I enjoy a Sunday brunch. One of those expansive buffets at a 5-star resort where you can roam around, plate in hand and peruse all that is on offer before making your well-considered selection. At such dining opportunities, there is often an enticing array of possibilities tantalizing my taste buds and fresh seafood, mouth-watering grills and roasts, salads, sushi, fresh pasta, and delicacies from around the globe create a cacophony of dishes all singing, “Choose me!”
The global university landscape is not too different and if a student chooses higher education as their path they will step into an educational buffet filled with courses, programs, colleges and universities all vying for their attention and singing the same catchphrase.
At a Sunday brunch, a diner can wander around selecting their favoured delights based upon their appearance or what they already know tastes delicious. Other diners, however, might need to explore their options a little more, seeking assistance from the waitstaff and chefs, before making their selection.
When exploring the buffet of higher education options globally some diners may choose to go it alone with their favoured dishes already in mind. Other diners, however, may need support and this is especially true for those considering tasting the many sumptuous international morsels on offer outside their home country cuisines.
There is a plethora of support available for those students and families thinking about applying to universities in countries outside their own. Sometimes it will be their school counselors however at other times it may come in either of two forms: counselors or agents and their difference comes down to how they make their money?
Counselors / Independent Education Consultants
Counselors / Independent Education Consultants charge students an upfront fee but do not take university commissions or incentives. The advice that students are given should be unbiased since their enrolment at a particular university has no bearing on the counselor’s profit margins. Counselors have the best interest of the students at heart and will focus on finding the correct fit between the student and the plethora of higher institutions on offer with the student’s profile being the only barrier in the university admissions race.
Counseling services can vary considerably with some counselors promoting comprehensive end-to-end services while others offer a variety of services separately. Even though fees for counseling services can, in some instances, amount to a hefty sum, there may be a great return on the investment if a student is admitted to a prestigious university or is awarded a fee reduction or scholarship in the process.
Agents / Study Abroad Consultants
Agents generally do not charge families a significant up-front fee for their services. Since they have partnerships with the universities on their portfolio they receive a certain percentage (5-20%) of a student’s first-year fees, once the student enrols at the university. This means that even though an agent may seem to be offering free services initially families do in fact pay for them (indirectly) in the long run.
Agents try to ensure student enrolment in the institutions with which they have partnered and since they work on a commission basis it is in their interest to vet students carefully, promote those institutions from their portfolio that will most likely accept them and ensure that they have the qualifications and requirements that will maximise their conversions from application to enrolment.
For students, agents can be a great support if they have partnered with the universities to which they wish to apply, but the crunch comes, if they are considering applying to a university with which the agent does not have such an agreement, such as most elite universities, especially in the USA, in this these cases they may find that their choices are restricted.
Although working with agents has many benefits, often including assistance with visa applications, one question to keep in mind is whether the person working for a commission, based on a student’s first year’s fees, can offer impartial advice about university choice when enrolments affect their bottom line. Imagine, if you will, the Sunday brunch analogy and consider the difference it would make to the impartiality of any dining recommendation if each chef were paid a fee according to the number of plates served of their particular dish.
Which to choose… Counselor or Agent?
Deciding whether to engage in the services of a counselor or an agent might seem confusing but it is essential to know that when dining at the global higher education buffet there is no right or wrong choice when asking for culinary advice. It is up to each individual to read the menu carefully, take into consideration their palate and yearnings, the delicacies they dream about, the size of their wallet, as well as any additional information they need and then make their choice accordingly. If it is a counselor / independent education consultant that you are looking for then don’t hesitate to make contact.