Quad Education is a traditional college consulting firm with 15 years of experience. The company has a familiar business model and does not do anything new in terms of approach or services, but rather relies on the credibility of its consultants. In this comprehensive Quad Education review, we’ll review their services, prices, and consultant quality.
About Quad Education
Consultant Profiles
Quad Education has a big team of admissions consultants, with 38 listed on their website. They all come from different top schools, like Rice and Harvard, and have expertise in a variety of fields, from engineering to business. They also all know how to tell a good story and navigate the admissions process.
Quad says they have even more consultants besides the 38 listed, so they must have a lot of expertise overall. But we found that the quality of the consultants varies. Some have really impressive credentials, but others seem less experienced, especially since they highlight getting accepted to grad schools instead of more competitive undergrad programs.
About Quad Education
Approach
Quad Education takes a traditional and standard approach to college consulting. They start by getting to know each student’s unique story. They offer a free 30-minute virtual consultation to learn about a student’s background, experiences, and goals. This info helps them tailor their services to give the student the best chance of getting into their dream schools. They’ll also walk you through their consulting packages and pricing.
After the consultation, if you decide to work with Quad, you’ll sign up, fill out some intake forms, and make a payment. Then, they’ll match you with an admissions consultant. This consultant will be your point person and will provide you with personalized, one-on-one support throughout the application process.
Services & Pricing
Quad Education Pricing
Quad Education offers college admissions support for undergraduate and graduate school, as well as test prep services. In this section, we’ll focus on their undergraduate college admissions support.
College Candidacy Development (Non-Seniors)
Their flagship program for non-seniors is the College Candidacy Development.
This program involves a comprehensive approach to preparing for college applications, starting now. It includes strategic high school course selection, SAT/ACT planning, internship experience planning, guidance on extracurricular activities, and identification of leadership opportunities. It also focuses on exploring various majors and colleges, creating a Progress Tracker, and scheduling sessions based on your availability.
The cost of the College Candidacy Development program varies. The program is structured into different tiers, with each tier offering a Standard and a Premium Package.
The Standard Package in any tier involves working with an admissions counselor, while the Premium Package provides access to a more senior and experienced admissions counselor.
| Silver Tier | Gold Tier | Platinum Tier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Price Work one-on-one with an Admissions Counselor | $7,000/year | $10,000/year | $12,000/year |
| Premium Price Work one-on-one with a Senior Admissions Counselor | $8,500/year | $11,500/year | $13,500/year |
| Hours Included Online and offline support over 12 months | 25 hours | 36 hours | 48 hours |
College Application Support (Seniors)
Their flagship program for 12th graders is the College Application Support.
This program offers complete support on all application documents and interview preps. You’ll also get unlimited edits and revisions for your essays throughout the process.
Similar to the college Candidacy Development program, College Application Support has different tiers and two different packages within each tier.
The Standard Package in any tier involves working with an admissions counselor, while the Premium Package provides access to a more senior and experienced admissions counselor.
| Silver Tier | Gold Tier | Platinum Tier | Elite Tier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Price Work With an Admissions Counselor | $11,000 | $15,000 | $20,000 | $24,000 |
| Premium Price Work With a Senior Admissions Counselor | $15,000 | $20,000 | $25,000 | $28,000 |
| Applications | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| Interview Prep | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scholarship Applications | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Final Review By 3 Counselors | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Appeal Letter Support | No | No | Yes | Yes |
The main differences between the tiers are:
- The number of college applications supported
- The extent of scholarship application and appeal letter support
- The degree of additional application review provided
Score: 8/10
Quality of Experts
Finding a truly qualified consultant is half the battle. Some consultants have not gone to top-tier schools themselves, and repeat advice they hear from others. Also, some firms have a qualified “face” of the company, but then bait and switch you with a less experienced consultant after you’ve paid. That’s why we always start each review by doing full due diligence on the company’s consultants.
Quad Education has a large team of consultants (38+), which suggests that they have a wide range of expertise and experience to offer students. Some of the consultants have impressive credentials, but others don’t seem to have as much experience.
Families can pay for a premium package to get a more senior consultant. This is nice, but it makes you wonder about the quality of the consultants in the standard package. To us, this is a potential red flag that not all of the consultants may be up to par.
One of the most important parts of the application is the essays. Quad Education promises unlimited essay revisions, but it’s not clear who is actually reading, revising, and editing the essays. This could affect the quality and consistency of the feedback you receive.
Score: 8/10
Score: 7/10
Expected Outcome
The biggest risk when applying to college is following bad advice. You only have one shot, so you need to make it count, and choosing the right admissions service can make a big difference. We use a 50-point evaluation system to determine the likelihood a service will help a student get into their desired college.
Quad Education boasts that their admissions consultants have attended the most competitive schools and that they have admissions experts with substantial admissions committee experience on the roster. This increases confidence in the aggregate competency of the consulting company.
But when it comes to the actual delivery of their services, doubts start to creep in. Each student is assigned one consultant for personalized guidance throughout the process. But is this consultant the same person who got into a top university or has extensive admissions committee experience? Or could it be a recent graduate student with limited experience? While some consultant profiles offer glimpses into their approach, the matching process remains a mystery. If it’s based on availability, you might end up with a relatively new and inexperienced consultant.
The company also charges different prices for junior and senior consultants. By having a premium tier, it’s almost like saying the lower tier is not as qualified. To make it trickier, on their site, they don’t clearly distinguish between junior and senior consultants. That makes it even harder to predict who you’ll get matched with.
So, in essence, if you’re lucky enough to be paired with a top-tier consultant through the premium package, you’re in good hands. But if not, you might face suboptimal results.
Score: 7/10
Score: 7/10
Value to Price
College is already expensive. College consultants shouldn’t be more expensive than they need to be. We want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, and that your investment is translating into real improvements in your outcomes.
College admissions consulting prices and offerings vary, but we’ve standardized pricing to the most common needs:
- 12th graders who need help with essays for 5 schools: $11,000 minimum (Silver Tier. They do not offer anything less than 5 schools.)
- Non-12 graders who want advice on the college admissions process: $280 per hour (must commit to their Candidacy Development program, minimum purchase in Silver Tier, $7,000/year). *Note: This number is calculated by dividing the minimum financial commitment for non-12 graders by the expected number of hours of one-on-one consulting.
Choosing the silver tier with a standard admissions consultant is a cost-effective option that’s in line with industry standards. But if you’re looking for more personalized guidance from a top-notch consultant at Quad Education (premium tier), be prepared to pay a premium – around 30-40% more than the average cost.
Score: 7/10
Score: 7/10
User Experience
College applications are already stressful enough. So any admissions service should be thoughtfully designed and easy to use. We consider factors such as customer support responsiveness, accountability, time commitment, and scheduling constraints.
Quad Education has a smooth sales and onboarding process, making it easy to schedule a 30-minute introductory call. However, they don’t have a direct support email address, so you can contact them through a contact form, or through their 1-800 number.
This system can be hit or miss. Some families have reported that no one picked up the phone after multiple attempts, suggesting that post-onboarding support may be inconsistent. One parent reported waiting four weeks to get help with a scheduling issue. It’s reasonable to say the level and quality of customer support may vary depending on the consultant assigned to you.
Families should also be aware that the College Candidacy Development program is on a per year basis. So you have to use the allotted consulting hours within a 12 month period. This should be manageable, as long as students plan ahead.
Score: 7/10
Score: 8/10
X-Factor
College admissions is a complex process, with many moving parts. And with the stakes so high, mediocre consultants simply won’t cut it. You really want to find the “best,” but it can be hard to differentiate one firm from another. In this section, we take a look at what makes this service stand out, for better or worse.
One of the things that made Quad Education stand out from other companies is their “final review by 3 counselors” feature, offered at the higher tier of their flagship program for seniors. Most admissions companies don’t have this extra layer of review. We think having 3 consultants look over your application would help catch any potential issues that one consultant might miss.
As a college consulting service can be a significant investment, some companies might offer a refund policy. This provides peace of mind knowing that if things don’t work out, you have a way out. Unfortunately, Quad Education doesn’t offer any partial or full refunds for cancellations, dissatisfaction, or non-use of their service. This could be a concern for potential clients who value flexibility and assurance.
Score: 8/10
Overall Score: 7.4/10