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.

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.

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.

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.

by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

June 30th marks the close of our Fiscal Year and IECA’s 34th serving as the principal voice of the profession of independent educational consulting. We entered the year committed to helping our members thrive, and exploring ways to strengthen the profession, promote the value of the work we do, and enhance the services offered by the Association to students, families, schools, and our member consultants. And while it was a difficult year for some, with many parts of the country suffering a deep economic recession, we have continued to move forward together.

Some of our progress occurred right here as we greatly expanded our efforts in electronic communication and social networking sites. This blog saw more than 200 original posts and over 150 comments. There are readers who come to our blog from our Web site, while others read it on Facebook, and well over 200 subscribers choose to receive it via e-mail. I have spoken to reporters as well as school and program heads, and college vice presidents that mention things they read on our blog. We have 300 followers on Twitter, more than 600 views on our Flickr photostream, 162 IECA members connecting on our LinkedIn group, and 900 fans (and growing) on Facebook. We have worked to assist members to master this new world of communication and will continue and even expand that effort in the coming year.

Of course all this attention to new media is meant to provide two key benefits: increased communication between and among IECA and its publics (consultants, school reps and the general public) but also to encourage more visits to the IECA Web site. In the past year the number of unique visitors increased 14%. More than 28,000 people searched the “find a consultant” feature of the Web site alone. Our goal to connect families to members is working and we intend to increase that effort in the coming year. A central core piece of our mission is to change the public’s sense of educational consulting from “what is a consultant?” to “I need a consultant, and I’ll only look to IECA as the assurance I need of competence.”

This past year we completed two member surveys: one that focused on the field of consulting to help us better understand where things stand, so we can better respond to future needs; and the second one that focused on educational needs of members to help guide our committees and shape future initiatives. A major development came from a survey that we did not conduct. An independent national study showed a far larger percentage of “high achieving students’ than anyone had ever imagined were working with educational consultants (26%). Such widespread use of consultants can have a major impact on the actions of college admission officers and IECA has been reaching out to them in unprecedented ways.

While a number of educational organizations saw membership decline this past year, IECA continued its moderate growth with a 5% increase in members. Our conferences in North Carolina and Toronto were extremely successful as local host committees (made up for the first time with school representatives as well as consultants) worked to raise the academic content (the new Master Classes and Point/Counterpoint sessions, for example), and we also introduced an active Conference Central that included a bookstore (and author book signings), networking cyber-lounge, and much more, designed to increase networking and sharing.

IECA’s signature training programs: the Summer Training Institute continues to ‘sell out’ as does the Transitioning to Private Practice Seminar which IECA runs in partnership with NACAC. The first ever certificate program in independent educational consulting is now being offered by U.C. Irvine in a program jointly designed and taught by the university and IECA and its members. We have been working more closely with our association colleagues at SSATB, NAIS, NATSAP, and more. We manned a booth for the first-time ever at LDA this past year and are committed to extending our efforts into the LD and therapeutic communities in the year ahead. Internally, our new Affinity groups have expanded to involve dozens of members in planning and leadership roles.

The Board of Directors, working with a new Long-Range Plan, found members articulating their priorities for the coming year: educate the public so they are more aware of the role of independent educational consulting, ensure that the public identifies IECA as the ‘gold standard’ of the profession, increase outreach to affiliated professional communities, emphasize ethics, and enhance education. These will form the basis of the work that the IECA office staff, Board, and volunteers will highlight for the Association’s coming 35th year.

The staff feels honored to work on behalf of our members and in promoting this important field. We are excited by what the coming years have in store.

by Jane Klemmer, IECA Associate Member (New York)

Independent educational consultants understand the importance of visiting colleges in order to expand or update our knowledge of the many higher education options available. These visits to campuses familiarize us with the unique qualities of each school and enable us to effectively help students find the right fit for college. We visit colleges on our own and on IECA tours, but also take advantage of campus visits organized by college consortiums that are arranged specifically for counselors and educational consultants. Anywhere from a few days to a week’s time, we zigzag across states by bus, with the hope of getting a firsthand look that will better enable us to understand the essence of a college and therefore, know whether a school would be appropriate for a student.

This summer a group of counselors and educational consultants from across the U.S. will come together in southern California and tour colleges by less conventional means: on bikes. Why not take a bus, car, or train, you might ask. These 19 hardy souls, including two IECA members, Bill Dingledine (South Carolina) and myself, are looking to combine the professional objective of expanding our college knowledge, with a host of other goals that include satisfying a love for cycling and physical exercise, camaraderie, personal fulfillment, and last, but not least, for fun. I would be disingenuous if I declared that I held a long-term passion for cycling. In fact, prior to officially committing to the tour a couple of months ago, I had not been on a bike in years. But embracing the challenge to train and the desire to see colleges in a novel way was all the motivation I needed.

On July 4 the group will gather at the University of the Redlands, about 65 miles east of Los Angeles, where we begin our journey. The first order of business will be to rent bikes, for those of us who will not be transporting our own, followed by the installation of racks and panniers to store our clothing and gear for the week. Yes, much to my chagrin, there is no SAG vehicle bringing up the rear (an Internet search taught me that the acronym stands for Support and Gear), which would carry our stuff and come to the aid of riders in need of assistance. I will learn the true meaning of “packing light” knowing that for one week’s time I will serve as my own packhorse.

Our travels take us to 14 schools including University of the Redlands, the five undergraduate colleges that comprise the Claremont Colleges consortium (Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Pitzer, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd), University of LaVerne, Azusa Pacific University, the University of Southern California, Cal Tech, UCLA, Occidental College, Pepperdine University and Loyola Marymount. We will cycle 30 to 50 miles a day, stopping at each campus long enough to tour the schools, meet with admissions, and get a sense for the academic and social communities. Our last stop each day will likely be our place of rest for the night, and since our accommodations will mostly be in dorms, we will truly get a firsthand college experience.

I am stepping up my training as I count down the weeks to the “College Tour de California.” I am looking forward to the trip with great anticipation, but I am also excited about the prospect of meeting with students when I return. I know there is a good chance I will discover just the college that will make me want to say to a student or two, “I’ve got a great school in mind for you!”

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.

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.

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.

by Emily Snyder, IECA Member (Virginia), and Chair, IECA College Committee

I just returned from the PCACAC Conference that Mark Sklarow referred to in his most recent post to this blog.

Five events occurred during the Conference that reaffirmed that my decision to attend was the right choice for me: (1) having the opportunity to connect and network with admissions professionals in a small, personalized environment, and becoming updated on exciting, new programs and changes at the colleges and universities in attendance; (2) participating in the panel moderated by Mark Sklarow; (3) learning that three public school administrators in my area have become believers in the value of a credential for school based counselors and educational consultants; (4) being informed about upcoming changes to the 2010-2011 Common Application; and (5) seeing a planned, relaxing evening among three colleagues quickly morph into “dinner for 7″.

Mark has already spoken about the value of our panel presentation — I was glad to play a role in helping educate others, challenging and dispelling myths, and providing a more accurate interpretation of the role we play in helping the students we work with achieve successful outcomes.

Learning that some public school administrators, these three in particular because they are in my area, are on board with the idea of a certification for all those who provide educational guidance to students, regardless of whether they are independents consultants or school based personnel, was a bittersweet experience for me –it helped me see how far we as a professional association have come, while at the same time shed light on how far we have to go.

It was just a few years ago that The Common Application made changes to its format without much user input or advance notice. From the groundswell of concerns that arose, advice from different constituencies is now a regular part of the yearly review process. During this morning’s presentation, 7 of the 20 (I believe that’s an accurate count) attendees who were independent consultants, 6 were IECA members. Let’s hope that sooner rather than later IECA consultants will be given equal opportunities, with The Common Application and other organizations that impact students, to provide input and have proportional representation at their advisory and decision making tables.

All that aside, for me, the MOST IMPORTANT experience was dinner amongst 7 individuals who as little as 5 years ago would never have most likely all agreed to socialize over dinner at the same table. At that time, some of these very same individuals were still on “the other side” of the fence regarding the validity and value of educational consultants. If not for the ongoing efforts of individual members and IECA as an organization, who would have thought it possible.

Mark’s comment yesterday about the young woman who couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about is revealing; for me, in a different way than anyone might anticipate.

Five years ago at the university this young woman now works at I made a phone call to the admissions office on behalf of an applicant and his family — there were very valid reasons why they were not in the position to make the call themselves. Without any knowledge of my credentials, I was told in no uncertain terms that my phone call was not welcome. That same applicant, who is not much younger than the admissions representative who spoke up yesterday, will graduate from that very same institution next week, and will be starting law school in the fall; my, how far we have come.