Choosing Admission Consultants

I have been having this intense discussion with a fairly close friend on how to choose an Admission Consultant. He has a decent GMAT ( 80+ Percentile in Verbal and Quant) and is a reapplicant. While I do not want to debate the merits and the moral values behind the use of these services, I do feel that there is a lot of misunderstanding about admission consultants as fellow blogger Axechick points out in her post. Having been an confidante in this process, I will try to highlight some of the questions that one needs to ask to select the right admission consultant. I want to reiterate that I am _not_ supporting or disapproving of the use of consultants but like any service there are a wide variety of choices and applicants should make informed choices.

1.Style of working:
While admission consultants will _not_ write essays for you, they will give you critical feedback. Some folks like Sandy are known for their tough love approach while others probably have a different approach. Find out the style of feedback that will be delivered and if that communication style will suite you.

2. Target schools:
It turns out that a lot of admission consultants have a history with a set of schools. Mbaprepadvantage folks have some extensive background at UCLA. The Admissions Advisory Group folks have an extensive background at Stanford. Have some idea of target schools as this might help you narrow your choices.

3. Amount of Service:
There are different levels of service. ClearAdmit for example provides only hourly service which will allows someone to customize the level of feedback they desire. Stacy Blackman like several others provides comprehensive services that include everything from helping select colleges to helping with essays and interviews.

4. Previous Success:
If you believe that the past is any indication of the future, then make sure to ask for references. My friend was able to talk at least 10 existing students from three different services. Although, not everyone felt that using the services was the best solution, but all of them were in top 20 schools.

5. Evaluation Session:
Most admission consultants will provide a evaluation session for free. There are some exceptions like Admission Consultants who charge a nominal fee for this service. A evaluation sessions allows an applicant not only to ask the questions but also gauge compatibility of mind set.

6. Workload and Turnaround time:
Find out the expected turnaround time when working with a consultant. Some consultants are may sign up a large number of applicants and may not be able to devote the amount of time during the application deadlines .

There are other notable admission consultants like Linda Abraham and Alex Chu, who have tirelessly contributed on my favorite addiction site -Businessweek Forums. I have also religiously followed the blog on ClearAdmit, and found Stacy and Linda's blog useful. The Wiki on Clearadmit and the interview database at Accepted.com are also extremely useful resources provided by the respective admission consultants.

I hope that this post helps future applicants make effective choices if they choose to use the services of admission consultants.