Here are some good questions to ask any potential independent counselor:

• Do you have counseling experience, credentials, or a master’s degree in counseling or a counseling related discipline?
• Do you have experience in a high school counseling office or as a college admission officer?
• Do you visit college campuses regularly—locally, regionally and/or nationally?
• Have you attended professionally directed conferences, college counseling institutes or workshops?
• What national and/or regional professional organizations do you belong to as a college counselor?
• Do you follow a specific set of professional ethics/standards of practices as a college counselor?
• Do you offer services free of charge or at a reduced rate depending on a family’s ability to pay?

This information was adapted from the NACAC publication “What Parents and Students Should Know About…Independent Counselors, Educational Consultants, and Commercial Counseling Centers.” Go to http://www.nacanet.org for more information.