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What do you want to be when you grow up?

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT… EDUCATION CONSULTANT

Karishma Shah

Twenty years ago, an educational consultant would have been fairly useless because the options available were relatively scarce. Today, the education scenario is maddeningly complex. The question of “what to be when I grow up” is not a whimsical musing, but a loaded and burdensome task that often requires professional inputs.
Enter, the education consultant.
First, note that employing the services of an education consultant does not imply that one is planning to pursue studies abroad. Neither is educational consulting age-bound. A student fresh out of school, in the tenth grade, can use the help as much as a graduate student. Students, who wish to complete their education in India, may not even know of the number of new courses and premier institutions available. A consultant should not only have such information, but also be able to help students with application forms, scholarships, and the like. Vice Principal at Jai Hind College, P.H. Mirapuri, points out, “It helps students make an informed decision as they are made to realize what exactly is out there.”
If one is uncertain about career choices, an education consultant can, in partnership with the student and perhaps a psychometric test, help infer where one’s aptitude lies and choose a suitable line of work. Once that is ascertained, the real need for guidance arises. The different paths leading up to that career will be presented to the student, who will then be able to bolster his/her education, present and future, with direction and focus. For instance, Viral Parikh, an 18-year-old student of HR College, says that his educational consultant helped him determine both his short-term goal (pursuing Chartered Accountancy) and long-term one (getting a MBA) and defined what steps he should take to achieve these goals.
Be warned that many individuals quite unabashedly practice the job, despite being grossly unqualified. They simply do some research on the Internet and deem themselves competent enough to guide the lives of students at a critical junction. Founder of Edwise International, Preeti Sukhwani says, "Students need to check out who they trust with their careers especially when a monetary angle is involved." Do your own additional research on what has been recommended.
Also be cautious that some counselors may get a commission for recommending you to a particular college abroad even if it is not the best one for you. This has, indeed, happened in the past and led to great heart-burn when the student actually got the promised land, so to speak.
Harshbeena Zaveri, who interviews for a top liberal arts college in the US, says, "Parents and students should be wary. They should not accept what a consultant says on face value just because he/she is well-known or expensive; they should do their own homework. I recommend that they get in touch with students who are at the colleges being suggested, or are doing the courses recommended by the consultant, and cross-check the advice."
There is no dearth of education consultants in Mumbai today. Both individuals and organizations have consultancies that vary in size and function. Edwise International has national and international accreditation and offices all over India. Many international institutions appoint Edwise to shortlist candidates from India. Edwise doesn’t charge a rupee for counseling (except for students applying to the US/Canada.) At Young Buzz, another such company, the student will be asked to take an aptitude, interest and personality inventory to determine his/her areas of interest. This will be followed by intensive discussion as well as access to their comprehensive career database.
In addition to these much larger consultancies, smaller, individual consultants can also provide effective guidance. Viral Doshi is one such well-established consultant who is especially useful to those students who are sure about what they want to do, but are uncertain of how to go about it. Through his systematic methodology, he presents all the various avenues available to the student—in India, the US, Australia, etc. Madhavi Desai Consulting, Karan Gupta Consulting and Anjali Mathur are other such. The best way to decide on which consultant would be right for you is to speak to other students who have used such services and get their feedback.