How to choose a study abroad agent

What a good agent does

Helps you decide whether a country and course suit your goals, grades and budget.
Explains your options honestly, including universities it does not work with.
Helps you prepare and submit applications, compare offers and meet deadlines.
Helps you gather the documents your visa needs, and prepares you for life abroad.

A good agent does not make the final decision for you, hold your money, or promise you a place.

Questions to ask

Which universities do you represent, and will you tell me about others too?
Have your counsellors completed British Council training? Can I check them on the database of UK knowledge trained counsellors?
How are you paid? Do you charge students any fees, and what does each one cover?
Are you a regulated immigration adviser? If not, what visa guidance can you give, and what should I check myself?
What is your complaints process?
Can I speak to students you have helped?

Warning signs

Guaranteed admission, guaranteed scholarships or guaranteed visas.
Talk of special routes, lower entry requirements or inside contacts that other applicants cannot use.
Requests for cash, or for payments to the agent instead of the university.
Fees that are unclear, or only mentioned late.
Pressure to decide or pay quickly.
Offers to write your personal statement or other work for you, or to "fix" a document.
No listing on the British Council database, and no mention as a representative on the university's own website.

Checks to make

Look the agency up on the websites of the universities it claims to represent.
Search the British Council database of UK knowledge trained counsellors.
Ask to see a copy of the National Code of Ethical Practice for UK Education Agents and how the agency follows it.
Verify any offer letter directly with the university before paying anything.
Read reviews, while remembering that no agent pleases everyone.

Your application is your responsibility

Universities and visa authorities hold the applicant responsible for what is submitted. In the UK, a document that turns out to be false can lead to refusal even if you did not know, and a refusal for deception can carry a ban of up to ten years. Read every form before it is submitted, and keep copies of everything.

Find out more about the standards UK universities expect of agents in our guide to the UK Agent Quality Framework, and see how we work on our student rights page.