What Does an International Education Consultant Do?
An international education consultant helps a family find, and secure a place at, the best-fit school for their child, whether that’s in a new country, a new city or closer to home. They know the schools and admissions systems in a destination, build a shortlist around the child rather than around rankings, and guide the family through applications, visits and decisions. A good one is independent: no school pays them for sending families their way. By Erin Brady, Director of Private Client Services at Bennett International.
Families usually bring one in at a moment of change. A job takes them abroad or across the country, a child needs a different kind of support, or they meet an admissions system they’ve never seen, like New York’s independent school calendar or the UK’s state school application rounds. Employers bring consultants in for the same reasons, as part of the support they give an employee relocating with children.
What the work involves
- Listening first. The child’s strengths, how they learn, what has worked at school and what hasn’t, and any support they rely on. Then the family’s priorities, timeline, budget, where they might move next, and whether siblings need places too.
- Explaining the landscape. Public, private, international and boarding options. Curricula such as the IB, British (IGCSE and A Levels) and American (AP), and how each travels if the family moves again. Age cut-offs and year groups, which differ between countries.
- A shortlist built for one child, with a clear reason for each school and an honest view of where places are scarce.
- Applications and visits: deadlines, forms, entrance testing, interviews and visits, in person or virtual, plus the reports, records and any evaluations schools ask for.
- Offers and decisions: comparing offers, handling waitlists and keeping good alternatives open until the family is sure.
- Settling in, with a check-in after the first weeks, when small adjustments are easiest to make.
How an education consultant differs from others who help with a move
A relocation consultant or destination services provider looks after the practical side of a move: housing, area orientation, registrations and settling in. Schools are one item among many, and that help often stops at a list of schools near the new home. An education consultant goes deeper on the schooling itself: fit, admissions and support needs. The two roles work well side by side, and many corporate relocations include both.
A school’s admissions office represents one school and decides whether a child fits it. An education consultant looks across every option on the family’s behalf. A tutor prepares a child for particular subjects or tests; an education consultant advises on which schools, and so which tests, matter. A college counselor focuses on university applications, and some consultancies, Bennett included, offer both.
When to bring one in
As early as you can, and ideally before you choose where to live. In many cities the school decides the neighborhood rather than the other way around, and popular schools fill places months ahead. Mid-year moves are common too. Places are fewer then, so the search is more targeted, and an early conversation helps.
How to choose an education consultant
A few questions are worth asking before you choose:
- Are you paid by any school, for referrals or anything else?
- Do you know this destination first-hand, and when did you last visit its schools?
- Have you worked with children like mine? This matters most for learning support, gifted learners, language support and boarding.
- Who will I actually work with, and what’s their background?
- What happens if our plans or dates change?
- Do you belong to a professional body? In the US there’s no government license for independent education consultants, so membership of an association with an ethics code, such as IECA, is one useful signal.
One answer should give you pause: a promise of a place at a particular school. Admissions decisions rest with schools, and no consultant can guarantee them.
How Bennett works
Bennett International has guided families through school moves since 1991. Our consultants have supported families in 95 countries and territories and in 42 US states, from preschool through university, including families whose children have special education needs. We’re independent and take no payment from any school. We work with families directly, and with employers and relocation management companies that include education support in their relocation programs.
Read more about how we support families and employers and relocation teams, our special education needs support and our college consulting. Moving between school systems? Our guide to UK years and US grades shows how they line up.
Get in touch with a consultant who knows the schools where you’re headed, for an hour of clarity →
Erin Brady is Director of Private Client Services and a Global Team Lead at Bennett International, overseeing consultants who work with families relocating to Greater New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Phoenix and Toronto. She began consulting with Bennett in 2006, focusing on US boarding school and New York City placements from Pre-K through grade 12. Before her career in education consulting, Erin worked in Lower, Middle and Upper School admissions, taught middle school English, coached varsity cross country and track, and served as an academic advisor at day and boarding schools in the US and the UK. She has lived in England and Ireland and holds a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Penn State University.
Bennett International Education Consultancy works directly with hundreds of families each year across the globe. We support families by helping them make informed decisions about the best-fit schools for their children; with our guidance, they secure placement in preschools, private day schools, public/state schools, boarding schools, colleges and universities, including schools with particular programs, such as special needs support.
