高考咨询费(gāokăo zīxún fèi):College application consultation fee

Before the scores in this year's national college entrance examination are released, some parents in Beijing are paying huge consulting fees to some training organizations to help their children apply for colleges, according to reports.

Some of these training organizations reportedly charge about 100,000 yuan ($15,210) for providing advice on applying to colleges.

Many parents and students regard the college they go to as a very important choice that may have a big influence of their futures, and are willing to pay for such a service in the hope of being admitted by a good college.

But the training organizations, which claim they can help students get admitted to a good college through big data or experts, are not so reliable.

The so-called big data are simply admission statistics that are available to the public. None of the training organizations has advantages in this respect. And the so-called experts seem to imply that they can provide inside information about college admission, which is impossible in the admission process.

Therefore these training organizations are basing their business on false claims. Parents and students should be cautious about these companies to avoid wasting money and making the wrong choice.