FAQ
How long does a session take? For one person making one decision, it usually takes about 2 hours (but we plan for a max of 3 hrs). If there are two people, it can take between 3 and 4 hours. For families with multiple decision makers, we plan according to the specific situation. |
What kind of pre-work do I have to do?
There is no specific pre work required. You do need to come with enough information regarding your options to make an informed decision (for example, if you are making your final decision on which college to attend, you need to feel like you know enough about the colleges to make an informed choice). |
How many times do I have to meet with you?
Usually we meet with someone once, but sometimes it makes sense to divide the meeting into two parts (this can be due to time constraints or perhaps more information is needed). Whether it is one meeting or two, our sessions are designed to ensure that at the end you will leave with two things - a table summarizing your best decision (and why) and an introduction to a new method for you use on your own going forward. |
We already hired a college counselor to advise our child.
Do you do the same thing? We are experts on the decision-making process. We are not experts on colleges and universities. We do not give any advice on which school is better than another. We remain "blind" to the specific schools under consideration - they are labeled School A, B, C for our purposes. We do not want any of our unconscious bias to be somehow communicated to your student. |
When would we bring you into the college selection process?
We work with students at the very last stage (after they have been accepted) when they are making their FINAL decision. We use The Decide For Yourself Method so that your child owns their decision - and learns how to make their own important decisions independently. Some College Counselors may provide support for the final decision, but most of the ones we know, do not. Usually their expertise is in helping to identify the best colleges for your child and increase their chances of getting accepted. We provide support when the College Counselors are (often) done. |
I've only heard of consultants "facilitating decision making" in a business context. Are you more like "life coaches"?
No, we are not life coaches. Or therapists. Rather, we are expert, neutral facilitators who created a proprietary process for making difficult decisions. Formally, we worked with a lot of corporate clients. As such, we have been struck by the absence of clear and straightforward decision support for people outside of the business world. That's why we founded Decide For Yourself. We want everyone who faces a difficult decision, with no clear winner, to have a method and support to make their own best decision. |