Hey, hey! Do you know? Study abroad is hot as it’s an all-time high, and we know that you are super duper excited about your journey too. And for a fact, we also know that finding the right overseas education consultants can make you feel like a lost ball in the weeds. Pretty tidy for sure! Plus, not to mention it’s a whole lot of drama. But, what does it mean for you? Can you strike the rich without a hitch? Or do you still believe in the saying no pain, no gain? We say, don’t seek for any. Look for a joyful journey and associates who don’t make you feel alone and helpless despite spending a huge amount which indeed is the hard work of someone of your own.
Consultants are supposed to educate, assist and fully help you wherever needed. It doesn’t end with your visa or admission. It’s more than that. It’s about confident and robust decision-making backed up with stable steps of actions. We feel that you are smart enough to understand what we mean. Don’t be in a hurry and make wrong decisions. Have a consultancy with you who don’t hesitate to say if you are making wrong choices. Let’s learn more about what’s good and bad in a consultancy and how to find the right consultancy in this blog.
1. Listen to your needs
Before you google anything on the internet, you need to launch a google search in your head first about what you want and what you expect out of this yet-to-take journey. If you are willing to get admission to a specific college or university in particular x, y, z course, it’s actually a good start. The more precise you are, the better and fast you can find a perfect consultancy for yourself. You are literally making your job easy. We have provided some things you can be clear in your mind before you get the ball rolling.
- What is the type of program/course/degree you are willing to take up?
- Do you have any budget limitations or looking for financial help (hold on, you can get help)?
- Any specific choices to which country or university you want to study in?
- Do you possess any expectations towards the stand of education in that particular country?
This is important because it’s like a foundation where things begin to build up. That being said, it’s not a mandatory thing. People discover their interests as they go. So, either way, it’s cool. If you are on the unclear side, no worries, your perfect consultant can help. Let’s help you find your golden consultant.
2. Background doesn’t lie
You have to, have to remember one most prominent thing while finding the right consultancy is to become conscious. Be wide awake because many frauds happen every day, if not every hour, around the world by so-called overseas education consultants. There may be a plethora of consultants alone in your city for your kind information if you google it. Why should you know that? To get prepared to get confused. Don’t you worry; we are here right at your help. We know it’s a time taking process to go over all the consultancies and read about them, but seriously there is no escape. That’s the only right way to start with.
If you don’t find the background details of any consultancy on their sites, please move on. You don’t want to begin your life’s important journey with a consultancy that’s not transparent or visible enough. It’s risky and not recommended. Read when the consultancy got started in the market, where they stand in the market, their success rates, and so on. Although the background check is not the only factor, we would say you must do your homework there. And we assure the rest of the process won’t be much of a pain for you at all.
3. Review the reviews
There is every possibility that we get iffy (doubtful) and skeptical and, in some others, a lot excited while reading any reviews. In study abroad, on the other hand, both of these emotions are pretty valid. We drip or fall for as we find a positive or a negative word in any review and miss out on some key points. Here, what we suggest is to have some coffee and have your keen eye open all the while as you read through some of those reviews because they may perhaps be a reflection of how your future would look like.
Well, technically speaking, not all the reviews are a great source or authentic to drive your decisions. Some of them can be fake, and you wouldn’t even know. But surely you don’t want to fall for them. Customer testimonials on the sites and any info on the awards are a good piece of information. The better way would be to go on to their social media or google maps (is realistically one fine way) and decide if a consultancy is a good fit for you or not. But definitely, reviews are essential, and you should indeed review them. The more, the better. If you find many good reviews, then they might be a good consultancy and vice versa.
4. Know about their expertise
If you like a consultancy by any chance and think like it’s a sure thing, the next good thing to do is to know their expertise. We know we say it a lot, but this is an important journey of your life, and you surely can’t take anything for granted. If you want the best, you need to ask for it. Ask the consultancy that you like as many questions as possible about expertise in the field. Learn if they rightly assist the students starting from their admission procedure till the pre-departure. Great if you can make a note of it.
A pro-tip, you can read the consultancy’s behavior in how they respond to your query if you feel doubtful anywhere; it probably won’t be a humble consultancy for you down the line. Get meticulous about their track record of positioning their students in universities worldwide. Furthermore, the age of their expertise, how well they communicate the details, are they keeping you posted, and many, many, many more. All of these things do really speak about their expertise. If any one or more are missing by now, you know what to do. Best things don’t look any other than best.
5. Transparency
Even after doing everything right, many would fail here. It is identifying if a consultancy is transparent or hungry. Too good to be true; there are so many hungry consultants, and you, with all certainty, will come across them. But, don’t worry, you strongly fight them, no harm in that. How to do that? It’s easy! And you can.
As discussed earlier, you need to go for transparency as the first quality. But what does that exactly say? See, when you see a negative review or a not-so-good feature on their sites, it’s still transparency. For your good, you would walk away from that particular consultancy, and that’s good too. Now, when you find your ideal consultancy, transparency will become a new definition. Yeah, a good consultancy should indeed listen to your needs, good and bad, and correct you if needed. You should watch out if they are accurately helping you out in your wrong decision-making. Sometimes we in over-excitement, we make a wrong decision, and a responsible consultancy would immediately address it, or else you are in double trouble. Be careful about fake promises like admission guarantees and assured scholarships, and thank us later.
6. Careful assistance with visa and college
Are you really serious about your future? We assume it as a yes as you are here already. Let’s admit that millions of students bravely fly to different countries because they want to achieve something big. We get it! At the same time, most of you are also scared because you are overly presumptuous. So we want to make it simple for you. It all comes down to this big thing that later would be home for your dreams. Choosing the right college, career path, getting a visa, and finally, a happy take-off.
A good consultancy will make this a smooth and comfortable journey for you before you get started on your dreams. That’s only possible if you know where you want to go and what you want to do. If you are confused on that note, be clear. It’s okay. The consultancies and consultants are there to help you. Share your preferences, needs, and difficulties with your counselor, and he/she should guide you efficiently. Discuss the good and bad possibilities, potential help like scholarships, work-study and more. If they cannot, they are not meant to advise you on anything; the best thing to do is switch immediately.
7. It’s okay to seek help from your friends, seniors, or family
It’s entirely alright if you want to trust your friends or seniors or family and want to go with their suggestion. To be honest, that sometimes is an easy way to find a good consultancy, of course, it doesn’t put any pressure on you so you can focus on what is more important. Although having such great comfort in taking others’ suggestions, we always, always recommend doing your homework. At times, the friend or senior or family member you want to swear by might have taken admission through that specific consultancy a few years ago. So, now you check their track record in these years and decide if they are still doing the same good job and remember it’s about your future.
If they aren’t, then it’s a good time for a shift. This might not be the instance for everyone, so as said earlier, it’s always an added benefit to taking a piece of advice from your trusted ones. They are verily a good source of information in such a big decision making and what’s better than our family and friends. Do reach out to them if there is a possibility; it will certainly make things easy for you in so many ways. And when everything goes well, don’t forget to thank them later or a good gift would also do. (that’s optional, you know that, right? hahaha)
8. Things go wrong if you miss out on the fun
This is of utmost importance. Do you feel the chills as you see yourself at where you always dream? That must be an obvious yes. Evey journey carries loads of lessons and fun; if you are not feeling the same chills, you probably aren’t doing the process right. There are a lot of assumptions on how hectic and stressful the study abroad processes are. Partly that’s untrue because if you find the right people doing the job for you, you needn’t really have to feel stressed or exhausted. It’s as simple as that. Meanwhile, if you are in the wrong hands, that’s also an obvious joyless journey. So, you have another factor in deciding if it’s an ideal consultancy for you or not. Happy means good to go, a little stress is also good to go, but a lot of stress and doubt is a no-no.
Lastly…
Study abroad is meant to be slow. As they say, slow and steady wins the race suits well here. You have to be mindful, serious, and happy at every step. If not, then things would look difficult for you, if not now then in the future. And a perfect overseas education consultant is not a myth; it’s what you need and what you have to have. And trust us, you have no idea how this can be an awesome journey if you find the right associates. Follow these steps, and you are soon going to find the best consultancy. If you need any more assistance on your study abroad, you can ask us. You are most welcome. Our experts will happily address your queries. If you like less drama and more simplicity, then you’ll like us too. If you like the type of content we publish, do stay in touch, we have more on the way coming your way.
