High School students planning to attend college may need educational counseling to help them (and their parents) review schools, majors, financial aid, and other aspects of college life. The counselor might be a family friend with experience, a high school Guidance Counselor or the parents may pay for professional counseling to help navigate the college maze.

Working professionals may also need educational counseling to help them select the best college, focused on goals, background and skills. If you company has a Corporate Tuition Assistance Policy, educational counseling with employees desiring to return to school can save time off degree plans and save the company tuition dollars.

Here are 7 reasons why using an Educational Counselor can help employees:

1) Employees needing to finish an undergraduate degree may not know if their former credits will transfer or how to make this happen. One college may transfer most of the credits and another college may not.
2) Employees seeking graduate degrees may have an undergraduate degree from outside the US and be unfamiliar with the US college system. Their degree may not be US equivalent and the counselor can help find classes to “bridge” to a graduate school.
3) Employees may be drawn to schools that advertise and not look at other options for their degrees. The “sponsored ads” colleges advertise all over the web but may not be the best choice.
4) Employees may be unsure about the best major and how that major aligns with career goals. Sometimes the major needed is not the most popular degree, but could be a combination or “blended” degree.
5) Employees may wish to attend schools that tout “college credit for life and work experience” without weighing the pros and cons of the college.
6) Employees seeking graduate degrees may be unaware of ways to save time and money on prerequisites and foundation courses.
7) Employees may need to dialogue about online learning versus on-campus, or just discuss their decision process and get approval from an expert.

Companies spend millions of dollars each year on Corporate Tuition Programs. Using an educational counselor can save employees time off a degree plan, help to select the best colleges and save tuition dollars.

Dr. Sandy Womack is Director of EduPlan, an educational consulting company specializing in Tuition Assistance Administration and Managed Education.

[http://www.eduplan.org]