Choosing a counsellor
Study Abroad Agent vs Independent Counsellor: Who Pays Whom
Free study-abroad consultancies are paid 10 to 20 percent of first-year fees by UK, Australian and Canadian universities. How that shapes your shortlist.
9 min read
For families in India
Independent, online, paid only by families. One senior counsellor per student from Grade 9 to the admit, for the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and India's own liberal-arts universities. Prices published, essays never written, no student faces on this site.

The Indian market
Most of what is sold as college counselling in India falls into three buckets. Commission agents place students at partner universities and are paid by those universities. Online platforms sell per-country packages with undergraduate mentors and, on some plans, ghostwritten essays and research. Premium firms sell counsellor teams at ₹4 to 6 lakh a year with results reported as multipliers and logo walls.
Plinth is a fourth thing: an independent senior counsellor who does the work personally, publishes the method and the price floors, caps the caseload, and reports outcomes with the counting rules attached. The trade-off is scale. We take few students each cycle, and we decline engagements where the list is unrealistic.
Indian boards, read abroad
Prices in rupees
Grade 9 or 10 to enrolment · 24 to 36 months
from ₹4,50,000 · $5,400
Grade 10 and 11 · 12 months
from ₹2,50,000 · $3,000
Grade 12 · Application season, typically June to January
from ₹1,50,000 · $1,800
Questions
No. Plinth is online by design. Sessions run over video with students in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Dehradun and smaller cities alike, and with Indian families in the UAE and Singapore. Editing happens in shared documents between sessions, which is faster than a visit and leaves a record. We meet families in person occasionally when we are in the same city, but nothing about the service depends on it.
Study-abroad consultants and agents are paid commission by partner universities, mostly in the UK, Australia, Canada and Ireland, which is why their recommendations cluster. We are paid only by families, we recommend any university the student can get into and afford, and most of our work happens in Grade 10 and 11, building the profile the application will describe.
CBSE, ISC, IB, IGCSE and A-levels, and state boards for students switching to an international pathway. Each board is read differently by each destination; the written profile review explains how yours will be read and what the target tier expects.
Application Year from ₹1,50,000, Profile Build from ₹2,50,000 and Full Journey from ₹4,50,000, with essays, competitions, research, SAT or ACT, subject tuition and interview preparation available on their own. The floors are published on the pricing page and the exact figure is fixed after a free written profile review.
Yes. Ashoka, Krea, Plaksha, FLAME, Shiv Nadar and O.P. Jindal read profiles and essays much as US universities do, and many of our students apply to one of them alongside a foreign list. For JEE, NEET and CLAT routes the exam decides; we help with the choice, not the coaching.
Reading
Choosing a counsellor
Free study-abroad consultancies are paid 10 to 20 percent of first-year fees by UK, Australian and Canadian universities. How that shapes your shortlist.
9 min read
India
Can an Indian student prepare for JEE and the SAT together? The 2026-27 calendar clash, what each rewards, and coaching hours against profile building.
9 min read
For parents
Cost of a degree abroad in lakh and crore, payback by field and post-study work visa, loan and LRS rules of thumb, and when India or Singapore is better.
11 min read
Choosing a counsellor
Crimson, IvyWise, Athena and Indian platforms against independent counsellors: who does the work, third-party price ranges, review counts and a checklist.
10 min read
A written review of the profile against the target tier, then thirty minutes with the counsellor. Free, and honest about whether you need us.