College admissions is a market with very little accountability in it. Families spend thousands on advice they can't evaluate, from people whose credentials nobody checked. This page is the set of commitments we hold ourselves to instead. It is short on purpose — every line is something you can hold us to.
Every counselor is vetted before they meet you
We verify credentials, background, and experience before anyone joins the Arcling network — and we verify the claims counselors make in their own profiles. Listings we can't substantiate come down. Counselors who breach our standards are removed, not quietly warned.
We work to the profession's own standard
Every counselor in the network works to a published code aligned with NACAC's Statement of Principles of Good Practice — the professional standard for college admission counseling. Where NACAC's guidance is stricter than ours, NACAC wins. You can read the full standard in our Counselor Guidelines; it's public because you should be able to check.
We will never guarantee admission
No, and you should run from anyone who does.
College admissions are genuinely unpredictable, and anyone selling certainty is selling something else. What we do commit to: your student submits the strongest, most authentic application they're capable of, aimed at schools where they will actually thrive.
Your student writes their own essay
Coaching, questioning, and editing are the job. Authorship is not. No counselor in this network will write or substantially rewrite your student's essay, and none will submit application material your student hasn't read and approved. Ghost-writing is grounds for immediate removal — not a warning.
Your counselor works for you, not for a college
Counselors in the Arcling network may not accept payment, gifts, or compensation from any college, test prep company, or service provider in exchange for steering your student toward them. Financial or personal relationships that could color a recommendation have to be disclosed to you. When someone recommends a school, it should be because they think it fits your kid.
Grounded in NACAC's Statement of Principles of Good Practice
These commitments reflect and extend NACAC's SPGP, the professional standard for college admission counseling. We encourage every counselor in the network to hold active NACAC membership and stay current as the SPGP evolves.
Questions about any of this?
If something here isn't being honored, we want to know. Tell us and we'll look into it.
Email our team