Hiring an education consultant is one of the best decisions you could have taken. Education consultants know the industry inside-out and can help you with your visa application and other documents, which will make the entire process smoother for you.
Generally, there are number of education consultants in a particular region, and you obviously tend to go with the renowned one. However, there are things you should know about your education consultant and the points that you should consider before finalizing one.
Knowing the below-mentioned things can help you take a better decision!
Is Your Consultant Registered?
The first and foremost thing you should know is whether your education consultant is registered or not. A registered education consultant is authorized by the government to conduct the application process and is recognized by the government.
You can look out for their registration certificates to confirm this. In case you are trying for a study visa to Australia, you must look for a registered MARA agent.
Getting your application processed through a non-registered agent may put you at risk of visa refusal and even losing your money. Beware of non-registered and fraudulent agents/consultants.
Does Your Consultant Deal in the Services You are Looking for?
Education consultants generally specialize in visa applications for certain countries and not every consultant is an expert in every country.
Check if your consultant specializes in visa application for the country you are planning to study in. If not, no point going ahead with them. If yes, you got other things to consider.
There have been many cases where students seeking to go to Canada or U.S.A. to study end up choosing education consultant that specializes in Australia. You would not get the best service in such a case, mind it!
What’s Your Consultant’s Visa Success Rate?
Visa success rate matters; after all this is what you are paying for! Do not refrain yourself from researching the success rate of your education consultant. No consultant has 100% visa success rate, but it should be above 90%.
If your education consultant has ample successful visa applications to show off, you can go with it. Do not forget to check their reviews on different social media platforms like Google and Facebook. The testimonials prove to be of great help!
Do exhaustive research and choose the one that suits you.
Is Your Consultant Charging Reasonable?
Your research skills play an important role here too! Going through 5-6 consultants will be more than enough to give you an idea on how much would the average expense. It would also give you a wider idea on different options you may have.
You’ll need to see that your consultant is not charging you exorbitantly high. A variation of 10% here and there is reasonable, but nothing higher than this should be justifiable.
Upfront Cost and Refund Policies
Well, this point is in continuation with the last one. As are you are going to deal with an education consultant, most of them do not charge any fee from you. Yes, you read that right. Most of the consultants will process your visa application for free if you choose to enrol with the provider of their choice. The consultants get handsome commission from the providers (colleges/universities), which is way more than you’d pay as a fee to them (consultant).
Also, another important point to know is the refund policy. In case your education consultant charges you some amount, you must clarify the refund policy with them, in case your visa application turns out to be unsuccessful. The more the case is complicated, the higher are the chances of visa refusal. In any case, your consultant will be able to tell you the complexity of your case.
Keeping the above points in mind will help you choose the best possible education consultant for you and also increase the chances of your visa success!
