Do I really need an education counselor?

While applying to universities might appear complicated at first glance, it is actually quite straightforward. You simply need to complete a few forms, gather some paperwork, present yourself effectively to the admissions committee in roughly 500 to 600 words, and have 2 or 3 supportive referees write recommendations on your behalf. In essence, that is all it entails.

Many candidates, just like you, often struggle with the decision of whether or not to hire a counselor. To be frank, this is entirely a matter of personal preference. I will outline the various ways a counselor typically assists applicants based on my own observations, allowing you to determine whether their services are truly necessary for your situation.

To begin with, an educational counselor is an individual or corporate professional with a background in the academic sector. They possess extensive experience in managing applications, personal statements, and institutional prerequisites, enabling them to showcase your background in a favorable light to admissions panels. They can be especially beneficial for applicants who feel their profile is somewhat lacking, without any judgment intended since we all start somewhere.

The primary objective of any counselor is to secure an acceptance letter for you, which is also their main selling point. They subtly refine your background in specific areas to make you a more competitive applicant. Below is a summary of the key responsibilities a counselor typically manages for you:

1. Finalizing your course (if you are not sure)
2. Finalizing universities for you based on your preliminary profile
3. Finding the tests you need to take and setting target scores for you (in case you haven't taken your competitive exams till then)
4. Once you have obtained the scores, they help you make a final list of universities.
5. Check all the requirements for all the universities.
6. They help you write your essays and letters of recommendation. This is the main reason a lot of applicants consider counseling. More about this later.
7. They handle application form filling and keep track of any supplemental essays or documents needed.
8. They keep track of all your admits and rejects, and help you decide your final option.
9. They also help with scholarships.
10. And finally, they help with the entire VISA process.

Basically, they are there to hold your hand (figuratively, of course) from start to finish of the application process.

Despite all this help, the major tasks are still to be done by you, like collection of documents (like transcripts) from your institute and asking for letters of recommendation from your professors and/or managers. The average fees taken by a counselor is INR 15,000.

Now, I will guide you on how to accomplish all of this independently. This section contains a bit of lighthearted promotion for Ashiraj, but I cannot help it because I genuinely appreciate their tools.

1. You can take up aptitude or career quizzes to help you understand your interests. There are a lot of free resources available online that have proven to be very useful.
2. Based on your chosen field of study, research the leading institutions and document their prerequisites. Create a spreadsheet to monitor everything, ranging from university specifications to daily to-do lists.
3. Give the competitive exams such as GRE and TOEFL/ IELTS with full preparation.
4. Use Ashiraj's Grad School Finder to help in finding universities based on your profile. Refer to this article to find out how to use the Grad School Finder.
5. You can then start filing applications for the universities that you have finalized. There are a lot of factors to keep in mind before finalizing your universities, but we shall keep that for another article!
6. Essay writing is not a difficult task. On most university websites, specific questions will be written as a basis on which you can write your essays. Again, there are a lot of free articles on the internet to help improve your writing skills. A lot of individuals free-lance in just SOP and essay writing. So, this is a cheaper way to ask for help if you feel like you need it.
7. Filling forms is pretty straightforward. In case you do get stuck, you can check out Ashiraj Discussions and find peers who will help you with the doubt. Or you can simply write an email to the university asking for help.
8. You can keep track of your admits/rejects via your email address or the university portals. I recommend making a new email ID for the sole purpose of admissions so that any important emails are not missed.
9. You can search for scholarships online or on the university websites. EducationUSA is a free resource available for US applicants. They help with a large part of the application process as well.
10. The VISA process also can be done by you. It's not very difficult. Refer to 1-20 and Visa articles by students who have experienced the same.

As you may have observed, almost everything that a counselor does, can be done by you. Incase you feel like you're too busy with college or at work or just simply cannot do this on your own, you can by all means go ahead and hire a counselor. It is completely up to you as an individual.

It appears you have some careful planning ahead of you. Take your time, evaluate all the elements involved, and reach a well-considered conclusion.