The recent cheating scandal has thrust the topic of college counseling into the limelight with a great deal of rightful scrutiny of many vital issues. As a result, many families are asking: What kind of college advice do we need? When and how do we start?

Of course, there is certainly the possibility of navigating the process without a guide. For example, if you are an adventurous traveler, you might decide to visit another country on your own rather than to engage the services of a tour company. However, you would not do so without significant research into your destination’s culture, language, climate, geography, sights and lodging. Similarly, venturing solo into the college admissions preparation and planning process can be exciting and energizing if you have done your due diligence.

However, in the case of helping your children to make the myriad of choices from creating a reasonable list of colleges and universities to ensuring that their applications and essays best reflect their strengths, interests and needs, you might wish to engage the services of an experienced counselor.

How do you find appropriate and ethical counseling at reasonable rates? Ask friends and associates for referrals and follow up with calls to or consultations with those advisers. You should consider experience, thorough and up-to-date websites, testimonials, reasonable rates and membership in one or more professional organizations. Peruse the websites of associations like IECA, HECA and NACAC for lists of qualified professionals. Be sure that you have a thorough understanding of what services and rates each counselor offers and find the best person to fulfill your needs.

As a consultant with decades of experience and a professional member of all of the above-named organizations, College Essay Whiz might be the right choice for you. I advise and guide families of students starting as early as freshman year of high school to de-mystify this complicated and often stressful process. Feel free to request any information about rates and services.

In addition, College Essay Whiz strongly recommends that you spend some time becoming fully informed about a variety of relevant subjects. The IECA is a unique resource of information about a wide range of topics, including:

How an IECA member helps families with the college admissions process
Ten tips for college visits
What colleges look for in high school students
How parents and high schools can cultivate ethical character and reduce stress in the college admissions process
Community colleges: Take another look!
Top ten things rising seniors can do this summer to get a jump on the college search
The truth about liberal arts education
Why take a gap year?

Please feel free to contact College Essay Whiz at any time!