College adviser vs student mentor

The differences between college advisers and student mentors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a college adviser has an average salary of $46,038, which is higher than the $33,392 average annual salary of a student mentor.

The top three skills for a college adviser include financial aid applications, colleges and professional development. The most important skills for a student mentor are role model, student life, and mathematics.

College adviser vs student mentor overview

	College Adviser	Student Mentor
Yearly salary	$46,038	$33,392
Hourly rate	$22.13	$16.05
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	16,942	18,591
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

What does a college adviser do?

The main role of a college adviser is to assist students in evaluating and realizing their career and educational options. College advisers offer intensive advising support to their advisees on a regular basis. They help them find their academic interests, determine additional support and information resources, and establish study plans for educational goals. Part of their job is to approve the academic study program of the students. Also, they facilitate the relationships between students and other advisers to career development.

What does a student mentor do?

A student mentor is responsible for guiding the students on their educational and professional development by encouraging the students to reach their maximum potential, helping them with their study habits and academic concerns. Student mentors widen the social connection of the students by recommending them to join school activities and other educational organizations. They analyze the students' strengths and weaknesses and implement strategies to address those difficulties. A student mentor also advises the students of their potential careers, considering their interests and social experience.

College adviser vs student mentor salary

College advisers and student mentors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	College Adviser	Student Mentor
Average salary	$46,038	$33,392
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $63,000	Between $23,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Amherst, MA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Connecticut
Best paying company	New York University	Research Foundation of The City University of New York
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between college adviser and student mentor education

There are a few differences between a college adviser and a student mentor in terms of educational background:

	College Adviser	Student Mentor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

College adviser vs student mentor demographics

Here are the differences between college advisers' and student mentors' demographics:

	College Adviser	Student Mentor
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 39.2% Female, 60.8%	Male, 40.0% Female, 60.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 3.7% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between college adviser and student mentor duties and responsibilities

College adviser example responsibilities.

Manage presentations, assemblies, and club meetings to offer services and emphasize the necessity of post-secondary study.
Help interview, evaluate, select and mentor AmeriCorps applicants.
Communicate with graduating seniors on a regular basis over the summer by phone, Facebook and in person.
Utilize a CRM database (Salesforce) to update student contacts and to help leadership team to better support students.
Maintain and update student database in Salesforce.
Work with supervisor to complete volunteer activities for AmeriCorps.

Show more

Student mentor example responsibilities.

Manage UAFS's F-1/J-1 student visa SEVIS compliance as DSO/ARO, ensuring all documentation is in order prior to students arriving.
Assist students with basic mathematics, general science and English (reading and writing )
Design and implement curriculum for gift elementary students in mathematics, language arts, and science
Facilitate workshops, group activities, annual leadership conferences, informational sessions, and presentations regarding available resources.
Mentore in core academic classes such as executive functioning, leadership, self-advocacy, social relationship building and independent living.
Develop engaging physics problems sets to demonstrate the use of calculus in physics.

Show more

College adviser vs student mentor skills

Common college adviser skills

Financial Aid Applications, 16%
Colleges, 13%
Professional Development, 11%
FAFSA, 7%
Admissions Process, 6%
School Administration, 5%

Common student mentor skills

Role Model, 26%
Student Life, 16%
Mathematics, 14%
Academic Support, 7%
Financial Aid, 5%
GPA, 5%

College Adviser vs. similar jobs

College Adviser related careers

College Adviser related jobs

What similar roles do

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse community and social services jobs

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z