1. How We Rank Educational Consulting Services
Our rankings are based on a weighted scoring system that evaluates educational consultants across multiple performance indicators. Each service is assessed in three key areas:
- Online Presence — Measures the visibility and reach of a company across digital platforms, including website strength, social media engagement, and search engine presence.
- Review Score — Aggregates customer feedback from multiple review platforms to gauge overall client satisfaction.
- Team Size & Quality — Evaluates the size, credentials, and expertise of a company's consulting team to determine its ability to provide high-quality services.
Each company receives a score in these three categories, which are then weighted and combined to generate a Total Score. The highest-rated firms demonstrate strong digital presence, high customer satisfaction, and a well-qualified team.
2. Data Sources Used
We gather data from multiple independent and publicly available sources to ensure accuracy and objectivity in our rankings. These sources include:
- Company websites — To assess online presence, service offerings, and team credentials.
- Online reviews — Collected from the four most commonly used 3rd party platforms: Google Reviews, TrustPilot, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau.
- Industry reports and directories — Used to verify team size, qualifications, and overall industry standing.
By using diverse data sources, we minimize biases and ensure a more comprehensive evaluation of each company.
3. Key Ranking Factors
To maintain fairness and consistency, our ranking system considers the following critical factors:
- Reputation & Customer Feedback — Companies with consistently positive reviews and testimonials receive higher scores. If a firm has 100+ reviews across the four major platforms we monitor (Google, Yelp, BBB, TrustPilot), it receives 5 stars. 25+ Reviews equals 4 stars, and so on. This is the firm's score for Number of Reviews, which is then averaged against its actual average 1-5 Star rating from the four platforms for a total review score.
- Expertise & Team Credentials — Companies with experienced consultants, strong educational backgrounds, and proven track records receive higher marks. We believe the best consultants have real-world experience in the admissions offices of prestigious schools, so we score points based on the number of former K-12 admissions officers a team has and the cumulative number of years they worked in admissions offices.
- Digital Presence & Accessibility — A strong online presence indicates credibility, visibility, and accessibility to prospective clients. To help us identify firms, and because this is how most prospective clients would research their options, we start with a Google search for several (4) terms. These terms have been identified using keyword research and are the most frequently used relevant searches. Firms are scored based on how well they rank across the four search terms.
4. Commitment to Transparency & Objectivity
We prioritize transparency in our ranking methodology. To ensure fairness:
- We do not accept payments from companies to influence rankings.
- Our scoring process is standardized and based solely on publicly available data.
- Rankings are reviewed and updated periodically to reflect changes in service quality, customer feedback, and market trends.
We believe that objective, data-driven rankings empower parents and students with the knowledge needed to make well-informed decisions about educational consulting services.