| Help Students Reach Their Potential and Reach Yours Too as a College Planning Consultant |
By now it is common knowledge that obtaining a college education can unlock untold opportunities. As colleges and universities become financially accessible to more students, the race to admissions gets increasingly competitive. For many parents and students alike the anxiety of picking good schools, meeting application deadlines and getting financing can be overwhelming. This predicament has produced a vast market with rewarding prospects for independent College Planning Consultants.
For the most part, it takes specialized educational degrees or admissions experience to help ease students' transition toward higher education. Something can be said for a person with the right drive and dedication, but not everyone can do it. While you may have successfully gained admission for your son or daughter to attend a good school, the gatekeepers these days are quite particular. Aside from SAT scores, they are looking for community involvement, extracurricular activities, academic performance, and leadership qualities, most of which must be undertaken during the high school career.
An educational counselor must therefore know how to assess a student. They must also have an intimate understanding of how the admissions process works, a general knowledge of about 40 schools and who to contact at each institution. Subsequently, when a client requests their services, they have a general direction as to what institution might fit them best.
Why You're Here
Because students' interests and strengths vary College Planning Consultants help people with various needs, though they often try to concentrate in a target market. Some will focus on at-risk or special needs students, others on athletic potentials or performing arts talents. Some may specialize with Ivy League schools or a particular athletic division, but the aim is to find the right fit for the student, whether a public or private institution.
Students by far outnumber college counselors. As a result, many professionals designated to help students are over-taxed with caseloads. Some of these professionals are responsible for helping as many as 1,000 students with their college applications in a single school year.
It is inevitable that some parents will feel that their kids are not receiving the attention they need from their school counselors. This is to say that the dire need for your services is real. Additionally, many clients will seek your expertise because they are not confident with their own ability to make such an important decision. Still others are fettered by the time it takes to narrow the choices and squaring away the details.
The Big Payoff
Unlike our beloved teachers whose passion to mold the minds of the future overrides their concern of a generous compensation package, education counselors can make a good living with the right connections and expertise. It may take a few years to build the résumé and step over into the black, but competent counselors can take home $80,000 in their third year. A good plan and a steadfast approach, however, will be required.
A marginal percentage of these professionals will charge by the hour, starting from a fee of $75/hr reaching up to $300/hr. At a rate of $140 per hour, just 10 hours per week for 45 weeks, an education counselor will gross $63,000. Most counselors, however, advertise their services as packages which may range from $750 to $8,000. With a client load of 25 students at an average of $2,400 per client, you could take home $60,000.
While the projected income is alluring, the big money may be slow to arrive so having a generous cushion is prudent. Business advisors recommend having 6 to 12 months living expenses set aside in addition to a nice line of credit or even another source of income. Many start-up ventures fail for lack of capital so it is important to have enough stashed away to weather you through your first two years. Another obstacle for start-up businesses is discipline. Though many people enjoy the freedom of being their boss, they will admit it takes restraint to stay on task and build your business when no one is breathing down your neck.
The Plan
As a College Planning Consultant you will be charged with ensuring admissions applications and other paperwork is completed on time. You will be in contact with admissions counselors, scouts, academic advisors and parents. Sometimes dealing with difficult personalities will be part of the job, as this may be the biggest decision of a student's young life. Therefore a passion to see youngsters get the best out of their educational experience will make your work personally gratifying as well as financially rewarding.
There are other less obvious tasks, however, that include attending seminars and workshops, and visiting up to 50 schools at your own expense. Much of the reason for the lag time in visible profits is because of these expenditures, which will allow you to build your reputation and catalogue of information. Also, as with any start-up owner, you will need to stay disciplined. Manage your resources and time effectively. Plan for difficult scenarios. A common reason why many businesses collapse is a failure to set aside enough resources to get the business through those tough preliminary years. As well, an investment must be made in advertising.
Advertising
Experts suggest spending 2 to 5 percent of your projected annual sales for advertising. During your start-up, resources will be considerably lean. In the beginning some college planners finance this expense out of their own pockets. Fortunately, these expenses can be relatively cheap. A good avenue for advertising is by a creating brochure. The brochure should list your services, your experience, testimonials from satisfied clients and contact information. Internet companies may offer 1,000 brochures for $350. You should also invest in a good graphic design. Sometimes you can enlist an art student at a local college to create your motif or you may choose to employ a professional.
Another inexpensive and effective option is the business letter. You not only want to target parents who will soon be considering their children's college education, but also other professionals that interact with high school students. You won't ‘sell' your services to the psychologists and youth coordinators. Rather, appeal to these authorities with articles or information that might be beneficial to them. Then mention your specialty and contact numbers at the end.
Also you might consider advertising in materials distributed at High School functions such as graduation bulletins, theatrical production programs or homecoming flyers.
If you are still unsure if there is a future in college planning for you, consult some of the many Web sites, books and periodicals devoted to the subject. Imagine how daunting this wealth of information may seem to a high school student or his/her hard-working parents.
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