The biggest challenge accepted by the college selection advisor is to help students and parents make realistic decisions. Almost any serious student might list Harvard as a preferred school, but only 1,500 or so freshmen are admitted each fall. And competition for many larger colleges is just as intense. Another challenge involves the ability to make a dispassionate recommendation about the type or size of school based on your appraisal of the student. A shy, sheltered child who has spent her entire life in a small rural community might not fare well in a huge, big-city college; a brash city kid might be a fish out of water at a small school in the Midwest. Advisors need to help the parent and students examine this element of the college decision.
Though they may have been preparing to send their children to college for more than a decade, few parents have a real understanding of the exact costs of college: tuition, room, board, fees, books, and travel. The advisor can offer information on lesser-known schools that offer a good education at a relatively low price. In many cases, it is also very important for students to apply to more than one college in case they are not accepted by their first choice. The advisor assists in categorizing schools as best choices, acceptable backups, and “safety” schools, where the student is all but certain to be accepted. In general, the job of the college selection advisor ends once the list of appropriate schools has been drawn up.