New National, Independent Study: 27% of High-Achieving HS Seniors Hired an Educational Consultant
October 16th, 2009
by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA
Lipman Hearne, one of the nation’s leading marketing and communications firms just released a new, independent study of High-Achieving Seniors and the College Decision. One of their findings, which even they called “A Surprise”: 27% of such students hired an educational consultant to assist in their college search. The first study of its kind in many years, the results show a rate about triple what has been the generally assumed percentage.
Based on a nationwide survey of 1,264 students achieving an 1150 or higher on the SATI (on a 1600 point scale) and/or ACT composite of 25 or higher, those identified in the study were in the 70th percentile and higher. Assisting Lipman Hearne in the research phase was the National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCCUA).
The study provides tremendous insight into the factors students use when deciding among many variables, and explores information gathering among students; it was the finding that more than a quarter of the students hired an educational consultant that may be most shocking.
The fast-growing percentage of students hiring consultants, evidenced in this study, may be a dramatic game-changer for college admission representatives. In recent years university admission officers have sought to expand their applicant pool, diversify applicants to include all regions of the country, and examine ways to attract applicants most likely to be a good match to their institution. I hear often from deans and directors of admission who recognize that IECA member consultants are the ideal way to reach such populations. Unfortunately the myth has persisted that consultants are used only by a tiny fraction of the populations—I’ve heard under 5%—making it an elitist tool. Today we have proof that this is not the case, that educational consultants are very much being employed in the mainstream and reflect hundreds of thousands of college applicants each year.
In today’s Washington Post Admission 101 blog, Jay Mathews notes this surprising high percentage but notes that most of those in survey indicate that consultants are not influential when making the final enrollment decision. Matthews wonders whether this indicates that consultants are not really valuable. As I noted in a comment to his blog, he misses the point. A consultant should NOT be influential in the final decision-making phase; rather the consultant’s value comes earlier, when creating a list that explores a student’s needs, desires, interests, preferences, along with the consultant’s extensive first-hand knowledge of colleges. Once that list is created, a great consultant, a member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, to be sure, seeks to empower students to conduct their own research, explore the possibilities, visit campuses, and ultimately make their own decision. The consultant does create that initial list, but then acts as a coach and advisor, not the “decider.”
I suspect this new research will have significant and dramatic impact on the way consultants are perceived by college admission officials as well as by families. As always, hiring a consultant may be a good option, but only if the family finds a consultant that is knowledgeable, ethical, well-informed, and student-centered. We hope that as the field grows, IECA maintains its leadership role in demanding such high standards of its member consultants.
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Tagged:admissions, admissions representatives, changes in consulting practices, college consulting, college search, educational consulting, enrollment decisions, ethics, IECA members, Jay Mathews
