Choosing an Admissions Consultant: Is Your Consultant Hip?

Hi everyone,

For those of you deciding on whether to engage an admissions or writing consultant, you will have many options before you. At Ivy Eyes Editing, we firmly believe that applicants at all levels must learn to market their strengths as well as preserve what is most authentic about their candidacy. This is where your consultant's judgment, personality and tastes--not just his/her formal admissions strategy and pedigree--come into play.

Assuming you have marketed your best strengths, and come up with content that is authentic, reflective and colorful, you also have another challenge: to be likable. Likability is one of the most difficult elements to infuse into admissions materials. The quality of your work with your consultant will be evident in your essays: did they 'get' you? Did the portray you as a community member that your future classmates would want to know?

Here are a few questions to ask yourself before hiring an admissions consultant:

-Do they provide upfront (and ideally FREE) transparency to demonstrate their abilities and approach?

-What is their writing style like? Do they take the same approach with a college applicant as an MBA applicant? A dead give-away is the zingy one-size-fits-all introduction; great admissions writing is much more subtle (and diverse) than that.

-How is their command of language? Language is continually evolving. We have seen language and mechanical choices from other consultants that wreak of a 1940's grammar school education. Don't let someone insist that split infinitives are a definite no-no, or that sentences can't end with a preposition.

-Does their approach reveal the true coaching talent to not simply overhaul but PRESERVE what is best? Can they adapt to your style and tell you what you do right?

-Do they come from an older school of admissions and writing--just how relevant is their expertise?

-Do you know the person who will be editing your work? Before submitting your materials to an essay mill service, think about who might be reviewing them on the other end. PhD or MBA applicants, an undergraduate at Princeton may not be the strongest choice.

We're not implying that your admissions or writing consultant must listen to Lady Gaga, read The Paris Review, or use #/hashtags or @ signs in their daily communications, but we are implying they shouldn't wear a long denim skirt. We kid!

In all seriousness, there is a baseline level of 'hipness' which you should seek out in an admissions consultant or writing coach. What does it mean to be hip? The last time we checked, being hip was being cool, and being cool was being adaptive to any environment or person while preserving one's own point of view.

Furthermore, our perspectives and words are a product of our influences; do you want your application to read like the most seasoned, likable version of you, or the reflections of your 9th grade teacher turned admissions consultant?

Choose a smart, experienced consultant, but also choose a complementary mentor and thought partner. You want someone who knows their stuff but is flexible enough to identify what is exceptional about you. Think Mary Poppins or Mr. Holland, but with edge.

Best,
Brooke
Ivy Eyes Editing
www.ivyeyesediting.com