FAFSA, CCP, AP, ACT, CSS, ED. Does all this alphabet soup sound familiar?
Just when you thought deciphering brain rot slang was a losing battle, there’s a whole world of college readiness and admissions vernacular to master in a hurry — before those application deadlines.
School guidance offices are equipped to help students and families navigate the process. Some contract with nonprofits like Lake-Geauga Educational Assistance Foundation (LEAF), which offers a menu of advising services, or College Now, which provides financial aid application workshops and college counseling.
Some families add a layer of concierge college prep to the mix with a consultant who steers the process, from essay coaching and rigorous college searches to finetuning applications and lending insight into how schools are selecting candidates.
So, does your kid need an IEC who’s a CEP? (That’s short for independent educational consultant and certified education planner.)
‘The kids owned the process’
The Rollinson family decided to hire private help beyond school counselors to alleviate some pressure — and it did. “I felt so far removed from the college process. I didn’t know how to help or approach it for either of my kids,” says Megan Rollinson of her daughter, who attended Hathaway Brown and is now a freshman at Wake Forest University, and her son, a senior at University School.
Besides, who wants help from mom and dad?
“I didn’t dare suggest a school because then it would be off the list,” Rollinson quips.
A Google search for college consultants turned up Barbara Pasalis, CEP, and Taz Pasalis of Westlake-based Northcoast Educational Consulting. Barbara has personally visited more than 300 campuses and begins each student’s engagement with personality testing and career assessments. “I get to know them better so I can guide them,” says Barbara. “They learn about themselves, as well, and it helps them articulate their message in essays much more clearly.”
Hiring an IEC is no guarantee for a Harvard acceptance letter or full-ride athletic scholarship.
“And if a counselor says, ‘Do this extracurricular and you’ll get in,’ that’s not true,” says Barbara, who estimates 85% of her student clients attend private and independent schools. “There is no magic activity that guarantees a student will get in.”
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She says there’s more to college readiness than preparing to submit applications.
“It’s a time of self-discipline and discovering your strengths, talents and areas that need improvement,” she adds.
Students gain confidence and shed some of the roiling anxiety that goes with the emotional rollercoaster of applying and getting into college, she says.
“It takes a layer of pressure off parents, and that’s a big benefit,” Barbara notes.
Rollinson adds of their family’s experience: “The kids owned the process, which was great.”
They set up appointments with Barbara directly and researched school options on their own with her guidance. “I didn’t feel like I had to constantly ride them because they were on it.”
Knowing the ins and outs of college programs helped Rollinson’s daughter, Isla, land on a campus that suited her as a student interested in business but not completely decided. “With some of the schools she was initially interested in, you have to apply as a freshman to business school and it’s harder to get in as a sophomore,” she relates “So, we were able to better navigate that.”
Rollinson sees the value in being an independent consultant. “It’s a very family-centric decision and depends on the dynamics of your kids,” she adds, noting that some of her kids’ peers were working with a private counselor but not most.
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‘We’ll help anyone’
Most families do not enlist in an IEC, and while the individualized care and in-depth consultation is a benefit, there are free resources families can access such as LEAF and College Now, along with leveraging school programs and in-building guidance counselors.
LEAF and College Now partner with schools that contract with them to deliver service hours in the building. Students attending schools not engaged by the nonprofits also can get help with FAFSA, finding scholarships, completing essays, searching for post-secondary options and understanding financial aid award letters.
“A lot of people are shocked that we offer our services for free, but as a nonprofit, we have grant funding and school contracts that make this possible,” says Liz Brainard, LEAF’s advisory director. The organization’s main office is within Lakeland Community College.
“We expanded our knowledge base so we can help students with two-year community college and branch campuses, trade school options, workforce training and connect them to military recruiters,” Brainard says.
Navigating financial aid is a big part of LEAF’s assistance, Brainard adds, pointing to the FAFSA and College Scholarship Search (CSS) profile for highly selective schools that are well endowed and have different formulas for awarding need-based aid and grants.
“We help students understand what schools might be a good fit and student profiles that schools want to see,” Brainard adds.
College Now also contracts with schools as an additional resource, and like LEAF, any student and family can take advantage of its advising through its “get help from College Now” link. Appointments are available in person at its Post Office Plaza Cleveland location or by Zoom, and at partnering organizations like Cleveland Food Bank and local libraries, where College Now hosts workshops.
College Now works with students beginning as early as seventh grade, says Cathy Graham, one of its senior college and career advisors. As for FAFSA workshops, “It’s not just for seniors in high school — we’ll help anyone complete the application,” she says.
‘It’s a journey’
Throughout the year, Shaker Heights High School holds college readiness programs for students and families who are figuring out pathways to post-secondary options.
The message: You’re not alone, and help is on the way.
One spring panel session includes college admissions counselors. “We’ve had guests from Duke to Case to Ohio State,” says Shaunna Bonner, department chair of school counseling at Shaker Heights. “Our counselors engage them in questions about admissions and we have breakout sessions.”
Topics have covered the NCAA pathway, students exploring arts and Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU). Students book individualized meetings with the guidance office, and its College Now partnership includes an annual campus tour. This year’s destination is University of Dayton and Ohio Wesleyan University.
The purpose is to educate students on how to carry out a successful campus visit and engage admissions offices on any campus, Bonner says. “We also took a group of students to a college fair at Kent State and did prep work — learning to walk up to tables, shaking hands, asking questions and getting comfortable with these conversations,” she adds.
Personal advising sessions for seniors and their parents are booked throughout the school year, and College Now assists with the CSS profile, FAFSA and college applications.
Bonner has worked alongside independent consultants, which she says is becoming more common. “When we know upfront, we can work collaboratively and maximize the resource for families.”
This is the approach the Rollinsons took, and she felt her kids assumed more accountability with an “intensive” support from Barbara Pasalis plus school check-ins.
Bonner says when families seek greater support the guidance office can carve out weekly check-ins. “It’s a journey, take it step by step,” she encourages.
“The students who want the most help get the most help,” Graham adds. “So, encourage your student to connect with resources and take advantage of them.”
READ: LEAF’s Liz Brainard suggests this book: Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions by Jeffrey Selingo. A higher-education journalist offers a look from inside the admissions office with strategies to aid the college search.
WATCH: Curious about how an Independent Educational Consult (IEC) can help — and looking for some free advice? Check out the podcast, Your College-Bound Kid. Its co-hosts are IECs, and the podcast is steered by a mom who’s been through the process and a seasoned former admission counselor.
GO: Attend one of College Now’s community-based programs and complete a FAFSA on the spot with assistance. Workshops also include ACT/SAT test prep and academic advising. LEAF also offers these services, along with a technical career toolkit and virtual info sessions.
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