I was talking with an admissions officer from a highly selective college at a conference last week who’s thinking about leaving her job and becoming a private college counselor. But she admitted,
“I’m worried that I might be a little bit of a snob. I don’t think I want to work with 'B' and 'C' students.”
My reply: “So don’t.”
I told her that there are plenty of private counselors out there who work with anybody who calls them. There’s no way to stand out by becoming just another one of them. Why not work with the fringes?
She could specialize in the type of student she’s excited to work with and then build the service of their dreams. If she became known as the city’s best college counselor for really high achieving kids who want to go to the most selective colleges, she’d differentiate herself. People would talk about her. And she’d be a lot happier.
The opportunity to stand out is by servicing the fringes and doing it better than anyone else.