When College Admissions Becomes a Product to Build
The Ken reports that affluent Indian families are beginning the U.S. college-admissions process as early as Grade 9, paying consultants to develop increasingly elaborate student profiles. The trend raises an important question: when does thoughtful preparation become manufactured achievement?
The admissions timeline is moving earlier
A report from The Ken describes a growing college-consulting market in India focused on admission to highly selective U.S. universities. Families are increasingly seeking help well before application season, with some students beginning the process in Grade 9 and consultants describing interest from families even earlier.
The reason is straightforward: competition feels more intense. The report says one Mumbai-based consultancy now enrolls 35% of its students in the summer before Grade 10, compared with a process that often began in Grade 12 five years ago. It also reports that families may pay more than Rs 5 lakh per year for support designed to strengthen a student’s profile.
That profile-building can include academic planning, activities, projects, and other experiences intended to make an application stand out. The language of “manufacturing” an applicant is revealing, though. It points to a difficult tension in selective admissions: students are encouraged to be distinctive, but the pressure to appear distinctive can turn genuine interests into carefully managed products.
Why this matters to students
Early planning is not automatically a problem. A student who discovers an interest in engineering, literature, public health, or economics in Grade 9 may benefit from time to read widely, develop skills, and pursue meaningful work. Good guidance can help a student understand requirements, make realistic choices, and avoid leaving everything until the final year of school.
The risk comes when the order is reversed—when the goal of impressing an admissions office comes first and the student’s interests come second. An activity may look impressive on paper but still be a poor fit if the student has little ownership of it. A string of expensive, disconnected projects can also create stress without building the curiosity, discipline, or depth that colleges are actually trying to identify.
Students should therefore ask a practical question about every opportunity: would I still want to do this if it were never listed on an application? If the answer is no, it may be worth reconsidering.
What families should look for
The reported growth of large education consultancies shows how strongly families feel the pressure. The Ken reports substantial revenue growth for Athena Education and continued growth for Oncourse during a period when many Indian families were reconsidering overseas study.
That pressure can make families believe that more spending and earlier intervention are always better. They are not. Before hiring a consultant, families should clarify what support is actually needed. There is a significant difference between helping a student plan a balanced course load and designing an entire identity around an imagined admissions strategy.
A healthy process should leave room for changing interests. It should protect sleep, relationships, and academic foundations. It should also make the student an active participant rather than treating parents, tutors, and consultants as the owners of the application.
Preparation should create options—not a performance
The most useful college preparation is usually less dramatic than the market suggests. Students can build strong foundations by reading carefully, writing regularly, pursuing challenging but manageable coursework, and spending sustained time on activities they genuinely value. Teachers and tutors can help by noticing patterns in a student’s interests and encouraging depth rather than collecting credentials.
Selective admissions will remain uncertain, and no consultant can guarantee an outcome. Families can respond to that uncertainty by building a broader list of colleges and by treating the application as one part of a student’s education—not the measure of the student’s worth.
Starting early can be wise. Starting with a manufactured persona is not. The goal should be to help students become more capable, curious, and self-aware people. If those qualities are real, the application will have something meaningful to describe.