You’re Not Full. Now What?

Labor Day is around the corner, and the stores are already packed with Halloween décor. Where I am, the sun has begun setting before 8:00 p.m.

And so it can start to feel like Class of 2027 clients must all be long-signed to other educational consultants, essay coaches, test-prep tutors, and everyone else in the college-admissions ecosystem.

It is especially tough when you look around social media and it seems like every other IEC is announcing that they are “full” for this year.

First, here’s a secret:

What you see publicly is not necessarily what is happening across the profession. I know many more IECs who are not turning away clients.

The IECs who reach their maximum caseload are the ones most likely to announce it—and often to ask where they can refer new inquiries. The IECs who still have room are understandably less likely to announce that fact.

And one more thing: based on what I’m hearing, many IECs were a little slower to reach their maximum this year.

Some years are just like that.

The dilemma I’ve been hearing from IECs—and the questions sent to me last week—are about how to market existing openings without looking:

• desperate;

• lesser-than because you aren’t full; or

• somehow unworthy of a parent’s confidence.