If you are applying for a college and need some advice about curriculum choices and extracurricular activities, you may find it necessary to talk to a college counselor. Such a counselor will guide you through choosing where to apply, composing the application letter and picking the college where you will spend your time and money. Once you decide not to shoulder the burden alone, the next step is the most important one; the choice of the counselor you are going to hire. Before contracting any college counselor Greenwich residents will need to consider the below discussed factors for the best choices.
The best starting point is to ask for recommendations. If you know some older students who used the services of counselors, you can always ask them if they are in a position to give recommendations. Apart from older students, you can also ask professionals in college related services like the tutors. It is more less the same as finding a good lawyer; you ask the people you know and those who have expertise in that area.
Once you come up with a list of potential counselors either through referrals or online search, the next step is thin the list so that you are left with the best one. Consider things like experience in the field. You should choose someone with at least five years of active practice as college therapist. This is not the time to volunteer yourself as guinea pig for a novice.
Consultation fee is another very important factor. Of course this will vary from one therapist to the other. Because of this, comparison shopping is highly recommended. However, this does not mean that you settle on the cheapest provider you can come across. If anything, you should stay away from counselors whose quotes are suspiciously low.
License status of the therapist is another important factor. You want to be sure that the therapist you are considering is in business legally. The only way you can ascertain this by seeing his/her valid license of operation. You should avoid dealing with counselors who are not licensed or those whose licenses have expired.
It would be very good if you can find a counselor with university degree. There are very many people out there who claim to be counselors simply because they have taken a weekend seminar on counseling. However, without relevant university degree, such people usually lack the educational training to provide safe counseling.
Before settling on a particular counselor, you should also dig deep if there are any complaints raised against them in the recent past. If so, you should find out if they were satisfactorily resolved. It is not a good idea to hire a therapist with pending issues.
Once you know you are going to need a college therapist, you should initiate the search process immediately. You should not wait until the application deadline reaches to start running up and down in search of counselors. This will help you avoid desperate situation which may force you to settle on the first therapist who come your way without considering his/her credentials.
The best starting point is to ask for recommendations. If you know some older students who used the services of counselors, you can always ask them if they are in a position to give recommendations. Apart from older students, you can also ask professionals in college related services like the tutors. It is more less the same as finding a good lawyer; you ask the people you know and those who have expertise in that area.
Once you come up with a list of potential counselors either through referrals or online search, the next step is thin the list so that you are left with the best one. Consider things like experience in the field. You should choose someone with at least five years of active practice as college therapist. This is not the time to volunteer yourself as guinea pig for a novice.
Consultation fee is another very important factor. Of course this will vary from one therapist to the other. Because of this, comparison shopping is highly recommended. However, this does not mean that you settle on the cheapest provider you can come across. If anything, you should stay away from counselors whose quotes are suspiciously low.
License status of the therapist is another important factor. You want to be sure that the therapist you are considering is in business legally. The only way you can ascertain this by seeing his/her valid license of operation. You should avoid dealing with counselors who are not licensed or those whose licenses have expired.
It would be very good if you can find a counselor with university degree. There are very many people out there who claim to be counselors simply because they have taken a weekend seminar on counseling. However, without relevant university degree, such people usually lack the educational training to provide safe counseling.
Before settling on a particular counselor, you should also dig deep if there are any complaints raised against them in the recent past. If so, you should find out if they were satisfactorily resolved. It is not a good idea to hire a therapist with pending issues.
Once you know you are going to need a college therapist, you should initiate the search process immediately. You should not wait until the application deadline reaches to start running up and down in search of counselors. This will help you avoid desperate situation which may force you to settle on the first therapist who come your way without considering his/her credentials.
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