Not all college counselors are created equally. Some commit themselves to continual professional development, while others coast on outdated knowledge and unproven tech. So color us pleased to learn this month that the profession is finally becoming credentialed, a charge led by the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA).
Becoming credentialed means proving detailed professional knowledge and being accountable to the families we work with.
- Realtors have to become licensed to work legally.
- Plumbers, electricians, and welders have to get advanced training and certifications to perform safe work.
- Teachers have to become licensed and maintain those licenses through continuing education.
- Medical professionals prove themselves through rigorous training and retraining.
These are all careers with a huge impact on people’s lives. So is college counseling, and it’s time for it to come with a higher level of professionalism. We have been a proud member of the IECA, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), and the Indiana Association for College Admissions Counseling (INACAC) since 2019. These organizations hold their members to high ethical and professional standards ALL college counselors should be held to.
Here’s why we’re so passionate about this:
- Finding best-fit colleges and applying to them is a huge stressor for kids and families. Families deserve help tackling the anxiety, which requires tact, counseling skills, and an understanding of how the education system works.
- College is one of the most expensive decisions families make.
- Choosing a college for one student has effects on the whole family, and those concerns deserve to be honored.
But not all college counselors are able to work with these needs. And not all college counselors are student and family-centered.
- We see Ivy League undergrads market themselves as Ivy League admissions experts and charge hundreds of dollars an hour to promise students barely younger than them that they have the key to success. It’s not very realistic or healthy.
- We see parents who successfully navigated their own kids through the college application process and begin charging others to take them down the same path. It’s well-meaning, but it’s often not well-informed or able to meet the flexible needs of students.
- We see advisors who lean into AI software and canned programs to “help” as many students as possible while maximizing their profits. It’s not student-centered, not well-informed, we think it promotes corner-cutting.
- To our great dismay, we’ve even seen actual criminals like Rick Singer, mastermind of the 2019 Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, return to college advising after prison for felonies he committed that tarnished the entire profession. We’re not sorry to say we think that’s galling.
Our field is in desperate need of stronger standards and real credentialing that require college counselors to be in the career for the right reasons. We’re looking forward to leading the pack on becoming credentialed. Students and their families deserve nothing less as they build a genuine connection with a college counselor who understands their goals and cares about their needs.