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College Prep Counselor’s Top Ten List
College prep counseling is a large and growing industry with many counselors charging anywhere from $95 to $375 for their advice. But SmartMoney.com suggests that parents and their high school age children consider a few key points before shelling out money for the services these counselors
offer.
In an article headlined, 10 Things
College-Prep Advisors Won’t Tell You the personal finance magazine, warns that many
college prep counselors have no special credentials. While there are two major national associations for independent
college counselors, neither
offers formal accreditation. One
of them, the IECA, questions the qualifications
of many
of those
offering
college prep advice.
“There are thousands
of people calling themselves educational consultants. Most
of them don’t have educational training or commitment to ethical practice,” says Mark Sklarow, executive director
of IECA. “I hear almost every
day from someone who says, ‘I got my daughter into Swarthmore, so now I want to help others do this.”