Before you apply
What actually happens in a consultation
A 30 to 40 minute conversation, no payment requested to attend, and no obligation to proceed. This page explains exactly what it covers so you can decide whether it is worth your time.
Why this page exists
Most providers ask you to book a call without saying what the call is. That is a reasonable thing to be wary of, because in a lot of cases the answer is a sales conversation with a fee attached at the end.
Ours is a fit assessment. We are trying to work out whether a mentored research project would genuinely help this particular student right now, and we are willing to conclude that it would not. Saying so costs us one enrolment and saves you several thousand dollars, which is the correct trade.
What we cover
What the student has actually done
Not a list of achievements. We want to know what they have read, built, or wondered about, and where their interest came from. This is the part that determines whether a research project is the right next step at all.
Where they are in the application timeline
Year group, exam schedule, and what else is competing for their time. A programme that fits a Year 12 student in October is the wrong programme for a Year 13 student in November.
What we would recommend, and why
We name a programme, explain the reasoning, and say what we would expect the student to produce. If we think consolidating existing work would serve them better than starting something new, we say that instead.
Your questions, answered directly
Mentor background, time commitment per week, what happens if the match is wrong, how the work is supervised, and the fee. Nothing is deferred to a follow-up call.
What you leave with
- A specific programme recommendation, or an honest reason not to enrol yet.
- The schedule and expected weekly time commitment.
- The fee, in writing, scoped to what the student actually needs.
- A clear description of what the student would produce by the end.
We do not publish a single price because the programmes differ in length and scope. The fee is confirmed at the consultation, in writing, and you are under no obligation once you have it.
When we will tell you not to enrol
There are a few situations where a research programme is the wrong purchase, and we would rather name them here than discover them on the call:
- The student is mid-way through exams with no realistic weekly capacity. The work suffers and so does the schoolwork.
- The student already has substantial unfinished work. Finishing and writing that up is usually worth more than starting something new.
- The interest is not the student's. Projects driven by a parent rather than the student tend not to survive week four, and they read as inauthentic in an application.
- What the student actually needs is writing or subject support rather than research supervision. Sometimes that is us, and sometimes it is a tutor.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a fee for the consultation?
No. No payment is requested to attend, and there is no obligation to proceed afterwards. If you decide against it, or we do, nothing further happens.
How long does it take?
Typically 30 to 40 minutes. We meet with the family rather than the student alone, because the decision usually involves both and the questions differ.
What if you think we are not a good fit?
We say so on the call. That includes saying when a different provider suits the student better than we do, and when the honest answer is that the student should consolidate what they have already started rather than begin something new. A consultation that ends in a recommendation not to enrol is a successful one.
Does the student need to have an idea already?
No. Arriving without a fixed idea is common and is often better, because a question chosen in the first week with a mentor tends to be more workable than one settled on alone. What helps is being able to talk about what has genuinely interested you.
Do I need to prepare anything?
Nothing formal. If the student has written work, a reading list, or a draft question, it is useful but not required. Coming with questions about how the mentorship actually runs week to week is more valuable than preparing a pitch.
Does booking a consultation commit us to anything?
No. It is a conversation about fit. Enrolment is a separate decision made after you have the programme, schedule, and fee in writing.
Book the conversation
The form asks about the student's year group, subject interest, and what they have worked on so far. It takes a few minutes, and we use it to make the call useful rather than spending the first fifteen minutes on background.