College Advising Services LLC Review
Lets say that our experience with College Advising Services LLC. was in short very disappointing.
My interaction with Ms. Catanzaro started with an overwhelming homework lasting 3 full weekends comprised of compiling my daughter’s report cards (starting in middle school), writing about what she’s like, her out-of-school accomplishments, volunteering, extra curricula activities, her life, character, etc. I was happy to provide all of the info, she is the only child and this was a task promising to lead to her better future. Or so I thought.
We’ve also provided our “wish list” of higher education institutions we were seeking to Ms. Catanzaro to set clear guidance ahead of time. These perimeters were determined on the school’s location, tuition, entry exam/s, testing, and of course - the field of study my daughter wanted to focus on.
After a review of all provided information, Ms. Catanzaro presented a list of 12 schools, our assumption was that these will be compatible with our needs. Sadly, none of them fit our requirements, some of them didn’t even offer the subject my daughter wanted to study.
So I started my own research, found a school and successfully enrolled my child. Given the advertised 25years of experience the company markets itself with, I’ve asked Ms. Catanzaro about any info or experience she may have a/o could find about this institution. Unfortunately, this resulted into my next point I’d like to make – Ms. Catanzaro does not seem culturally savvy.
Since she’s had no existing info about the school on record, and to my surprise, Ms. Catanzaro started to call the school (in Europe) requesting information from Admission Office reps as well as from the Dean. There would probably be nothing wrong about that approach within the US system, however – European schools need to submit mandatory annual reports to the local government to seek accreditation. This report lists in detail items such as placement of graduates, graduation rates, number of students, etc. – all info Ms. Catanzaro was seeking from the staff to their disbelief since it is a public record, available on line to anyone who cares. This approach was rather alarming to me, worrying that my daughter’s reputation would be destroyed even before she starts her studies. It took few days to stop these unproductive attempts.
Although this cultural insensitivity may not necessarily apply to folks who plan on studying in the US, any international clientele could be unpleasantly surprised. The entire world is not build from the same lego parts as the US & your college advisor should be the first one to know. The key point is that the Ms. Catanzaro’s demographic & cultural unawareness could easily lead to missing some key milestone’s in your child’s accomplishments in the process where these should be in contrary highlighted to make your child stand up.
Our college admission has been successful at the end, but with no help from College Advising LLC. So my suggestion to all reading this review is to save your money and use it towards your child’s tuition. Do the research, read, utilize the college advisor at high school, talk to parents with older kids, if possible – visit the pre-selected favorite schools, etc. Do not waste your money on work you can do yourself.
And by the way, the agent listed with this LLC has a DUI record – not sure that you want to entrust the future of your child to this affiliation.