Considering how exponentially complex the college admissions process has become in the last decade, the decision to work with an independent college counselor makes sense. The bigger question is, “Which one?” Amy and Mike invited educational consultant Julie Kim to explore considerations on how to choose a college counselor. What are five things you will learn in this episode? 1. How do you know if you need a college counselor? 2. What are some of the most important traits to look for in an IEC? 3. What can a small or solo practice provide that big box solutions cannot? (accountability and consistency) 4.  Is specialization desirable or even necessary in an IEC? 5. What do students and families need to bring to make college counseling successful? MEET OUR GUEST Immigrating from Korea in her youth, Julie Kim is a graduate of USC and Harvard (Ed.M). She founded Passion Prep after years of working in larger consulting firms, hoping to establish a new way of approaching college admissions. Julie offers a unique perspective as the first in her family to navigate the American college admissions process, and works with students of similar backgrounds to develop their own stand-out factor among thousands of other Ivy League applicants. Julie is the host of the "Demystifying College Admissions" podcast and the "Conquer College Admissions" YouTube channel. Julie previously appeared on this podcast in episode #196 to discuss Creating a Passion Project and in episode #262 in an IEC PROFILE. Find Julie at passionprep.com. LINKS IEC Profile Playlist RELATED EPISODES OVERWORKED SCHOOL COUNSELORS HOW SCHOOL AND PRIVATE COLLEGE COUNSELORS CAN WORK TOGETHER ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.