by Brett E. Kennedy, Managing Director
I bring to independent educational consulting twenty-six years of experience working in college admissions, financial aid, orientation and in higher education institutions both big and small. While this experience in a variety of settings certainly gives me some insider’s expertise on the college admissions and aid process, I recently determined that this insider’s knowledge can be an albatross of sorts. What do I mean?
A year ago, I was a dean of admissions at a national liberal arts college. I held that post for a decade so I can see much of the bigger picture of process, priorities and challenges when I look at a college. Does this knowledge of strategy and tactics help me in my work as an independent educational consultant? It depends.
I would suggest that my years of experience provide me with the technical expertise and even an understanding of what things can mean. As an example, if a student shares with me that a particular college really wants her based on direct mail sent or emails received, from my knowledge base, I can explain how Search works and what it means when a student gets a Search communication. It does not mean you are necessarily a highly desired candidate. In that circumstance, my experience has helped me set expectations appropriately for the student.
At the same time, my knowledge and experience may provide some “big picture” understanding of a college. For example, I may know that a campus has had challenges in getting the size of entering class they wanted for several years or that a college has lowered admissions standards over several years. I might be aware that a college had an acrimonious split from its church denomination. I might be aware of where a newly hired president or dean of admission worked previously. Does sharing this inside knowledge help the student searching for the “right fit?” Not necessarily.
I think one of the gifts of being an independent educational consultant is having an audience of one. That audience, of course, is the student and their family. You need to honor that audience by editing what you share based on the relevance to the desired undergraduate experience. If a student wants a college with the big time college athletics experience, you don’t need to share the policy implications on higher education of NCAA Division I athletics. The student wants ESPN GameDay and ideally a national championship. You need to share relevant information about the college that will resonate with the student.
To be clear, I don’t mean that relevant means positive information. In fact, I think that independent educational consultants have to share both the positives and the negatives, the pros and the cons. Yet I would still argue that we have to guard against sharing things are too “inside” to have meaning to student or family. Having an internal editor of what will actually impact a student’s decision process makes all the difference in being successful in what you share.