College Bound Consulting

Local Professional Earns Prestigious Credential

Laila Alamuddin of College Bound Consulting in Hinsdale, Illinois is part of a growing group of educational consultants and school counselors in the nation to earn the designation of Certified Educational Planner (CEP).

“We are proud to have Laila receive this certification,” said Judy Bass, Chair of the American Institute of Certified Educational Planners (AICEP). “We believe this certification sets the standard for professional college counselors not only in knowledge and experience, but in ongoing professional development. There is no higher mark of distinction in the profession,” she noted. 

One year later, AP credit policy has mixed effect

Loretta Summers, a consultant at Chicago-based College Bound Consulting, said that cases like Fowler’s have become more common at competitive universities. She said that while most of her clients take the most rigorous course load possible, many students choose to opt out of the AP exam to place into entry level courses during their freshman year.

“These classes are obviously harder in college than they are in high schools, so students will opt out or not report their scores a lot of the time,” Summers said.

U.S. News rankings provide some insight

Molly Hughes, a consultant at the Chicago area-based College Bound Consulting company, said Zweifach’s experience is similar to that of many of her clients. Hughes urges parents and students to visit the colleges to which they are applying whenever possible, as clients who do not possess as much knowledge as the typical college consultant are more susceptible to falling victim to only looking at the published rankings when considering a college.

“It’s usually people who are just starting the college process who pay attention to these sorts of lists,” she said. “Once people know what they want, they start looking at their own specific criteria.”

Hughes said that college rankings, though far from obsolete, have become less important with the increase of information about colleges in the public domain.