FREE products or services always attracts us, but when it comes to education, FREE services can cost you more than you can even imagine. Here is how;
If you are planning to study abroad & searched for a consultants online, you must have come across offers for FREE services by University Agents pretending to be an Overseas Education Consultants, but they are NOT actually consultants. Why would somebody give you FREE service, Ever imagined? Because they are Agents appointment by Universities to promote their institutions.
On the other hand a genuine consultant is somebody who charges you his professional fee & advice you the study options as per your profile based on their counseling experience and NOT as per the targets given by the Universities.
So, should you always opt for a Consultant & not an Agent? Well, NOT always!
While identifying & verifying an University Agent is easy, it is difficult to verify a genuine consultant. Not all consultants are genuine, even University Agents and bogus Consultants can charge a professional fee sometimes. So how to identify & verify a genuine consultant?
References from a friend or family who have used the services of a consultant can be a good start. If you do not know anyone who have used a consultant’s service then also do not worry. Start your research online. Go on Google & search for consultants in your City. Do NOT trust Google reviews of these consultants as most of them are just fake reviews by the owners themselves from different accounts.
Now go to their Facebook Page & see since when this company is active on Facebook by going to the section called “Page Transparency” on the page. If the company is active on Facebook since less than FIVE years only, then it is NOT worth putting any efforts researching about such companies as they are still considered novice in consulting industry. Once you are satisfied that company is established since more than FIVE years in the market then there are good chances that they can be trusted.
Now call them or visit them & talk to them about their services & charges. Discuss your profile with them & do not tell them in which country you want to study, ask for their suggestions as per your profile & requirements. If they focus on ONE or TWO countries & offer you FREE services then most likely they are representing Universities mainly in these countries only and they are AGENTS not CONSULTANTS.
If they give you general information about all/few countries & tell you that you need to pay processing fee in the range of 20k+ then most likely they can guide you in a better way & Unbiased. Beware, charging a processing fee is just ONE of the indicator that they are Independent Consultants & not University Agents.
By now you might get some idea about the credibility of consultants you have talked to. Now the next step is to ask for references of past students who have used these services & are successfully studying in your dream destination(s).
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