Freaked out about everything having to do with the college admissions and application process? Are you convinced it might just be too much that you want to stay under the covers until it all goes away?

Thing is, it won’t. So what are you going to do about it?

Some students are choosing a college consultant to do the work for them.  You have to pay college consultants a fee and they say that they promise to sort out your application process and financial aid. They say they can help you prep for SATs, choose your major and which schools you should apply to. They’ll even help you fill out your applications.

They also claim to have experts who analyze each family’s economic situations and help guide you based on your grades and interests.

But is this a scam to get your money?

We think you know yourself better than they know you. They can’t tell you what you want to study and who you want to be. You have to figure that out for yourself. And you have free resources all around you—your guidance counselors, family and friends that you can bounce ideas off of.

Not to mention you have all the tools here at CampusCompare that lets you search for colleges based on your own interests and grades. Plus there is a resource section that explains financial aid in basic terms and a financial aid calculator to help you figure out what you need.

We are not saying that you definitely shouldn’t use a college consultant. You have to figure out what’s right for you. But just don’t forget sometimes you can’t take short cuts. And you can’t just lie under the covers and hope your college search will disappear. Not even a college consultant can do that for you!