Amicus Partners

Perhaps the greatest benefits of a yearly calendar, apart from the Dad jokes involving next/last year references, is that it allows you the chance to reflect over a fairly specific period of time. A lot can happen over twelve months. Quite a lot.

For instance, one can learn quite a few lessons in a year, three of which are:

• The best clients are the ones that come through word of mouth. They have a good idea of what they want, and whether Amicus Partners can provide it. Which really makes the entire process so much more enjoyable.

  This admissions cycle has seen close to 70% of clients coming in by way of referrals. This is not only the best form of validation, but also means spending less time on that ugly combination of even uglier words, “business development”.

• Scaling admissions counselling is difficult. At least it has been for me, more so after trying to explore different pathways to scale. Part of the problem lies in the inherent nature of the job – can a deeply personalized experience, which ideally admission counselling ought to be, be replicated with multiple service providers?

  Of course, this is not to say that scale has not been achieved – for me, the ideal template is the Spivey Group but at a more macro scale, there are players like IDP who operate at a global, multi-subject level.  Clearly, there are ways to scale. The bigger question, I suppose, is do I want to?

•  India is diverse. Without trying to sound too much like the introductory lines of a documentary on India, I have to say that I am astounded by just how different and varied my clients have been. Each story unique in a way, each dream and aspiration that tiny bit different.

The past year has seen a lot of change in other terms as well. I moved cities and countries, enrolled in a graduate school, and now am a participant in the “international student experience” that is such an integral part of studying abroad. This experience also comes with homework and class readings – both of which come with their own set of challenges, more so for a mediocre student whose last stint at formal education ended nearly fifteen years ago.

On the plus side, I am getting to sit with some very, very bright people and see first-hand how education works (or does not) and gain some insights into what this field might look in five or ten or twenty years. I also get to see a bit of what AI is going to do in the field of education (short answer: nobody knows). 

My course also allows me to gain a much deeper understanding of international higher education, US law schools, and student recruitments. Where do the pain points lie, how can these be addressed, and perhaps equally important, how can one make money while doing this.

More importantly, it allows me to actually meet the people who work in law schools, visit their campuses, and speak to them “off the record” so to speak – that alone has been a learning experience like no other.

Not to deliberately end on a sober note, but the politics surrounding international education and immigration seem to be reaching the boiling point in the last year. Two significant ones from an Indian standpoint would be the UK and Canada. Interestingly both these countries will see federal elections within the next two years, so one really must wait to see how all of this plays out.

Till then, here is to the next twelve months.

May the lessons be learnt, may more mistakes be made, and may the small wins bring a smile to your face. 

Lead Photo by Kalle Kortelainen on Unsplash

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