College Planning
The biggest financial transaction that people make is usually buying or selling a house. You have a TEAM of people helping you get the transaction done: Realtor, Loan Officer, Title Agent. Would you buy or sell a home without your Realtor team? AND you pay your realtor 3% of the transaction!
Most people who are not a W2 employee use a CPA to help them file their taxes AND we pay them well to ensure that we are following the rules, minimizing what we pay and maximizing our refund.
Putting your student through College is the second largest transaction that you will do and you will likely do it multiple times. Unlike above, most people do this one on their own! There is help available and this help can save you a lot of money!
4 Keys to Cutting College Costs
Most parents have no plan when looking for Colleges for their children and this is big mistake! If you decide to do this on your own, then you should use the following keys as your guide. It will save you a LOT of money!
- Parents MUST lead the college selection process.
- Higher education is actually a buyer’s market
- Gather the PEGS (price, Expected Family Contribution, graduation rate and starting salary) to start the process
- Understand how financial aid works to get the best price
We are here to be your Guide to a complex and confusing process and we are here to advocate for your family and the costs you will incur. Our aim is to get your student into a College that you can afford and that they can thrive in.
College Funding Specialist
A College Funding Specialist will
- determine what you will be expected to pay (EFC), which is not the same as what you can afford!
- determine if you qualify for financial aid
- determine if you qualify for merit aid (scholarships)
- determine your 1 year and 4 year cost for each College
- provide a list of Colleges for your student’s major that provide the most financial and/or merit aid
- provide online access to College search and scholarship tool
- provide ideas to enhance financial and merit aid
- calculate student loan projections
- collaborate with you to come up with a budget
- perform a College GAP analysis
- provide College savings strategies
- provide strategies to minimize the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and maximize Financial Aid
- fill out your Financial Aid forms (FAFSA & CSS Profile)
- assess and appeal family circumstance changes and College Award letters to the College
- we stay with you all the way up to your student stepping on Campus
These require more specialized planning…
| Divorced | Remarried |
Service Packages
| Services | College Planning | Annual Retainer |
|---|---|---|
| $2,400 | $600 | |
| How much Colleges think you can afford (EFC) | Y | Y |
| If you Qualify for Need-based Grants | Y | |
| If you Qualify for Merit-based Scholarships | Y | |
| 1 Year Out of Pocket Cost (for each College) | Y | |
| 4 Year Out of Pocket Cost (for each College) | Y | |
| Need-based Aid Enhancement Ideas | Y | |
| Merit-based Aid Enhancement Ideas | Y | |
| Student Loan Projections | Y | |
| College Pre-Approval Budget | Y | |
| College Funding Gap Analysis | Y | |
| College Savings Strategies | Y | |
| Reallocation of Assets to lower EFC | Y | |
| Financial Aid Forms | FAFSA - Y - Free CSS Profile - Y - excluding filing fee | Y |
| Student Award Letter Analysis and Appeals | Y | Y |
| Access to Portal | Y | Y |
| Student Access to Aptitude Testing | Y | |
| Pay | Pay |
College Planning Package: Ideal for families that don’t want to pay the full sticker price and are looking to see if they can maximize the amount of Aid available (Financial & Merit Aid).
Annual Retainer: Ideal for parents who want a College Funding expert on retainer to ask questions and to help with successive years Financial Aid form submission. Must have purchased College Planning Package previously
Additional Services
| Services | Consulting | Awards Package | Business Owner-Sole Proprietor Package | Athletes Package |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200/hr | $500 | $1,000 | Included | |
| As requested | Y | |||
| College Award Letters Analysis | Y | |||
| College Award Letters Appeal | Y | |||
| Tax Strategies | Y | |||
| List of Colleges in your Sport & avg. Scholarship | Y | |||
| List of Colleges with your Major that do your Sport | Y | |||
| Recruitment Education | Y | |||
| Education of Athlete's Life | Y | |||
| Pay | Pay | Pay |
For the Awards Package: If we can’t get you 100% more than what the package costs, there is no charge.
For the Business Owner Package: If our strategy doesn’t pay for itself in the first year, there is no charge.
There is no charge for the Athlete’s Package.
