Applying through a Student Recruitment Agent

Last week we looked at how you might go about choosing an Independent Education Counsellor. This week, we look at student recruitment agents. Sometimes it might not be obvious to you, as an applicant, who are independent education counsellors, and who are agents. Sometimes you might find the same company is offering both. But we need to be clear, the business models are quite different, and this matters.

How do student recruitment agents make money?

Student recruitment agencies are paid by the universities, and typically derive most of their income by charging a fee to the university if they ‘send’ a student to that university. This fee is called a commission, and will typically be around 10 to 15% of the tuition fee (sometimes just for the first year fee, sometimes for all years of study).

An agency may have agreements with just a few universities, or they may have an agreement with many universities. I am not aware of any agent having agreements with ALL universities, as some universities (notably Imperial, Oxford, Cambridge) simply don’t work with agents.

Agents will also make income through other means, such as charging universities to attend university fairs, or to have advertising on their websites.

Why does this matter to you?

Well, it means that a student recruitment agent is by definition not unbiased or objective, as they only get paid if they ‘send’ you to a university who they have an agreement with.

Disappointingly few agents are clear and upfront about this, and indeed some will also charge you a fee to make an application. I mentioned this in last week’s article, and I would argue that it’s not OK to charge both you and the university a fee. By charging you a fee they imply that they are working for you, when in reality they are working for someone else. This creates a conflict of interest, and trust me, most of the time it is you who will lose out.

However, do not write off agencies altogether. There are some compelling reasons for some students to use agencies, and when chosen wisely, they can provide you with free help and support with your application that you may well need and benefit from.

When you might use an agent

Perhaps you don’t have strong support in your school, you don’t know your way around UK universities, and there isn’t an independent counsellor in your area who is available, or affordable.

In this instance, you might find that a good agent can form a helpful cultural bridge between you and the UK universities. They can help you understand all the complex terminology and they can guide you through the application process. It is 100% in their interests for you to gain a place at university, so they will help you as much as they can with your application.

They may even have become a UCAS application centre themselves, which is very beneficial if your school isn’t one.

They can also provide you with support after you have secured your place; such as advising on visas and travel arrangements. They only get paid if you turn up at the university and stay, so they will work hard to get you all the way to your chosen university.

And of course, for you, their services are (or should be) free!

What should you consider when choosing an agent?

The main thing you need to be aware of is that they are not unbiased when it comes to your choice of university. If you are aware of this, then you can work with them. It's a bit like working with a travel agent; they don’t all work with all the hotels, but if you are happy with the hotels they do work with, then that’s OK!

There are, of course, some great agencies and some rogue agencies, so do your due diligence before choosing one.

Which universities do they have formal agreements with?

Lots of agents will tell you they’ve sent students to X, Y and Z. That doesn’t mean they work with them. Check with them which universities they have signed contracts with. If you don’t see one or two highly ranked universities on the list, and/or your preferred universities are not there, then walk away. An established and reputable agent should have agreements with at least 20 universities, from across the broad spectrum of choices.

If they don’t, then before you know it, they could be pushing you into choices that you don’t want to make.

Where have their students actually gone to study?

They will typically give the headline universities that will impress your parents, but you should dig deeper, and ask how many students went to each university last year. Essentially, don’t fall for the marketing; dig for the truth.

Who are their staff, and how are they trained?

What experience and training do their staff have? Do they get the opportunities to visit the UK and meet with universities? Do they have regular visits from the universities that they work with? Do they receive external training, such as UCAS or British Council training, and does the company have any external accreditation?

It is really important to know that there is a culture of training and personal development, otherwise the support you get will be out of date and could do more harm than good.

Are there any hidden costs to you?

Next, check if there are any extra charges or hidden costs that might pop up later in the process. If so, are they legitimate?

I mentioned earlier that agents should not charge you if they are being paid by universities. Some agents, however, will have a separate ‘package’ for students applying to Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial etc. In this instance, it may reasonable, since these universities don’t pay commissions to agents, and the work to support your application is substantial. Just do all the checks that I recommended with independent education counsellors.

If, however, they want to charge extra for things like visa support, or personal statement support, while sending you to a university where they get paid a commission, you should steer clear.

Check the small print

As with independent counsellors, check the small print in the contract before you sign. In particular look out for anything that gives the agent the right to use your work or your image, and anything that will prevent you communicating directly with the universities if and when you need to. Both of these are red flags!

Final thoughts

My final word on agencies is that while working in the International Office at Loughborough University I worked with lots of them. There were, as with all walks of life, some amazing and committed people, and some absolute rogues (who I dropped at the first opportunity). Most were somewhere in between.

In the intervening years, the government, and the British Council in particular, have attempted to improve and professionalise the agent sector, but it remains largely unregulated and practice still varies wildly. For many of you, an agent will be hugely helpful in your application, but please choose wisely by asking lots of questions about their services, and have your eyes wide open to their potential bias!

And as with independent counsellors, please don’t use an agent if you already have good support in your school. Remember that your school counsellor has nothing financial to gain from the choices you make, whereas an agent does. If for one reason or another you do choose to use an agent, but are still applying via your school, please tell the school, so they are fully aware of the additional input you are receiving.

What next?

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like: How to choose an Independent Education Counsellor