How To Become A College Admissions Counselor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a college admissions counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Leigh Ann Tipton-Fisler, PhD, BCBA

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a college admissions counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.84 an hour? That's $41,260 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 32,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a college admissions counselor?

Leigh Ann Tipton-Fisler, PhD, BCBA

Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Specialist in School Psychology and Clinical/ Community Mental Health Graduate Programs, Western Illinois University

- The best I can give to graduates is to focus on taking small steps at first. Often the first year in the field can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. The system we work in (the helping profession broadly) often has a lot of challenges, and new professionals want to re-envision a path for changes. This is tangible, but at first, it is important to understand the roles and functions in the workplace before flipping everything upside down. I suggest taking one small change at a time in an area that is important to you and build relationships and trust with your professional colleagues before overloading yourself with the new job and new goals.

ScoreCollege Admissions CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,260

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 54.33%

male 45.67%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a college admissions counselor

Explore college admissions counselor education requirements

Most common college admissions counselor degrees

Bachelor's

67.2 %

Master's

19.7 %

Associate

7.4 %

Start to develop specific college admissions counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
CRM	28.94%
Recruitment Strategies	26.16%
Recruitment Events	9.88%
Academic Programs	9.80%
Admission Decisions	8.29%

Complete relevant college admissions counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New college admissions counselors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a college admissions counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real college admissions counselor resumes.

Research college admissions counselor duties and responsibilities

Manage Facebook updates to market events, brand FLC and create a virtual community for students.
Counsele students on their secondary study plans, including extra-curricular activities, in addition to their personal essays for college applications.
Provide prospective and enroll students with educational plans and career approach to ensure a successful college experience.

Prepare your college admissions counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your college admissions counselor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a college admissions counselor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable college admissions counselor resume templates

Build a professional college admissions counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your college admissions counselor resume.

Apply for college admissions counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a college admissions counselor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average college admissions counselor salary

The average college admissions counselor salary in the United States is $41,260 per year or $20 per hour. College admissions counselor salaries range between $31,000 and $53,000 per year.

Average college admissions counselor salary

$41,260 Yearly

$19.84 hourly

How do college admissions counselors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

College admissions counselor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Pros

Change agent when people are stuck and need support in the process of restoration. One on one and group processing is powerful.

What is a college admissions counselor and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a college admissions counselor?

Key steps to become a college admissions counselor

Explore college admissions counselor education requirements

Most common college admissions counselor degrees

Start to develop specific college admissions counselor skills

Complete relevant college admissions counselor training and internships

Research college admissions counselor duties and responsibilities

Prepare your college admissions counselor resume

Choose from 10+ customizable college admissions counselor resume templates

Apply for college admissions counselor jobs

How did you land your first college admissions counselor job

Average college admissions counselor salary

How do college admissions counselors rate their job?

College admissions counselor reviews