1. How Did the Study Abroad Agency Scam Me?
The bitter history with study abroad agencies began the year I went abroad.
Back then, I also chose a famous large agency in Beijing. Large agencies have many students, and when application season hits, a single advisor could be overwhelmed with 60–70 students, unable to handle the workload.
That's when I realized that study abroad agencies are all more or less the same: before signing, they don't talk about professional knowledge, only poetry and distant dreams; after signing, they only apply to the safest schools without any sense of responsibility.
Actually, it's unavoidable. With so many students, the goal of all advisors at large agencies shifts from helping students get into their dream schools to just finishing up and parting ways as quickly as possible.
My agency back then repeatedly missed deadlines, entered wrong information, and eventually the advisor went on maternity leave, pushing me off to someone else and never to be seen again...
Later, the advisor who took over my case just applied blindly, and the offers I received were all from US universities ranked outside the top 60 (even though my GPA, GRE, and internships were all quite good). Realizing this was going wrong, I immediately searched for programs with deadlines still open, wrote essays and submitted applications all night, begged American professors to give revision suggestions, and ultimately managed to get into a top-ranked STEM program on my own. The 80,000 yuan I paid to the agency not only went down the drain but my American dream was almost shattered.
I always thought I was unlucky. But later I found that many students like me, with the potential for a Top 30 school, ended up at schools outside the Top 50. Yet study abroad agencies supposedly charge based on ranking—so why do they push students toward safety schools?
By now, smart students have already figured out: study abroad agencies don't just rely on application fees and ranking-tier fees to keep running. There is an even more crucial gray income that has become very common: school commissions.
2. How Do Study Abroad Agencies Take Kickbacks?
The term sounds a bit professional, but it's actually very simple to explain.
School commissions, bluntly speaking, are kickbacks. Agencies take kickbacks from schools while charging students fees. For every student they push to a school, the school gives the agency 20% of that student's tuition as a kickback.
Commonwealth countries (UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore) usually have this practice (except for the G5), and US schools ranked outside the top 50 basically all have it. Particularly schools with large numbers of Chinese international students typically pay 20% of the first-year tuition back to the school's representative based on the student's enrollment timing.
Large agencies can directly sign commission agreements with schools thanks to their student volume. Small domestic agencies also get their share of the commission money, though after being exploited through layers of primary, secondary, and tertiary representatives. Among these, schools requiring language programs first offer the highest commissions, i.e., so-called dual admissions. That's why many large domestic agencies only apply you to those same few schools over and over.
3. Why Do Schools Give Agencies Kickbacks?
First, international students pay three times more tuition than local students. Many foreign schools can't recruit enough international students but still want to make money and expand their influence, so they need to significantly increase international student enrollment.
By entrusting domestic school representatives or large agencies to act as their agents, they pay a certain fee to attract international students. Moreover, the lower the school's ranking, the more international students there are, and the higher the commissions from partnering with agencies.
Through taking kickbacks from schools, agencies' main income source has shifted to school commissions. At this point, business-savvy large agencies immediately start price wars, drastically reducing service fees and other means to sign up more students.
I also casually drew a diagram to help you understand the relationships involved:
Therefore, in the sea of study abroad applications, students are the small shrimp, devoured by large agencies like beasts. Their main income comes from school commissions, so they don't need to put in full effort after signing; grabbing huge kickbacks is far more rewarding.
4. CheersYou（清柚教育）, The Dignity of a Study Abroad Consulting Company
（1）What are we ?
In response to these phenomena, as a study abroad consulting company, CheersYou（清柚教育）has always adhered to the following commitments:
1. No dual charges, no kickbacks! (Because 96% of our students get into the top 30, where there are no commissions or kickbacks.)
2. Our application advisors are all highly professional. Most importantly, 100% are graduates of Ivy League schools in the US!
3. All application documents are revised and written by professional American advisors; we are absolutely the most professional in study abroad.
4. Even U.S. News has formed a strategic partnership with CheersYou（清柚教育）, the only one in North America, miss it and you won't easily find another!
（2）What are we doing?
Simply put, CheersYou（清柚教育）provides comprehensive application services such as Dream School, One-Stop Application, and VIP Application:
1. Based on the student's background, we match them with an advisor from the same major and similar background. The application plan is jointly discussed by a team of admissions officer assistants; we maximize background enhancement, highlight unique traits, and better match the target school.
2. In document creation, advisors from the same major or relevant background can deeply explore the student's profile, pick out key points, and enhance the quality of application documents and resumes, making them more profound and professional.
3. We are dedicated and responsible, providing the most meticulous and competitive application services for top schools.
