Graduate school agent for admissions process?

[bosun120]

Hello GradCafe,

I was wondering anyone knew of some sort of agent for the graduate admissions process, as I've noticed that each school, and some cases each department, has their own distinctive and differing requirements for their admissions process (there's no set standard). Let me explain what I mean, one of my cousins from China is also applying for graduate school in America, and he is using an "agent" to help out with the admissions process, ie. they advise on which schools would be best fit/apply to based on your academic records, etc. Is there was something akin in the US (I'm located in SoCal)?

Of course I'm not looking for them to do all my work, but basically it would be very helpful to have a general outline, based on my academic records, which schools where there would be a very good chance/be a good fit for being accepted into, which schools might be a reach but still worth pursuing, which supporting documents I should work to improve on, etc.

Thank you for the help and good luck to all in the application process.

Edited October 18, 2011 by bosun120

[LLajax]

Do you have an advisor or trusted professor you can ask? I've never heard of an agent, but I think that you can get the help you're looking for from a professor who knows the field you'd like to go into. They're very willing to help, and because they know the field, they're excellent at guiding you to a school that is a good fit. If you are asking people for LORs, think about asking those people for their help and advice- they're usually more than willing to look over your supporting documents also. And since they're professors, they tend to be really familiar with the admissions/application process, and as a result, they give great advice.

[kaykaykay]

I think Kaplan had a service like this the last time I saw their offer. It costed an astronomical amount of $ but you can check it out. (Maybe other prep schools also offer this service)

[orst11]

I think Kaplan had a service like this the last time I saw their offer. It costed an astronomical amount of $ but you can check it out. (Maybe other prep schools also offer this service)

At $249 per hour, I think maybe the best bet is definitely to save money. If you haven't taken the GRE yet I know that Kaplan does give pretty good discounts for purchasing various packages together. I only know this because I have worked for them before.

Like LLajax noted, an advisor or trusted professor typically can give you a better grasp on the actual field you are going into. Plus, you save money.

But if you are willing to pay the price there are a few companies out there that do provide graduate school admissions counseling. The going rate for most of these services are around $200-250 an hour. Just do a search on google, with something such as "graduate school admission consulting" and you will find a few companies that meet certain needs. I know I saw some charge by how many schools you apply to which can be even more expensive, but they really do almost everything for you for each school. I would advise if you do decide to do this, choose one that specializes in graduate consulting and not just college consulting.

No matter what though you still do have to do some work yourself.

[Sigaba]

I think the disadvantage of hiring a consultant for the application process is that it adds a "layer" between you and what you can learn from going through the process first hand.

As an example, when it came to developing the list of schools I wanted to attend, I learned a lot about other departments and established professors. The specific knowledge proved useful when I was doing coursework because I had a wider understanding of who were the significant players in the field--even if they seemed obscure at first glance. Also, the skill of doing this kind of research is useful to this day.

Moreover, I'm very ambivalent about the privatization of this kind of knowledge. Yes, one has the right to spend one's money as one likes. But what are the long term consequences for one's own field--and the Ivory Tower in general-- if personal wealth becomes an even bigger factor in the admissions process than it already is?

My $0.02.

[bosun120]

Thanks for the replies and advice, I agree with your DIY assessments to a certain extent. It's only just that many of these schools (and departments) have varying different requirements, including some that are conditionally based, it would be helpful to get a baseline assessment based on my credentials (altho maybe not at $250/hr). I guess this kind of thing is more commonly accepted for foreign applicants, altho I still haven't heard much of the effectiveness of them yet.

[Eigen]

It's not that hard to read the requirements of the universities you're interested in and make an assessment based on your credentials. If you really need advice, go to faculty currently in your department in your area of interest, or current graduate students at your school. They should know plenty when it comes to helping you choose.

If you go to conferences, many of them will have a "grad school Q&A session", that gives you a chance to ask faculty/current graduate students whatever questions you want about admission.

Other than that, I completely agree with Sigaba, and would even take it a step further to say that if you really need a counselor for graduate school admissions, you probably need to take some time to learn a bit more about the process before applying anyway.

[emmm]

If applying to grad school is too hard, you shouldn't do it (just my opinion, but it doesn't get any easier once you're in ... ).

[Sigaba]

If applying to grad school is too hard, you shouldn't do it (just my opinion, but it doesn't get any easier once you're in ... ).

With respect, I don't think this is quite what the OP is saying. By my reading, the issue is how does one figure out how to match apples to oranges when sorting through all the information.

If we're going to hammer bosun120 for wanting to pay someone to answer the questions "What are my chances? Where should I apply?" then what is to be said of the many who come to this BB and try to get those answers for free?

Edited October 20, 2011 by Sigaba

[bosun120]

The only reason I asked is because I heard of similar services (afaik) for foreign applicants, and was wondering if there existed such an option for domestic applicants. It never hurts to get a professional opinion.

[emmm]

With respect, I don't think this is quite what the OP is saying. By my reading, the issue is how does one figure out how to match apples to oranges when sorting through all the information.

If we're going to hammer bosun120 for wanting to pay someone to answer the questions "What are my chances? Where should I apply?" then what is to be said of the many who come to this BB and try to get those answers for free?

The difference is that people who come to this site are doing the work themselves. They are researching and collecting information that they must sift through. They are not going to professional packagers to get everything done for them. At least, that's my understanding of what these agents do (and how they can charge $200+ /hour for their services). I could certainly be wrong :-) I never consulted with one, so I could be off base on what they offer and do.

Edited October 20, 2011 by emmm

[kaykaykay]

I must say I heard that some universities have suspicions about applicants from certain countries.

[ktel]

The difference is that people who come to this site are doing the work themselves. They are researching and collecting information that they must sift through. They are not going to professional packagers to get everything done for them. At least, that's my understanding of what these agents do (and how they can charge $200+ /hour for their services). I could certainly be wrong :-) I never consulted with one, so I could be off base on what they offer and do.

A lot of the people who ask "What are my chances" questions seem like they really haven't done that much research. They slap a miniscule amount of information about themselves and maybe a list of schools down and expect us to be experts.

[Eigen]

A lot of the people who ask "What are my chances" questions seem like they really haven't done that much research. They slap a miniscule amount of information about themselves and maybe a list of schools down and expect us to be experts.

And most of them don't get replies because of it.