by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

(Part 1 of 2)

Last month we invited special needs consultants, as well as representatives of wilderness and emotional growth schools (more than 1,000 professionals), to provide us with feedback on a number of ideas about ways to make the IECA conferences more meaningful and valuable to those working with troubled teens. Hundreds responded and we are grateful for the honest feedback. We promised to reply, and here are the survey results along with an explanation of what we will do, might do in the future, and won’t do!

Tomorrow we will post the 11 most common questions or suggestions that we received in the open feedback section of the questionnaire.

[1] One suggestion was to extend the Traditional Boarding School and College Fair by an hour on Thursday morning, and allow special needs program representatives to join consultants for the final hour to allow for school-to-program networking. Of those expressing an opinion on this issue, 85% of respondents were in favor.

Our Response: We have extended the Fair by 45 minutes (the most we could find) in Ohio this fall, and all special needs program representatives will be invited in for the final hour.

[2] The next proposal was to change to an expo format: programs would each get a 10×10 booth to staff for three full days with consultants choosing when they wish to go to the expo hall instead of educational programming. Of those responding, 28% were in favor.

Our Response: We have tabled this proposal and will not move toward a large exposition hall.

[3] We asked you to consider a change that would ensure a period of overlap when all conference attendees—schools, colleges, special needs programs, and consultants—would all be in attendance at the same time. Of those giving us an opinion on this topic 93% were in favor.

Our Response: Much of the Ohio program was already created, but we were able to rework it. After the final hour of Thursday morning’s School & College Fair there will be breakouts and a lunch with a wonderful speaker, for all attendees. There will also be opportunities while everyone is in attendance for networking in Conference Central.

[4] We asked how you felt about the desire of IECA members to have some educational sessions just for consultants, allowing them opportunities for free discussion on topics of particular interest to them. Of those responding 86% (and more than 95% of IECA members) were in favor.

Our Response: We will implement this change. This will mean more breakout times for special needs representatives, but that one or two at each time period will be designated for educational consultants only.

[5] We asked about bringing back the Saturday morning “Program Showcases” (short presentations by programs) from time to time. Of those with an opinion, 72% were in favor.

Our Response: We will hold two showcases on Saturday morning in Ohio, allowing up to 30 programs to offer brief presentations. There will be no cost to programs to be included, although there will be limited number of spots available.

[6] We asked about the proposal we’ve heard from some to eliminate the Information Swap completely and let networking occur more naturally. Just 23% were in favor of this option.

Our response: We won’t go there!

[7] We asked about the Master Class that has been featured with a nationally known expert offering an intense three-hour session. The responses:

24% wanted to keep them as they are
21% wanted to keep them, but shorten them a bit
23% wanted to eliminate them
12% wanted us to switch to something more interactive
20% wanted to eliminate all Saturday programming

Our Response: Clearly opinion is all over the place, although most IECA members wanted to keep the Master Class concept either in its present form or shorter. In Ohio we have arranged for one of the nation’s top experts on bipolar disorders. The session will be two hours (rather than three), in part to ensure time for the Program Showcases.

[8] We asked about shifting to one conference a year rather than two. Of those with an opinion, 56% were in favor.

Our Response: This question impacts more than just the therapeutic community, and so we need the opinion not just of the Special Needs schools and consultants but the college, traditional boarding schools, vendors, gap year, consultants, etc. All results will go to the Board, as this represents a policy decision. The Board will see your opinion.

Bottom line, we are working actively to incorporate as many ideas as we can, within the structure of existing contracts. We appreciate all those who responded and offered their opinion. Tomorrow we’ll respond to the questions that came up most: frequency, location, daily schedule of conferences, and much more.

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.

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

I spent the last few days attending the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling (PCACAC) Conference in Dover, Delaware with school counselors, college admission officials, and independent educational consultants from Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, DC, and West Virginia. I heard a couple of themes emerge that deeply impacted me.

Shannon Gundy, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Maryland, College Park, served on a panel that I chaired, exploring school counselor/consultant relations. Shannon noted that in preparation for her presentation, she asked members of her staff how often they “heard from or worked with” an educational consultant. Their answer: about once a month. That led Shannon to conclude that the University of Maryland doesn’t really have much of a relationship with educational consultants and gets relatively few students applying to the state’s flagship school.

Of course recent independent studies would suggest otherwise. The Lipman Hearne study, aided by the National Research Center for College and University Admissions, showed that 26% of high achieving students—exactly the kind that would explore admission to the University of Maryland—used educational consultants. Yet educational consultants have worked so hard to keep their existence in the background that we may have led to the impression that we are of little consequence, hiding our significance (and growing numbers), and suggesting to colleges that we are an unimportant constituency. In reality, for many colleges we are their greatest source for out-of-region students. Shannon wondered why we didn’t make our numbers better known.

I was reminded of a panel at our Summer Training Institute a few years back. There, Corky Surbeck, dean of admission at Goucher College, was asked if he ‘minded’ if a consultant called him to discuss any special circumstances. He surprised everyone in the room when he stated flatly that he wished consultants called more. He noted that consultants—fully qualified and vetted consultants like those in IECA—have an interesting insight that he and his admission staff needed to hear. With students applying to Goucher for all sorts of reasons, he knew one thing: if a student working with a consultant was applying to Goucher, there was a good reason the consultant thought it was a good fit. He and his staff would welcome finding out why.

Consultants have been so wary about being seen publicly that many advise their students, when faced with the questions about “how they heard of the Common Application” or “Did you use an educational consultant in your application,” to leave the question blank—again, diluting the strength of our numbers, our work, and our efforts on behalf of students.

The other comment I have heard replaying in my head came from a twenty-something school counselor attending that session. She noted a strain of unacceptance: That school counselors resist cooperating with consultants, and consultants advise their students not to reveal to the school that they are involved. She found this absurd! “Aren’t we all working for the same goal: serving students?” she asked. When she was told what NACAC and other institutions were like 10-15 years ago when consultants were not well respected, she noted that this was ancient history and it was time we moved on.

Truer words were never spoken. It is time we moved on, taking our seat at the table, reflective of our professionalism and commitment to students. IECA introduced the phrase “good fit” into popular use more than 15 years ago. Our members have visited more campuses, hold a higher percentage of certifications, attend more professional training, and find great matches. It is time that every college, school, and parent know it. It is time for us to assert our knowledge and our leadership.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

Early this morning I received the draft of the Strategic Plan meant to carry IECA through 2015. The Task Force charged with writing the plan, chaired by Mary Jane Freeman of North Carolina, began its work about 16 months ago by reviewing the implementation of our previous plan. They discovered that the 2005-2010 plan truly served as the guiding document for both the Board and staff. In their report card they found that of the scores of goals and objectives listed, virtually all had been either “completely” or “substantially” implemented. Such adherence to the plan is what propelled IECA dramatically forward during those five years.

One of the lessons for the membership is that such plans matter. That is, when the Association adopts a path to follow it is a genuine outline of where IECA will go. Now, with the new plan we have a clear idea of what the Association should look like in 2015, and it is an exciting future. And lest anyone think that IECA plans to sit back and enjoy our successes, the new plan, submitted to the Board for review and approval, lists 71 new goals, objectives, and implementation strategies.

While the plan will soon be available for all members to review, here are some of the major goals and what they would mean for IECA and its members by 2015:

1. We seek to ensure that the public identifies IECA as the foremost association of educational consultants. This means that IECA will undertake serious efforts, including the commitment to resources to become better known to the general public so that families immediately look to see a consultant’s IECA affiliation as evidence of competence, skill, and ethical bearing. This goal includes working to make the IECA Web site is the preferred source of admissions and placement resources.

2. Assert our goal that while no unqualified consultant should ever be allowed to join the Association, that all serious, professional and qualified consultants sense an obligation to join IECA as evidence of achieving professional stature. As part of this goal, the plan calls for an expansion of outreach, mentoring, networking, workshops, and the expansion of our new initiative to develop regional consulting groups.

3. Assist members in maintaining profitable, professional and state-of-the-art practices. Our goal is to not only become better known in the public and continue to drive potential clients to our members, but also to assist members in finding new efficiencies to reduce office costs in time and money, and to help sort through new technological developments.

4. Provide IECA members with tools and opportunities for professional growth and promotion of ethical practices. This includes new efforts at promoting the transition from associate to professional status, continued training efforts through our partnerships with NACAC and others, and introduce new educational opportunities through regional and online offerings.

5. Provide paths for leadership within the Association. IECA has been blessed with staggering numbers of members who volunteer: to serve on committees, to assist at conferences, who volunteer with special events. The plan calls for greater effort to ensure opportunities for all who wish to become leaders in the organization to find the path available to them.

6. Finally, the plan calls for whatever by-laws changes are necessary and whatever staffing changes are required to meet the demands of the Association’s growth and new initiatives. In part the plan recognizes that new program initiatives spurred by active committees, affinity and regional groups will lead to increased demands for staff support.

The picture painted by the strategic initiatives is clear: in 2015 IECA will have asserted its leadership and well-earned reputation of its members through increased public awareness and increased outreach to our professional colleagues. We will be a proactive organization: adding programs, tours, workshops, and national and regional programming, to ensure our members have whatever resources they need to succeed and lead. We have exciting days ahead!

The Strategic Planning Committee members are: Mary Jane Freeman (NC), chair, Nancy Cadwallader (LA), Pearl Glassman (NY), Charotte Klaar (MD), Audrey Ludemann (CT), Bari Norman (FL), with Diane Geller (CA), IECA President

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, Independent Educational Consultants Association

Based on facts and figures alone, we know the economy is showing significant signs of recovery. We have had two consecutive quarters of positive GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth, and this alone would mean that the recession is, technically, behind us. While employment figures have not shown dramatic improvement, monthly losses of over a half a million jobs shrank to losses of fewer than 10,000 at the beginning of the year, and in March we saw actual growth. So things are better, right? Well, polls indicate that a solid majority of Americans believe we are still in a recession. Most experts think that when we see relatives unemployed or hear of neighbors losing their home, the average person remains cautious and pessimistic. And while unemployment has fallen below 10%, most experts think the real number (including those who stopped looking for work or took part-time jobs) remains remarkable high, at nearly 20%.

At the beginning of the recession I suggested that consultants could better judge the likely impact on this profession by looking at two figures: consumer spending and consumer confidence. That is, are average Americans beginning to spend money, particularly on non-necessities, and are they showing signs of confidence in a rebound that makes them a bit more comfortable, agreeing to a major purchase? So what do we know? The Conference Board tells us that consumer confidence index began to rebound in March, with more Americans thinking that the economy will improve over the next six months than those who believe it will get worse. Significantly, consumer spending increased for five straight months—despite the crippling snowstorms in February—and has exceeded the expectations of economists. Spending on bigger ticket items has improved as higher wage earners are beginning to believe that if they still have their job, they weathered the storm and are safe.

So what does this mean for consulting? I believe we have begun to turn the corner. I am hearing reports from members across the United States that things have begun to pick up. Particularly in college advising the trend seems very positive, while things are rebounding a bit more slowly in therapeutic and traditional boarding placements. I hope more members will e-mail me or post what they are seeing so we can gain a broader perspective. To be sure, there are some parts of the country where things remain very, very difficult, particularly areas where unemployment remains at twice the national average. However, as the stock market continues to improve (it is over 11,000 as I write this blog), companies return to matching retirement contributions and job security returns, we can count on continued improvement in educational consulting. Many have heard me say that consultants will do better if they allow clients to pay in smaller amounts, spread out over time: when any economic uncertainty exists, people want to pay out of their checkbooks, not out of savings or by cashing in a 401(k) or bond. The need to dip heavily into savings or home equity is one of the things preventing therapeutic programs from rebounding more quickly.

So bottom line: I think we are at the beginning of the improvement and I suspect we’ll see real signs of increased clients loads. Those who will gain the most are consultants who can be identified as qualified, competent, and worth the cost. We hope that membership in IECA will provide that reassurance as the economy brings families back to consultants for educational advice.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

I’m blogging today from the back row of a pre-conference workshop in Baltimore, part of the NACAC Conference.  No, I’m not ignoring the speaker, I’m one of the faculty for the all-day training.  This sold-out workshop is on transitioning from work as a school-based college counselor or a college admission official to working as an educational consultant.

The attendees are a terrific group of professionals who are intent to absorb as much as possible.  They quickly caught on to the four pillars of consulting: (1) knowledge (of students, of colleges, of the process); (2) counseling (advising students and managing families); (3) personal & ethics matters; and (4) small business skills. While most of those in the room know colleges, the process, or counseling skills, they had real questions about being an entrepreneur in an ethical and successful way. This is the focus of this afternoon’s sessions.

For MANY entering the field, they come with a passion for students and genuine belief in the importance of finding a good match between student and college.They fear that by charging families, or selling themselves and their services, it violates their commitment to serve students.

During the workshop we emphasize the simple truth that everyone who does college advising is paid: by tuition-paying parents at a private school, by school district salary or, in the case of educational consultants, directly by client families. Serving students well: through hard work, commitment to excellence and staying current while putting the needs of students first does not conflict with providing for oneself and one’s family.

It’s that balance that serves as a challenge to all consultants and an emphasis that drives IECA: how to be a GREAT counselor, a good businessperson, and ethical throughout.

IECA’s group page on Facebook

by Sarah Brachman, Manager of Communications, IECA

Are you on Facebook yet? You should be simply because it’s an easy (and free!) way to market your practice, it can help you communicate with your colleagues, and it’s another way to stay connected to IECA members, schools, and programs. Once you have set up your Facebook page, join IECA’s group page where you will find recent news from IECA, discussions, national news articles featuring member consultants, and updates from schools and programs. Working with Facebook is fairly simple, and we can help you learn how to use it.

Here are four things to include on your Facebook page:
1. Under your photo (definitely include a photo), in the box “Write something about yourself,” add the name of your business and its Web address (include http:// to make it a live link)

2. In this same box, add information about your practice “specializing in school, college, and therapeutic consulting to help families with their educational decisions” for example.

3. On your “wall,” mention any campus tours that you have recently participated in, and include photos if you can. Let readers know what you have been doing to keep current.

4. Are you writing a blog? Add a link to your blog under your Web address, and add the actual blog feed to your page so every time you post a blog it shows up on your wall.

Do you want to keep your ‘friends’ list private so no one can see who your friends are?
You can create separate friends lists—for example, personal and professional. Then you can add different friends to different lists and edit their security settings. As you receive friend requests you can decide which group you want them in. It’s also helpful if you only want to share videos or photos with certain people. And you can send messages to these groups from the main friends page. To create a separate friends list, follow these steps:

• Go to your ‘Friends’ listing at the top left of the page.
• At the top of the page, click on ‘create new list.’
• Select all of your colleagues, for example, name this list ‘colleagues’ and select ‘create list.’
• At the top right of the page click on ‘Settings’ > ‘Privacy settings’ > ‘Profile.’
• Under ‘Profile,’ click on the ‘Friends’ drop down menu and choose ‘Customize.’
• At the bottom of this window under ‘Except these people’ type in the name of the list you just created (‘colleagues’).

Now the people on this list will not be able to see your list of friends. You can do the same for your Wall postings if you don’t want your colleagues to see what other friends post (just select the ‘Wall Posts’ drop down menu), and you can also restrict who sees your videos and photos.

Want to Hide Status Updates for Certain Friends?
It’s simple. Just hover over the status update of the friend you want to hide. The ‘hide’ button will appear on the right, and when you click it, it will say ‘hide [friend's name].’ Now that friend’s status updates won’t appear on your news feed, they won’t know it, and they will still remain on your friends list.

If you have Facebook tricks and tips you’d like others to know about, feel free to share them here!

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

(Attending the ASAE Convention in Toronto)

I heard Newsweek International Editor and CNN host Fareed Zakaria speak today. I was particularly taken by one of his opening lines: “The urgent will always crowd out the important.”

Zakaria was speaking about what Senator Obama had stated as his one over-arching goal in deciding whether to run for president: getting the U.S. out of Iraq. Of course what he has found is that on any given day dozens of other items both large (the economy) and less so (Somali Pirates) demand his immediate attention.

But isn’t Zakaria’s point true of us all. We may begin a day knowing what important task “must” be confronted, yet a panicked phone call from a client or a sick child or a broken air conditioner can quickly grab our attention.

On Wednesday afternoon the IECA Executive Committee will meet. Needless to say there are “important” issues to be confronted, but none of us will be surprised if some urgent matter dominates the 48 hours we have together. I for one hope that our cell phones don’t work in Canada or our Internet connections are just not quite strong enough, allowing us to shut out some of those urgent matters so the important ones can be discussed.

What a wonderful sharing of ideas and thoughts over the past several days. Many members of IECA posted comments on New York Times’ “The Choice” blog as well as the IECA blog, and many more sent me comments directly. I loved that the comments were uniformly well-thought, serious, professional with a clear message: IECA Member educational consultants do what they do because they believe in empowering students to be successful, they believe in the power of a good “match” and they know their IECA membership is meaningful.

These views contrasted with some of the petty and hateful comments heard by some outside of our community and even by a few non-IECA consultants. But today I’d like to celebrate the wonderful remarks I read by reprinting a few of those here from among our own membership.

From Suzanne Miller (Associate Member, NY)
The vast majority of us charge modest fees for valid, sincere services. We must go through a strict screening process prior to admission to [IECA]. We spend a significant amount of time traveling around the country learning about the various colleges and universities so we may help our families create realistic lists of college choices. I educate my families that admission to college is not a prize to be won, but a match to be made. My goal is not to secure admission to the “best” schools for my students, but to guide them through the process, with the ultimate goal of finding a good fit academically, socially, and financially.

From, Emily Snyder (Professional Member, VA)
Most consultants work hard to balance providing cost effective services for an affordable fee which will, at the end of the day, allow them to pay their expenses and still make a living. Each consultant is responsible for his/her own fees associated with training, professional development, memberships in organizations, and travel to visit colleges and universities across the Country, and in some cases internationally. Couple that with the operational costs associated with owning one’s own business, which in some cases includes providing health care coverage. Additionally, do what is necessary to to maintain the standards of excellence that IECA members pride themselves on while simultaneously providing the level of high quality services that the families we work with expect, many of us find ourselves in the position of limiting the number of students we can take on each year.

From Ann Rossbach (Associate Member, NJ)
I am both proud and grateful to be associated with IECA, an organization that upholds stringent standards for independent counselors. My colleagues are educated and devoted professionals who offer guidance to families and meaningful forms of support to students. Many of us undertake pro bono work in schools and communities where college guidance may not always be accessible For one, I am devoted to the concept that access to continued and higher education is a rite, and my vocation as a counselor to all types of students speaks to that.

From Bill Dingledine (Professional Member, SC)
I agree with Mark. I spoke with Jacques as well just prior to the article being published and his attitude was that IECA represented the right approach and that many people would be calling Mark to find out more about the Association its members. Jacques explained to me that he wanted people to realize that there were qualified professionals and then there were charlatans — as he said, “buyer beware” but do your research. I believe that the brevity of the article did not allow enough time/room to present that aspect in balance with the space used to discuss some of the questionable aspects and people of the profession. This attention gives us more opportunity to talk about what really matters and highlights our organization and the qualified professionals who practice ethically.

From Nancy Griesemer (Associate Member, VA)
So why does this generate such anger and earn so many inches of New York Times real estate? I don’t think it’s really about the money or the regulation of the industry. Otherwise, we’d be reading about other pieces of the college admissions pie like test prep services or highly-marketed publications that rank colleges. What I’m reading is more of an indictment of the entire college admissions process. Where is the fairness? Why do some folks have an edge and others don’t? And on a more personal level: Why didn’t I get into my top-pick school? Why didn’t my child have more offers of admission? And, why did my neighbor’s kid get in when everyone knows he’s such a little rat? Because the process has taken over from the goal, which should be to find “fit” and not “prestige” through a professional and humane system of college advising. And, this is what I do at a rate commensurate with that of a good academic tutor.

Why do I have a business? In the rush to cut budgets, an increasing number of high school students are getting lost in huge guidance caseloads. A substantial percent of my clients have never met with a guidance counselor on a one-to-one basis and have no idea how to go about assessing colleges or college opportunities. Does this mean they should pull themselves up by the bootstraps and persevere in the face of adversity? It appears that way from the commenting parents crowing about their personal triumphs or those of their children (it’s amazing how parents internalize the accomplishments of their children in this business). I believe that if you need help whether in calculus, coiff3ur, interior design, or investment, it’s acceptable to seek it out. And yes, some folks can afford more than others. Does that mean they’ve gained unfair edge? Not necessarily. I may be a bargain, but I’m really pretty good at working with unmotivated, confused kids who need a little boost when it comes to thinking about colleges.

From Christie Woodfin (Professional Member, GA)
There are multiple tragedies between the lines of this article:
+The greed of some independent, uncredentialed and unethical counselors
+The assumption of parents that their children must matriculate at a prestigious school in order to succeed in life
+The anxiety that is aroused in students who, in accord with their parents’ assumptions, equate their own self-worth with their college acceptances
+The loss of enjoyment in the moment for high school students who view their teenage years only as the time to prepare of their transcript
+The inability to appreciate that different students flourish in different environments. The job of the independent consultant should be to help each client identify the kind of college setting where he or she will thrive, to point her to the specific institutions that are most appropriate for her interests and level of academic engagement, and to lower the anxiety around the process.

If a consultant is promising to get a student into a certain type of university without regard to the needs of the adolescent, the family should grab their wallets and run in the other direction.

From Marilyn Emerson (Professional Member, NY)
As the Membership Chairperson of IECA, as well as a CEP (Certified Educational Planner), I can say with certainty that the students and families that the vast majority of our members work with are NOT the over- indulgent narcissists referred to by some writers.

Most often, client families are simply seeking advice and assistance in making the best choice for their child. Sometimes they are families with special needs or in special situations that require time and attention in excess of what most busy school guidance counselors are able to provide. Common examples include single parents, children with chronic diseases and students with learning differences. For these and many families, selection of a college that is right for the child, a college that not only the student can get into, but where he can succeed academically and socially, can present special challenges.

From Betsy Woolf (Professional Member, NY)
I spend hours and hours talking to students and parents, clarifying and explaining what to many has become a mysterious journey. I think about each individual student and what is best for him or her; I answer a parent’s phone call at 9:30 at night, troubleshoot a frantic call from a student who has hit the button sending an application prematurely, reassure a student that his SAT score doesn’t mean he cannot get into college, brainstorm ideas with the student who says, “I’m just an average teen – there’s nothing for me to write about” (yes, there is); and on and on.

On top of that I spend a lot of time visiting colleges, reading journals, attending conferences, doing research. It’s not frivolous work, but rather, a big job and a big responsibility that I take very seriously. College counseling is a service that I am proud to offer, and probably one of the most gratifying things I have done in my professional lifetime. Guiding a student through a process of self-discovery and helping him or her find a college that satisfies his or her needs – academically, socially and emotionally – truly makes me proud.

From Farron Peatross (Professional Member, LA)
Quite frankly, very few of my southern client’s parents hire me with the intent of helping their child with admission to an ivy league school. Most parents are interested in their child attending a school that is a good match for them academically and socially. They are unsure about aspects of the college search process and appreciate the security of knowing that they and their child are following the admission requirements and deadlines. Additionally, they have my quick response to their questions and concerns, as opposed to finding an answer through the public school system or in college guides, as well as, my knowledge of many different schools in all areas of our country.

My fee for my services barely cover my business and travel expenses to the hundreds of colleges that I have toured over the years as a requirement for my career and re certification as a Certified Educational Planner. As with most of my colleagues, who are reputable and caring professionals, our best compensation is the appreciation of our clients.

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

The standing members of the College Committee had a conference call on Friday. Given Jacques Steinbeg’s post Sunday in his New York Times blog, “The Choice,” how timely that members mentioned high standards of professionalism as one of their reasons for wanting to be members of the committee!

We have been working with the IECA office staff and the Conference Planning Committee to ensure that members’ requests for college related workshops and presentations on specific topics of interest to members are part of the fall and spring conference schedule. Watch for further information later this summer on what will be available to college consultants at the fall conference.

A tool already in place to help new members transition from associate to professional membership status is the Outreach Committee’s long standing mentoring program. The mentee/mentor relationship is an invaluable tool that you can use to guide you as you acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to make the move to the next level of membership. The mentee/mentor relationship can be as formal or as informal as you like. You can discuss your existing strengths as well as where you might need some guidance with your mentor, an experienced consultant who has been in practice for some time. This program is just another example of the resources available to help you, as an IECA consultant, perfect your consulting skills.