See if they always boast about their visa success rate.

The Abroad Education Consultants who boast about the number of student they served and their visa success rate will be in fact misguiding you to a unprofessional territory. If you are a genuine student with strong will to succeed in your education, visa may not be a big barrier.

If your main concern become getting a visa, that will be reflected in your documentation. Immigration authority carefully consider if your focus was in getting visa or in your study.  So, never get tempted by what they say about the number of students they served or their visa success rate. That does not provides a testimony for being a best educational consultant.

Closely look at agents’ knowledge, skill and experience in degree categories and program of study.

Ask a consultant if they properly know different aspects of degree/diploma they are suggesting for you. Find out if they know relevant award hierarchies, permissible routes for transition, qualification framework and minimum requirement for awards, award routes by research, coursework and placement, cross-jurisdiction accreditation and equivalency in all major faculties and programs of study?

Carefully assess how they share you with insights and strategies for success.

Find out how a consultant provide information and coaching to their students clients about country specific strategies to succeed in your ‘education aboard’ journey. Carefully look at if they provide insights for student success something that the university/college’s induction does not cover.

Do they have lived personal experience of the country in question?

Personal experience may not be prerequisite but helps a lot. Try to find out if the consultant had studied, lived and worked in the country or in the region you are considering to go. Find out if they have personally experienced real life issues and challenges in study and work in those countries/region or they are simply virtually box-ticking and are armchair pundits.

Examine if the consultant are well-informed with changing employment market and how do they utilize that knowldge during consultation.

Ask a consultant how do they utilize data and labour market research to advise student clients and recommend courses? What are the source of those information and how they use those info in consultation process?