Applications for college are generally filed by high school students in the fall of their senior year. Early-admission deadlines are generally in November, and final deadlines are usually in January.

A well-prepared and motivated student may be ready to work on applications months ahead of the deadline. However, many students—perhaps a majority of those who seek assistance from a college application consultant—may delay until almost the last possible moment.

Your work may well be squeezed into the period between Labor Day and New Year’s Day, which includes the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. You’ll need a steady supply of high school seniors. Your chances of getting assignments is also related to the percentage of students who apply to college and the proportion who seek admission to private colleges, which generally have more complex application processes than do state or community colleges.

Research the most common college choices made by students in your area. Many schools publish this information in year-end newsletters; you may also be able to obtain a list of schools from a cooperative guidance counselor.

Most important, spend the time to become an expert on college applications. Establish a collection of them, noting those with unusual or nonstandard requests or confusing questions.

How to Get Started College Application Consultant Business
Most major colleges now post their applications and supporting information online. Visit the web sites and download copies of the forms, or request that application packets be sent to you. At most web sites you can practice filling out the forms without actually submitting them. Feel free to call college admissions offices and ask questions about the application process.

Up-front Expenses for College Application Consultant Business
You’ll need to set up and maintain a computer system to help you research colleges and obtain applications; many schools also permit filing of applications online. Advertise for clients in school newspapers, on bulletin boards in schools, libraries, and community centers, and in shopping guides and community newspapers.

Charge for College Application Consultant Business
Jobs can be priced on an hourly basis or as a flat fee for the first application and a slightly reduced charge for multiple colleges. It will be easier to gather information for subsequent colleges once the first application is completed, but it still takes time to go through each application line by line to enter data.

Note, too, that the amount of work you have to do is related to how organized the student and his or her parents are in gathering information. If you work on an application only to find that the essay has not been completed or that details of the student’s resume have not been prepared, you will have to have your clients put in more of their own time and then revisit the paperwork. Charging on an hourly basis allows you to make a reasonable profit even if the tasks multiply and you must make more than one visit to a student.