If you appeared in this year's gaokao, or the national college entrance exam, you must have seen advertisements claiming that consultants can help you make the right decision on your college application.
But did it drive you crazy that they were charging nearly 100,000 yuan ($15,190)?
Many students, along with their parents, are rushing to consultants for help on picking the university based on their gaokao scores before the June 25 when the application process starts, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
However, the service is not cheap as these institutes are charging anything from several thousands yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.
On the official website of an institute called Yingding Education, the fee is divided into three categories. "Service provided by professional consultants and by a team of experts on college application will be respectively charged 4,980 yuan and 19,800 yuan. Consulting with president Wang Haitao in person will cost 98,000 yuan."
An institute located near Renmin University of China bills consulting services by hours. A one-to-one service is priced at 500 yuan per hour.
Despite the high price, the consultants do not guarantee that colleges will accept the applicants and the fee is non-refundable.
However, the price has not deterred students and their parents from seeking the help of consultants.
A staff member surnamed Pan at an institute called Shengdaxin Education said many parents registered for consultation service as early as the start of their children's senior year in high school. And even though the institute charges 28,800 yuan per student, the dean is completely booked.
One parent of this year's gaokao candidate said they just follow the trend, adding that seeking consultants' help brings them peace of mind.
As to the question whether consultancy really helps, a spokesman of a public school told Beijing Youth Daily that it might help those candidates who do have a clear future plan but don't know how to crack the application process..
But for those who do not have a well-defined goal, seeking help of consultants will not be much helpful, he said.
