An expert's contribution: how a college admissions consultant can help

I was in DC recently and visited American University and Georgetown University. Both midsize-larger schools with healthy endowments. Both powerhouses for government and international relations. So what are the differences? If you tour both, what can you learn?

Let's try something a little different. Here's a little quiz. From what you know of these schools, which answer would you choose? (check your answers below)

Q1: At which school do your tuition dollars get you a free unlimited DC bus/metro pass?

1. American

2. Georgetown

3. both

Q2: At which school can you get individualized librarian advice 24/7?

1. American

2. Georgetown

3. both

   
   

Q3: At which school can you graduate with a teaching degree that gets you licensed at DC and would let you teach at

1. American

2. Georgetown

3. both

   
   

Q4: Which school has the largest student-run nonprofit in the country?

1. American

2. Georgetown

3. both

You can see the answers at the very bottom of this post. Are you surprised by any of them?

What am I trying to show with this little exercise? A couple of things.

• One, college tours cover a ton of information in a short time frame. Some of it fits your expectations, some doesn't. If you're doing lots of schools, it's easy to get info confused. Here's one of my posts about doing college tours that can help!

  
  

• Two, when you're doing college tours, you're playing catch-up. You're seeing 2 or 6 or 12 colleges, you're collecting information, you're listening to the part that's relevant to you and your kid. You might not catch the info about librarian support or about teaching licensure. You might not care.

But as a college expert, I listen to all of it. I see campuses as part of my yearly credentialing. As a result, I keep myself current on all this information, as it changes year to year or stays constant year to year. I highlight what is particularly relevant for you.

As a college admissions consultant, it's my job to give you more information than you can get by yourself. And the earlier you get to me, the better for your kiddo.

Click below to schedule a free introductory meeting to see how I can help you and your student.

Answers: Q1: a, Q2: a, Q3: b, Q4: b