by Brett E. Kennedy, Managing Director
When I share that I am an independent educational consultant, people immediately ask the question “what is that?” Very simply, an independent educational consultant is someone who provides college counseling, assistance in the scholarship and aid process and helps students have a college search process focused on finding that “right fit” college. When people learn that an independent educational consultant (IEC) is actually something out there today, some wonder whether IEC’s are needed. Don’t most students have college counselors at their high schools? I would argue that with many school counselors having a tremendously large caseload of students and duties far beyond college counseling, some students and families can benefit from hiring their own college counselor or IEC. Some students in the high school years like homeschoolers are educated in settings without formal college counselors. For an affordable fee, the independent educational consultant crafts a college search, application and aid process tailored to the student’s needs and desires. The IEC works for the family and not the high school or the colleges. Does this mean that an independent educational consultant can get you into any college or university you want? Not at all! An IEC can simply help a student and family see the widest number of options and help make a candidate as competitive as possible.