CounselorConnect

 Frequently Asked Questions

What is CounselorConnect?

CounselorConnect is the most expansive searchable network of independent educational consultants (IECs) ready to help you and your family navigate the college search and admissions process.  Our experts are not part-time tutors—they are, in most cases, lifelong educators with advanced degrees and decades of experience.  They have dedicated their careers to assisting students and their families during the transition from high school to college.

Why should I believe that your educational consultants are better?

CollegeSolved is the exclusive network partner of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA).  IECA is a 35 year-old non-profit membership association promoting best practices in the field of college search and admissions guidance.  Professional members of IECA have been through a screening process that includes personal and professional references, a minimum of 50 U.S. college campus visits, a Masters degree or higher, and a minimum of three years of experience in counseling or admissions working with at least 50 students.  Look for the IECA logo to below their profile to link up with an IECA consultant.

There are also high quality admissions experts who are members of other professional associations and are vetted by CollegeSolved.  Finally, all members of the CollegiateChat network have signed ethical and professional guidelines. 

Is there any cost to me for using your service?

No, CollegeSolved does not charge any additional fees for its services.  Most of our admissions experts are independent small business owners without credit card processing capabilities.  By allowing CollegeSolved to introduce you to an expert you can feel confident that you are getting: 1) a qualified expert, 2) a secure credit card transaction, 3) agreed-upon payment milestones, and 4) mediation, if necessary.  Not only do we bring the best pre-screened professional to you, but we also make the process easier from start to finish.

How do I decide which professional is the right one for my needs?

Selecting your expert is easy.  CollegeSolved has developed a search tool (www.collegesolved.com/counselors), which will allow you easily to narrow your options.  You can search by a specific specialty, hourly price, languages, years of experience or background.

As you start to filter through the network, the list of consultants automatically narrows, allowing you to see who meets your criteria.  In addition, if you would rather speak with us directly, the CollegeSolved team can help you find the right counselor for your needs.  Just give us a call.

Once I find an expert, what’s next? 

Once you have found an admissions expert, click on “Plans and Pricing”.  You will be asked for your name, email and phone number, in order to connect with the counselor.  You can then send a quick message to the admissions expert. Feel free to ask about his or her services, experiences or any other questions. CollegeSolved will send the message to this expert. We will reach out to the counselor before making the introduction to make sure he or she has the time available for new client.  Once that conversation has occurred, the counselor will call you directly to discuss his or her services and fees. 

What should we discuss and agree to during the initial call?

Once you have emailed the admissions expert, we will provide you with a list of important questions to ask.  You can use this list if you set up a call with the admissions expert.

We had the initial call, now what?

Should you want to hire one of our professionals, you and your consultant should agree on a final price and payment milestones.  Once you do that, we will send you an invoice so you can pay with your credit card on our secure server.  Then you are all set!  If an admissions expert offers to let you pay them directly, you will not be covered by our mediation or likely be able to pay by credit card and the expert will be in breach of our code of ethics and professional standards.  We would ask that you let us know at counselors@collegesolved.com.

If you do not want to hire a certain admissions expert, we would ask that you email that expert to let him or her know it’s not a good fit.  

How does payment work?

CollegeSolved will take full payment for services through a secure credit card transaction upfront but will release the funds to your admissions expert at agreed upon milestones.  Although all of our professionals have their own payment standards that should be agreed to and understood upfront, an industry “norm” for a college search and application package would be 1/3 upfront, 1/3 at the first list of school matches and 1/3 at application time.  Our holding the funds for you ensures that we can assist in the rare instance where an issue arises.

I have additional questions about CounselorConnect.  How can I get more information?

We are always happy to answer your questions or troubleshoot any issues.  You can email us at questions@collegesolved.com at any time.  We will try to get back to you quickly.  We are always interested in hearing your feedback.  If your initial call was terrific and answered all of your questions or you know a great way to improve the CounselorConnect system, we want to know.