Choosing the right college counseling program for your child can have a profound effect on your admissions outcome. Yes, the student is doing the actual work, but without the right guidance and support, outcomes can vary greatly. So how do you go about choosing the right program and counselor for your child?
There are many great programs out there. Unfortunately, many are all talk and will simply tell you what they think you want to hear. Below are the top questions you should be asking (as well as the types of answers you should be receiving) to move forward with confidence.
FAOs offer an insider’s view of how selective colleges make decisions. After reading thousands of applications and voting in admissions committees, they know exactly what makes an application rise or fall once it’s behind closed doors.
What to look for:
At Infinite Futures, our full-time FAOs have worked at highly selective institutions including Yale, Brown, Northwestern, and Caltech. They remain closely engaged with every student strategy and the entire application process.
Many companies claim to have data but few will actually share it.
What to look for:
Through our exclusive partnership with MaiaLearning, Infinite Futures families can immediately access our platform that utilizes more than one million student data points. They’ll then work with our FAOs and College Advisors to interpret what those numbers mean for their students.
This combination of quantitative and qualitative insight helps families make clearer, more confident decisions. If a company won’t show you the data up front, does it really exist?
Data points to ask for:
A platform isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have. And no, Google Docs is not a college admissions or advising platform.
The right tool will:
All Infinite Futures families use the MaiaLearning platform to keep essays, tasks, timelines, and communication in one place. Students will message their College Advisor, track their activities, share essays for editing, and practice writing through journal prompts all housed in an online space that is simple and easy to navigate. Even more, parents will also have the ability to view materials and communications in their own parent portal.
Caseload determines quality. Period.
If a program enrolls 3,000 students and claims to have 40 counselors who work with 60 students each, the math isn’t mathing. There’s no bigger red flag in the college counseling space.
Questions to ask:
If the answers feel vague, trust your instincts by asking them to put it in writing.
At Infinite Futures, College Advisors are assigned based on best fit for the family. We offer the opportunity to meet counselors ahead of time (more on this below), so that you can choose the advisor that works best for your family’s needs. We are committed to a great student, family, and advisor experience. This means lower caseloads, faster response times, and higher quality support all around.
Fit, experience, and consistency are all important when choosing a counselor.
Avoid programs that:
Families should be able to meet potential counselors in advance and be part of the decision-making process.
Infinite Futures offers meeting opportunities so students and parents can choose the counselor who feels right for their family. Just as we help students find the colleges that are the best fit for them, finding the right college counseling program is just as important. We view our work together as a true partnership. And the best partnerships are built on personality fit, shared values, and a compatible approach to teaching and learning.
This is an important, but often overlooked, question.
Partnerships within college counseling can be categorized as formal or informal. A formal partnership is one where a counseling program has an official relationship with an outside organization that may, or may not, include financial incentives. An informal partnership is one where the counselor knows about reputable programs and guides students in applying based on student interest.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a formal partnership. However, transparency is non-negotiable. This is especially important when you could be asked to spend thousands of dollars on top of what you’re already paying.
You want to know:
The goal is to ensure your child’s needs always come first. At Infinite Futures our goal is to work in partnership with families to understand their needs and goals. We recommend programs based on student fit and what works best for each individual student. Our team does not receive any financial incentives or kickbacks for the programs we choose to recommend. Additionally, we always prioritize finding free or low-cost options for our families, where appropriate.
If a company guarantees specific outcomes, walk away. Fast!
No one can guarantee admission to a highly selective institution, no matter their professional background or years in business. Colleges do not operate that way. Anyone promising you otherwise is using a marketing tactic at best and inviting legal trouble at worst. Even the best Admissions Officers will tell you that they can’t predict an outcome until the vote in the committee room takes place.
Similarly, be wary of “money-back guarantees.” Read the fine print. What sounds simple on a website or social media ad tends to be almost impossible to obtain if or when the time comes.
Our entire team at Infinite Futures has direct industry experience. We have sat at admission committee tables, worked in high school counseling offices, and earned national awards for our contributions to the education sector. We know that there are no shortcuts in the college admissions process.
Look beyond the company website and check multiple resources:
Extreme reviews (very positive or very negative) often dominate because most families don’t write neutral ones. Read between the lines:
If a program you are considering does not have the above to review, look up the advisors on LinkedIn to see how long they have been in the education and advising space. You’ll likely find full backgrounds, endorsements (if they are reputable), and even more information to help you make an informed decision.
You’re not only evaluating the company but also the person working directly with your child. The experience this individual brings and their ability to support your student will have a direct impact on your child’s college admissions outcome. A company might have a stellar reputation, but not all counselors are created equal.
It’s important to ask about:
Vague answers are red flags. Make sure to consider the full context of a counselor’s experience, not just their tenure at the organization. At Infinite Futures, our team includes College Advisors and Former Admissions Officers with demonstrated success: we’ve read tens of thousands of applications, voted on admissions committees for highly selective institutions, earned national awards, and authored published work. Our team’s expertise spans a wide range of student backgrounds, including Ivy+ and highly selective institutions, selective and moderately selective schools, the University of California system, recruited athletes, rural students, international students, U.S. students applying abroad, ROTC candidates, transfer applicants, QuestBridge scholars, and first-generation or low-income students.
Misalignment most happens when expectations are not discussed and assumptions are made.
Make sure to clarify:
If you expect a counseling program to completely take over for a sixth grader, or if a program expects you to be hands-off with a highly disorganized senior, someone will be disappointed. College counseling companies are not typically responsible for executive functioning or tutoring. This means they won’t be providing daily or weekly homework charts for your student. At the same time, they should be creating timelines, assigning tasks, and setting clear deadlines from the start.
College counseling works best when expectations are aligned and all three parties (student, parent, and counselor) commit to the process.
The answers you receive to these questions should guide your decision. Don’t hesitate to ask directly and expect transparency. A strong college counseling team won’t be threatened by thoughtful questions. They will welcome them.
Choosing the right partner can make all the difference. With the right guidance, a student can move from submitting weak or unpolished applications to schools that are not a good fit, to confidently submitting compelling applications to both dream and reach schools.
Your child deserves clarity, expertise, and a team that truly knows how to help them shine. Let these questions lead you there.
If you’d like to discuss how we can customize our offerings for your family’s needs, schedule a free enrollment meeting using this link.
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Sandy Choe is the Director of Enrollment at Infinite Futures. She holds a BA in Economics from Yale University and began her career in finance before transitioning to education. Sandy has built a diverse background in both private and public school counseling, college counseling, and test prep. She is passionate about helping families navigate the complexities of the college application process.
