If you are just getting started with the college planning process, or are new to this site, you have started at the right place.

This page should give you a better understanding of how the college planning process works and how College Advisory Services can help. It doesn’t matter if you are the parent of a college bound senior in high school or a college bound infant!

I’m going to start with, what I feel, are the four biggest areas of college planning concern.

No matter what stage you are at, I think you need to understand how need based financial aid is determined. The formula is very simple:

Cost of Attendance – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Need

Let me explain why this is so important. When it comes time to file for financial aid, the lower your Expected Family Contribution is, the more need based aid you will be eligible for.

This is the first place that College Advisory Services will help you. For example, did you know that any money in your child’s name increases your EFC by 35%? That means your need based financial aid will be reduced by 35%! In addition, exposed assets in parents’ names (such as savings accounts, CD’s, stocks, mutual funds, etc.) above your protection allowance can reduce your need-based aid by as much as 5.6%. We will work with you to ensure your EFC will maximize need-based aid. If you are just starting a savings plan, we will ensure you don’t save where your aid will be reduced.

Before you know it, it will be time to start looking at colleges. The most important thing that you need to understand is that some colleges have more money to give then others. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Many families have come into my office and said, “I think we can only afford to send our child to a state school.”

Never judge a school by the sticker price! What the sticker price is, and what you will actually pay are two very different numbers. Most people do not walk into a car dealership, look at the sticker price on a car and say, “Ok, I’ll take the car at sticker price.” The same applies for college.

College Advisory Services will show you which colleges, based on previous history, will give you the most money. We have had several students go to private universities for less cost then they would have paid for a state school! This step in the planning process could improve your out of pocket college costs dramatically.

Come winter of your child’s senior it will be time to file financial aid forms. What’s most important in this step is to understand that financial aid is awarded on a first come, first served basis. Therefore, it is extremely important that you file all of your forms on time and accurately.

If you miss a deadline or have to redo your forms, you could lose thousands of dollars in financial aid due to increased processing time.

More than 70% of all FAFSA forms filed each year contain one or more errors that disqualify students from receiving the federal financial aid they deserve.  Don't let this happen to your family.

College Advisory Services will complete all of the necessary financial aid forms for you, accurately and on time. This will not only save you hours of time, but also ensure you receive every dollar of financial aid you are entitled to!

Once you have applied to colleges and have filed all of your financial aid forms, you will begin to receive financial aid award letters. These letters tell you how much the school is offering in financial aid.

The problem is, all of those forms you filed may not accurately reflect your family’s current financial situation. You actually may be entitled to more money.

At this point, it may be extremely beneficial to negotiate with the college for all of the money you are entitled to. College Advisory Services has a proven track record of negotiating higher financial aid awards. See for yourself! Click here, or on the Negotiation tab at the top right hand corner of this page. You will see that we have saved some clients thousands of dollars each year.

Other planning areas -

There are many other areas that College Advisory Services will help you in the college planning process. Some of those include:

• Implementing unique tax strategies to reduce your out of pocket costs, including how to make college tax deductible
• Showing you which scholarship services actually work, and which ones to avoid
• Helping you decide which college loans are best for you, and filling out all of the loan requests
• Reviewing your financial aid awards and college bills for accuracy and “hidden costs”

A final note-

It is important to understand that each family is different. There is no magic solution to saving money for college. It depends strictly on your family’s situation. Just as a good accountant will save you time and money on your taxes, a good college planner will save you money on college costs. I want to thank you for taking the time to visit our website. And remember, feel free to contact me personally at any time. My e-mail address is gary@collegeadvisoryservices.com, or my number is 315-488-8885.

- Gary