by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

Recently I came across a comment on a blog where someone expressed an implied criticism of IECA. The criticism was that the Independent Educational Consultants Association does not focus its energies exclusively in school selection, application, and admission. The criticism actually kept me up all night—quite a feat for those who know me—yet I tossed and turned. But not for the reasons you may think. I’m certainly not thin-skinned, and so I can take any criticism. In this case I was restless because I was confounded. How could someone have written those words believing them to be critical, when to me they express the very difference that makes IECA and its members so uniquely qualified? Critical? No—to me it was the ultimate praise.

How can one even imagine preparing to send students away for school, but not understand issues like adolescent depression or anxiety? Should we apologize for bringing in the top experts in the country to present about the latest developments in research on brain theory, gender differences, attachment, and the impact of adoption? We know full well how such things impact the ability to succeed both in class and with peers. Should we not support our members who wish to do career exploration or employ the dynamic information gained in Myers-Briggs Type Indicator?

Some of the criticism, I suspect, was related to some of the topics at IECA conferences. Does the person offering the critique believe that those assisting in college or school admission should confine their discussion to majors, Greek life, financial aid and ‘where you can get in?’ All that should be noted, but every single person working with adolescents, if they wish to be taken as a true professional, should gain some understanding of some growing trends of concern: Internet and gaming addictions (the numbers of kids who land in a dorm room and play World of Warcraft or other games 24 hours a day, skipping class, is scary!), abuse of prescription drugs (a growing campus trend), campus bullying (using social media), eating and body-perception disorders, and so much more.

It seems that some think college admission can be accomplished using a chart: standardized test scores in column A, GPA in column B, activities in column C, and voila…”Here’s your list of schools, Sally!” Let’s remember that adolescents are not a simple commodity where we plug in the proper numbers and out pops the result. IECA’s strength comes from our realization—make that commitment—to seeing every child as an individual, with abilities and weaknesses, emotional strengths and scars, unique talents, and needs. Yes, this is indeed what makes IECA unique, and more importantly, what makes our members uniquely qualified to really serve the best interests, the true needs of every child.

That anyone can think otherwise, will keep me up at nights.

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by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director

A new study, part of the GoodWork Project Report Series from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, cast an eye to ‘the commercialization of the college application process and the rise of the for-profit educational consultant.’  The report, authored by Alexis Brooke Redding, was released late last week.  Redding sought to discover the impact of the growing field of educational consulting and what is being done to regulate and promote “good work” in the field.

Redding first documented the rise—and reasons behind it—of the use of independent educational consultants (IECs), noting the increased level of frenzy seen in college admissions today, the shift to aggressive marketing techniques among colleges and subsequent ‘consumerist view’ in admissions offices of the process, as well as the growing student-to-counselor ratios in school districts across the United States. Additionally, the report notes that with the process for applying to college changing so dramatically over the last 20 years, even parents who attended colleges feel ill-equipped to advise their children today.

Along with growth, the report examines the role IECs play in the process. It quotes Tim Lee, stating that the field of educational consulting, led by IECA, is focused on helping students find the “best fit” schools.  This underscores my belief that it was IECA members who first introduced “good match or fit” into the college admission vernacular. The author concurs that the role of IECs is to use “their ability to draw upon their broad base of knowledge to help students explore the range of options.” Notes Redding, there is a “professional mantra that the goal is for a counselor to use his or her expertise to facilitate the process so that the student can get into schools based on merit and fit.”

The author cites evidence of the growth in consultant use and cites independent research that today “22% of all freshmen at private, four-year colleges [in 2006] have used IECs.”  This enforces the results of other independent research this past year that found that 26% of high achieving seniors used an educational consultant in their college search or application process. Redding concludes that “IECs are becoming an integral part of the revised admissions process.”

The author notes that the field needs three bases in order to gain recognition as a true profession: knowledge, skill and an underlying ethical framework.  She raises a concern about those who do not attain the knowledge or adhere to such published ethical guidelines.  She also raises red flags about those not choosing to join professional organizations that both examine qualifications, provide education and training, and require adherence to ethical precepts.  In this regard, the report cites IECA frequently, noting our Standards of Excellence as well as our Principles of Good Practice.  More than just ethics, competence and experience are noted:

“The standards for acceptance into NACAC and IECA highlight the importance of experience and expertise.  For example, in order to become a Professional Member of IECA, one has to have a master’s degree in a related field, 3+ years of experience, a record of service to more than 50 students, a minimum of 50 campus visits, and three professional references.”  The report indicates that parents have a responsibility to ensure that the consultant they use rises to this level of knowledge and ethical behavior and suggests such requirements be demanded of all practitioners.

Other professionals in the field also saw our leadership.  The report quotes Dr. William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions at Harvard: “the field is ‘a little bit like the Wild West’ in which IECA ‘is doing the best it can’ to deal with the ‘set of cottage industries that have developed.’”  He also saw that “in some cases, the use of an independent is highly appropriate.”

The report also praised IECA by noting my own statement that IECA is committed to serving all students, whether they can afford consultants or not. Says Redding “A visit to the IECA website supports his [Sklarow's] statement.  They have a link for parents and students with downloads…” Moreover she notes IECA “publications highlight the importance of professional memberships, experience, and transparency in pricing… By following these guidelines, families would have excellent resources to aid them in finding a qualified counselor and would be better able to protect themselves from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous practitioners.” Finally she notes “IECA members have been vetted during the membership application process, thus assuring that they have met their standards.”

When one interviewee was asked about the benefits of her professional affiliations she noted: “assurance to clients that we follow the principles of good practice for both NACAC and IECA; constant professional development; networking opportunities with my colleagues; opportunities to both attend and participate in conferences…”  In this regard, the report qutoes me saying “ANYONE can PROMISE that they work ethically.  By joining [IECA] you say to the public: I’m being watched: if I violate those ethical guidelines, someone will step in and act… That’s how you know that I am honest, competent, and well qualified.”  David Hawkins, Vice President of NACAC noted, “only members of either of our organizations [NACAC and IECA] are subject to our rules.

Bottom Line:  The author calls independent educational consulting an “aspiring profession.”  While extolling the work that IECA has done to advance the field, it is clear that she believes that today only those who choose to professionally affiliate have agreed to be ‘vetted’ and be held to high ethical standards.  The field will achieve greater status when the vast majority of those practicing agree to meet these or similar standards.

This report mirrors the view endorsed by the IECA executive board that IECA must grow to represent the vast majority of those qualified, ethical consultants in the field.  As I have said before, just as every good doctor believes he or she must join the AMA and every ethical lawyer must join the American Bar Association, so too should every qualified, ethical consultant join IECA.  As I read it, the report affirms this mission.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

Yesterday afternoon the IECA Summer Training Institute turned the process around as the 94 attendees got to hear what life is like for those involved in recruiting and evaluating potential clients in a session titled, Inside the Admissions Office.

In the college session, three leaders came to share insights: Erin Finn, vice president for admissions at Drexel University, who explained the changing nature of admissions as offices look for ways to balance the entering class while filling campus needs. She noted the possibility of hearing from a band director that the harpist is graduating and admissions should be on the lookout for a new harpist. Conversely, she noted the school is not going to admit six amazing, accomplished harpists when space exists for only one. Likewise, she noted the role of admissions is to ensure that each department has interested students among those incoming.

Richard Floyd, director of admission at Ursinus College (one of the Colleges That Change Lives), returned for the second year as a panelist. Richard noted the outsize role U.S. News & World Report plays in their annual rankings in influencing students and parents. He shared that colleges, while being dismayed at the criteria used, often actively promote themselves to colleagues in an effort to raise their profile. Erin, from Drexel, added that colleges crow about better standings (Drexel named one of five colleges to watch) and downplay when the rankings or attention invariably declines.

Suzi Nam, director of admission at Swarthmore College also participated. She noted the importance of a student’s application demonstrating a match to the university’s mission. A school like Swarthmore, where they seek students that value the pursuit of knowledge above all else (even grades), admission reps should be able to tell in the application why a candidate suits that mission.

All three endorsed the role of educational consultants in general, with one noting that good advising is as necessary to the college search and application process as a realtor is to the home search/sale. The group also noted the admiration they have for IECA members as being particularly professional, ethical, and knowledgeable. Each indicated their willingness to take calls and in queries from IECA members, when the goal is gathering general information and not advocating on behalf of an applicant.

It was a great session and was duplicated for school and therapeutic specialists separately. More details will follow in a future blog.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

We have learned that The Princeton Review will announce, sometime today, new seminars available in person or online covering issues like writing a great college essay, building a college list, how the college application works, and other process-oriented topics. Such a development underscores two truths: there is increased anxiety and confusion over admissions; and most students don’t have many resources—especially in public schools where counselors are overburdened with unfair case loads, increasingly complex problems, and little support for professional development. This deprives students and families of the information they need to both navigate the process and fully explore their choices.

To be clear: we welcome any innovations that bring good, accurate, vital information to students. All should welcome that TPR has found a way to deliver information at a relatively low cost, using new technologies. Students need—and deserve—complete knowledge.

Of course much of this process information—standardized test dates, how to visit college campuses, what makes for a good essay—has been available for many years: scores of books are available at Borders Books on these subjects, Web sites number in the thousands, most college admission offices share that same information, and for many students their school counseling office can provide these details. If TPR has found a way to reach a new population, great! I hope they find a way to make such information available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and much more, as many first generation college families need assistance as well.

The important caveat here is that the college search and application process involves TWO components: the process details as described above, and the knowledge/match piece that is so critical. It is here where we talk about understanding students’ personalities, learning styles, social, educational, and community needs, and knowing enough about hundreds of colleges to assist in identifying appropriate matches. While the basic process information may be able to be disseminated in a group, the knowledge/match requires one-on-one consultation, sufficient time to really understand a student, exploration of essay topics, and evaluative tours of campus after campus. This piece can only be done through exceptional counseling. It is in this area that educational consultants shine.

With limited caseloads, extensive training, educational and professional development, continual travel to visit campuses, and the highest ethical standards, IECA member educational consultants provide families and students with amazing potential to not only understand the process, but also take ownership of it. To not only know what makes for a good essay in general terms, but to spend time with an expert to explore their lives, their interests, their values to discover an essay topic that gives real insight to who they are. And take the time, directed by a consultant, to explore the wide range of educational opportunities to find those that offer the best match. The goal of IECA consultants: a student who thrives, grows socially and academically, and achieves success at college.

As one of the nation’s leading educational associations, we welcome the use of new technologies and new efforts to reach students and families with critical information. IECA and its members will keep our commitment to the highest standards of service both to those who can afford independent consulting services and the thousands served through pro bono efforts, and the IECA Foundation’s initiatives.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

The very popular and well-respected IECA Summer Training Institute kicks off its 2010 program on the campus of Swarthmore College on Tuesday, July 27. The attendees themselves may demonstrate how the profession of educational consulting has changed over the last several years. They are a racially and culturally diverse group of nearly 90 participants, representing 25 states plus Puerto Rico, and five foreign countries. Within the U.S. they hail from Florida to Alaska, and California to Maine.

As they look ahead to careers in educational consulting, 91% see themselves in college advising, 24% in secondary school consulting, 19% working with teens with emotional and behavioral issues, and over 30% expect to be working in the area of learning disabilities. Simple math indicates that most attendees expect their consulting work to cover more than one specialty.

While decades ago most entering the field of consulting were either admission directors or school-based counselors, today those categories account for only about half of new consultants. Among STI attendees are lawyers, small businessmen, school headmasters, college professors, and high school teachers, as well as mental health and allied professionals, among many others. Another change: while in the past virtually everyone entering the field was on their third, fourth, or terminal career, in recent years STI attendees have ranged in age from twenty-somethings examining a first career, to those further along the continuum. Such diversity in attendees and their backgrounds has opened the field of consulting and provided our gatherings with all the benefits that come from a diverse population. It has also meant a growth in the diversity of students we serve as a profession, another wonderful bonus as we seek to become more reflective of the U.S. population as a whole.

We have made changes to the educational content of the institute’s offerings, as well. We now commit about four hours to fully cover the entrepreneurial needs of attendees, to fully understand the demands on establishing, promoting, and running a small business. A new full group session on understanding new media and social networking has also been added as well an elective on graduate school advising.

Joining the faculty are a number of guest presenters and panelists: Suzi Nam, director of admissions at Swarthmore College; Erin Finn, assistant VP for admissions at Drexel University; Richard Floyd, director of admission at Ursinus College; Joyce Latimer, director of admission at Auldern Academy; Barry Sysler, IECA member and financial aid expert; and Carolyn Mulligan, IECA member and expert on LD issues.

We’ll blog through the week so you will be able to follow the Summer Training Institute and the Independent Educational Consultants Association.

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by Jane Klemmer, IECA Associate Member (New York)

I’m still riding an incredible high, no pun intended. Two days ago I returned from a week in southern California, where I cycled and toured colleges with 16 other college counselors and consultants. To say that this was one of my most memorable college tours sounds almost trite, especially coming from an educational consultant who has been in practice barely three years. Nevertheless, I am certain that the special memories from this unusual college tour will stay with me for many years to come.

Bill Dingledine (SC) and Jane Klemmer (NY)

In one week, five actual days of cycling, we covered roughly 180 miles and visited 13 colleges, pedaling from school to school and carrying our own gear. Starting at the University of Redlands and working our way west to Los Angeles, we spent most of our nights in dorms and came to know well the challenges of non-fitted sheets on plastic covered mattresses. This is about as “roughing it” as it gets in the world of college counseling, but we chalked it up to just another part of the experience. The weather was also far colder than I had anticipated (something I should probably keep to myself, given what colleagues experienced last week on the east coast). I ended up buying a LaVerne sweatshirt, which I will wear proudly, and a windbreaker at one of the cycle shops along the way so that I could brave the brisk and cloudy mornings that we were told was very unusual. This was “June Gloom” arriving in California a month late, a refrain repeated at every stop along our way.

Unforeseen cool weather and a few unexpected mishaps only added to the special nature of our adventure. There are, of course, the obvious reasons why this trip was such a positive and unforgettable experience for all of us involved: the special camaraderie among us, informative college visits with some over-the-top hospitality, and excellent cycling. However, two of the benefits of a trip such as this are probably even more meaningful and perhaps less obvious.

My IECA colleague, Bill Dingledine (who has continued on to cycle and tour colleges for another week), and I were the only independent consultants in this group, yet never once did I feel I needed to explain what I did, nor feel like we were somehow different from the rest of the group. I truly believe that experiences like these help break down what are sometimes barriers between independent consultants and school counselors. I feel confident that many of my cycling colleagues now have a better understanding of what we do and see the real value that we add to the college search and application process. We are another contributing member of the team.

But let me share with you what I truly believe to be the best benefit of all: attaining a goal that I set for myself, having worked and trained diligently to achieve it!  We as independent consultants challenge students to establish goals and strive to reach them. Why should we, regardless of our age and experience, be any different? Having goals and dreams is what keeps us fresh, too. The best way to instill motivation in students is to lead by example. Showing them the benefits of putting in the effort and going the extra mile, figuratively and sometimes, literally, can be as important in the long run as the suggestions we offer for an essay.

We spent our last night on the gorgeous campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, which sits high on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The next morning we cycled back down the Pacific Coast Highway, with the ocean a constant to our right. A few of our colleagues decided to test the frigid waters at Venice Beach before we did a quick cycle through Loyola Marymount University, and shared our last lunch together at the In and Out Burger, a ubiquitous California chain that became a true ‘destination” for us after some in our group talked it up for a week. No one was disappointed, and we agreed that it was a fitting farewell luncheon before we returned rental bikes and said our good-byes.

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by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

A study conducted earlier this year, and recently published by the College Board and Art & Science Group LLC, indicated that students and parents are making decisions about college applications and matriculation based on financial aid information that is incorrect, incomplete, and inaccurate. In the survey, 59% of students indicated that they eliminated colleges after looking at the “sticker price” with no consideration given to possible financial aid and the “net cost” of attending. No wonder, as a quarter of all students said their parents were requiring them to attend the most affordable school and another 40% had parents insist they apply to ‘more affordable’ colleges. Of course, most of these determinations were based on published list prices. Only a small portion of the population had used any financial aid calculator to determine what sort of financial aid they might qualify for. Meaning most families were flying blind. Those who were thinking about financial aid were further off base. When asked to guess what sort of financial aid they expected to qualify for, most families significantly over-stated the amount of merit aid they thought they would qualify for, even for students with very low standardized test scores. While the national average for merit aid is about 15% of college costs, families estimated it would be one-third.

Even when faced with higher tuition than they felt they could afford, the survey found that families were willing to explore the possibility of a college. This was seen as a sign that under certain circumstances families are willing to stretch their definition of “affordability.” The qualities that get families to examine such out-of-their-budget schools: strong academics in their major, a place where students can fit in, a stellar reputation, and a solid record of placing graduates in good jobs or graduate programs.

It is clear that families need more and easier-to-comprehend information about college finances. With the cost of college rivaling only the cost of purchasing a home in a family’s financial history, clear and accurate financing information is an essential part of the college search process. Yet today, armed with faulty assumptions and bad information, and complicated by rules and regulations that confound rather than amplify, families are at a loss. Members of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), long seen as the most knowledgeable source of information about college selection, need to expand and enhance their services to provide students and parents with clear, accurate and understandable information on college affordability. We have asked our College Committee to develop materials for a new financial aid flyer for IECA members to provide to client families.

As an association we will post this basic information on our Web site to ensure it reaches everyone. We have also pledged to work with national organizations to assist in clarifying and simplifying the financial aid information available to families.

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by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

The 2010 survey of IECA Members has now been released, revealing this year’s “Top Ten Strengths and Experiences Colleges Look for in High School Students.”  While several items topping the list are unchanged despite the overheated college application process, there are a number of changes to the list as items have been added, others have fallen lower on the list, and a number of things that families believe to be critical don’t get anywhere close to making the list.

As has been true for more than five years, a student’s academic performance in high school tops the list. Most important is a rigorous academic curriculum that challenges the student. While grades are important, educational consultants believe that demonstrating a willingness to challenge oneself is more important. Additionally, IECA members felt that grades need to show an upward trend—mediocre grades in the freshman year can be overcome by demonstrating that better grades came with maturity. After all, colleges want to know what type of student will be arriving on campus—not who the student was four years go.

Solid SAT or ACT scores, reflecting a consistency with academic achievement was #3 on the list.  IECA members felt that terrific standardized tests are rarely enough to secure admission at a competitive school, but poor scores can be difficult to overcome.

Coming up on the list next: passionate involvement in a few activities (#4), meaningful letters of recommendation  (#5), and a well-written essay that provides insight into the student’s personality, values and goals(#6).  The importance of the essay moved up since the last survey, perhaps reflecting the essay’s role as more colleges move to ‘test optional’ status.

Debuting on this year’s list at #8 is “Demonstrated leadership in activities.”  Much has been said in recent years about colleges seeking students who will contribute in a meaningful way to campus life. The appearance of this on the IECA list underscores this growing desire. Following this, demonstrated intellectual curiosity (#9) remains an important item, particularly with more competitive schools.

Rounding at the top 10 is “Demonstrated enthusiasm to attend,” an item that first appeared just a few years ago. This would reflect the college admission office concern over their yield: wanting to offer admission only to those who seem serious about enrolling.

Just missing the top ten list: financial resources (despite the economy) and out of school experiences. This latter item fell off the top ten list, although “special talents and abilities (#7) remained.

Much has been written about the trend toward creative applications with videos or other unique components, but this placed far down, well out of the top ten list. Also relegated to a status of far less importance by IECA members were several items thought by the general public to be important to decision-making: the personal interview, being a legacy (family member of an alum), and demonstrations of responsibility as being far less important in the current admission climate.

The full list, just released can be found here, with copies soon available for order from IECA. This list has become, over the years, a major survey sought by the media, used by school districts, and many others. It offers great advice for families looking to understand the nature of college admission.

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by Emily Snyder, IECA (Virginia)

Yesterday’s edition of Inside Higher Ed has a very interesting question and answer session with Margaret K. Nelson, A. Barton Hepburn Professor of Sociology at Middlebury College, and the author of a new book, Parenting Out of Control: Anxious Parents in Uncertain Times (New York University Press). Nelson takes the philosophy behind the late Bill Strauss’s and Nathaniel Howe’s defining ‘helicopter parent’ trend one step further; she discusses the impact of a number of factors, including U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings, the changing communication styles between parents and their children, and differing socio-economic factors, on the heightened sense of competition in the college admissions process. Specific to our work as consultants, Nelson discusses and responds to questions on whether parents have become too involved in the process of selecting and applying to colleges, addresses the difficulties in defining one ‘appropriate’ level of involvement, and of most interest to me, responds to the question: “How does the (perceived) increased in the difficulty of getting into college (particularly at an elite institution) impact parenting styles?”

For anyone looking to understand the psychology behind the ‘helicopter parent’ phenomenon, I suspect her book will be well read. As a consultant who helps students and families navigate the college admissions process, this book has just moved to the top of my summer reading list.

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by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

Yesterday about a dozen IECA members visited three Ontario, Canada colleges. During those campus visits, one school provided the consultants with their “Recruitment Representative Agreement.” Confusing “consultants” and “agents,” this college assumed IECA members accepted reimbursements in exchange for referring students, guaranteeing a per-head ‘kick-back’ of 12% of the freshman year tuition.

Our members could not escape the irony as I had just blogged about these agency fees yesterday (IECA’s First Conference Held Outside U.S. Reflects Our International Growth), and a copy of that blog made its way around the bus. I have also addressed this issue in recent blogs (University Use of Agents Back in the News with $78 Million Fine; Note to Colleges: An Unethical Practice Domestically is No Less Wrong Internationally).

What I realized yesterday is a simple but unfortunate fact: An agent may refer a student to a college and the college knows it—after all they’ll be receiving a check for thousands of dollars. But there is no guarantee that the student is a good match and no indication that they will last their entire collegiate career at that school. A consultant may recommend a student—or several—to the college, but the college never knows because the consultant’s work is in the background, rarely seen or heard from. Yet the student working with the consultant is more likely to find the college a great match, because success of the student is the only motivator for the consultant.

A consultant considers every option, not just the few schools that agree to pay the finder’s fee. Unfortunately, colleges simply don’t know how many or which students arrived because they worked with an educational consultant.

When colleges think about reaching out to agents they know exactly how many students enrolled. Consultants have seemingly gone out of their way to hide such information; yet the field of consulting has doubled in the last six years and IECA’s membership and our reach has grown dramatically. I have begun to argue that IECA members should do more—perhaps must do more—to ensure colleges know how many students we work with and how many freshmen they welcomed worked with our members. After all, these students examined many options, determined that this specific college was the best match, and are more likely to stay through graduation. Why would we want to hide such information?

It is true that there are some consultants who “package” students, write essays, and hype profiles. But that description does NOT include members of the Independent Educational Consultants Association. And we must work to ensure that colleges know this difference and partner with us. After all, we share one over-arching goal: students that thrive and succeed on campus.

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