What "free counselling" actually means

Almost every admission consultancy advertises free counselling. Very few explain why it is free. It is worth understanding, because the answer tells you what to watch for, with us as much as with anyone else.

Where the money comes from

Colleges pay consultancies a commission for each admission they confirm. That is the business. It is how we are paid, and it is why you are not charged.

We state this openly on our how we work page. Most of our competitors do not, and there is no good reason for that except that it invites the next question.

The next question

If colleges pay the consultant, does the consultant recommend whoever pays most?

The incentive is real. Anyone who tells you it does not exist is not being straight with you. What you should look for is not a consultant who denies it, but one who has something to show you about how they manage it.

Five questions worth asking any consultant

1. “Which colleges do you have an arrangement with?” A straight answer means the shortlist is a list, not the whole market. A vague answer means you are being sold to.
2. “Can I have the shortlist in writing?” Fees, location, course, recognition. If it only ever comes over the phone, you cannot check it.
3. “What will I pay you, and when?” The answer should be nothing, ever, at any stage. Watch for registration fees, file charges and documentation fees appearing later.
4. “Is this college approved for this course, and by whom?” Nursing, pharmacy and teaching courses each have their own regulator. A consultant who cannot name the regulator has not checked.
5. “What happens after I get the seat?” Reporting, document verification, and who you call if something goes wrong when you arrive. For a student moving two thousand kilometres, this is the part that gets skipped.

What to be wary of

• Anyone asking a student for money. You should not be paying an admission consultant.
• Pressure about seats running out. Counselling rounds have published schedules. Urgency is usually manufactured.
• Guaranteed admission. No consultant controls a counselling result.
• A single option. If only one college is ever mentioned, ask why.
• Numbers with no source. “Thousands of students placed” is not checkable, which is why we do not publish figures like that about ourselves.

Where we stand

You pay us nothing. Colleges pay us a commission. We tell you which colleges we work with, we put the shortlist in writing, and we say when a college we have no arrangement with is the better fit for you.

If that ever stops being true of a conversation you have with us, tell us. That is a fair complaint and we would rather hear it than lose your trust quietly.