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.
College adviser responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real college adviser resumes:
- 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.
- Foster partnerships with colleges, local organizations, and foundations to identify strong student candidates for admission and/or scholarships.
- Match clients to appropriate colleges/universities base on their academic record and admissions criteria for acceptance.
- Assist in planning and implementation of logistics automation initiatives relate to vehicle fleet management and repair parts management.
College adviser skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of College Advisers are proficient in Financial Aid Applications, Colleges, and Professional Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Listening skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of College Advisers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Financial Aid Applications, 16%
Assisted with completion of college and financial aid applications.
- Colleges, 13%
Fostered partnerships with colleges, local organizations, and foundations to identify strong student candidates for admission and/or scholarships.
- Professional Development, 11%
Facilitate professional development opportunities and training sessions to better equip and inform staff about trends in college admissions.
- FAFSA, 7%
Review all college application materials and assist with writing personal statements and completing FAFSA and other Financial Aid forms.
- Admissions Process, 6%
Advise prospective students and families including traditional and non-traditional students about the admissions process.
- School Administration, 5%
Collaborated with high school counseling office, school administration, and classroom teachers to insure success of the program.
Most college advisers use their skills in "financial aid applications," "colleges," and "professional development" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential college adviser responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a college adviser to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what college advisers do because "school and career counselors and advisors interpret student records, schoolwide data, and assessments to match interests and abilities with potential careers. ." Additionally, a college adviser resume shows how college advisers use analytical skills: "analyzed student data, test scores, and transcripts for applications 3. "
Listening skills. Many college adviser duties rely on listening skills. "school and career counselors and advisors need to give full attention to students and clients in order to understand their problems.," so a college adviser will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways college adviser responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated with graduating seniors on a regular basis over the summer by phone, facebook and in person. "
Speaking skills. This is an important skill for college advisers to perform their duties. For an example of how college adviser responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "school and career counselors and advisors must communicate effectively with clients and students." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a college adviser: "assist non english speaking members who are interested in taking esl classes * take over 200 inbound calls. ".
The three companies that hire the most college advisers are:
- University of Tennessee4 college advisers jobs
- University of Southern California4 college advisers jobs
- uAspire
4 college advisers jobs
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Compare different college advisers
College adviser vs. Student mentor
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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a college adviser are more likely to require skills like "financial aid applications," "colleges," "fafsa," and "admissions process." On the other hand, a job as a student mentor requires skills like "role model," "student life," "gpa," and "student athletes." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, student mentors reach lower levels of education than college advisers. Student mentors are 5.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.College adviser vs. Job coach
A job coach is responsible for evaluating people's skills and qualifications, advising them with career paths, helping with their aspirations, and promote employment opportunities. Job coaches help the clients build self-confidence and explore their maximum potentials to develop their professional growth. They provide counseling, understanding the clients' strengths and weaknesses, analyzing clients' personal goals, and guiding clients through job interviews and assessments. A job coach must have excellent communication, listening, and analytical skills to handle their clients' challenges and match their interests for the best career suited for them.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, college adviser responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "financial aid applications," "colleges," "professional development," and "fafsa." Meanwhile, a job coach has duties that require skills in areas such as "developmental disabilities," "cpr," "rehabilitation," and "customer service." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Job coaches earn lower levels of education than college advisers in general. They're 8.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for college advisers in the next 3-5 years?
Shelley Sadin
Associate Dean of Professional and Career Development, Quinnipiac University
College adviser vs. Evaluator
An evaluator is responsible for assessing a speakers' speech, identifying areas of improvement, and providing constructive feedback to hone their communication skills and boost their self-confidence. Evaluators analyze speech delivery, including unnecessary fillers and mannerisms that may distract the audience from the speaker's presentation. They also identify the speakers' strengths and weaknesses in presenting to the public, suggesting recommendations on speech content and structure. An evaluator must have excellent communication and observation skills, especially on highlighting the key aspects that would affect the connection between the speaker and the audience.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, college advisers are more likely to have skills like "financial aid applications," "fafsa," "admissions process," and "school administration." But a evaluator is more likely to have skills like "patients," "social work," "customer service," and "rehabilitation."
When it comes to education, evaluators tend to earn higher degree levels compared to college advisers. In fact, they're 5.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.College adviser vs. Education consultant
An education consultant is responsible for providing educational assistance to learning institutions or a private household setting. Educational consultants develop strategies to improve a student's learning approach and academic standing. They also assist with the implementation of the learning curriculum, suggesting plans and revisions to meet students' competencies and the instructors' teaching styles. Educational consultants evaluate learning materials, school's operational data, and educational training and programs to ensure adherence to federal standards. An education consultant must have excellent communication skills, as well as expertise in the education industry to perform duties efficiently.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between college advisers and education consultants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a college adviser might have more use for skills like "financial aid applications," "colleges," "professional development," and "fafsa." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of education consultants require skills like "excellent interpersonal," "powerpoint," "classroom management," and "curriculum development. "
Education consultants reach higher levels of education compared to college advisers, in general. The difference is that they're 10.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of college adviser
Updated January 8, 2025
