College planning starts with creating a comprehensive well thought out plan.

College planning is truly a partnership between student and parents. Students should choose colleges to apply to that makes sense for them academically AND makes sense for their parents financially. With our guidance, resources, and assistance, we can certainly make this partnership work and help families through this challenging and stressful process.

FINANCIAL POSITIONING & PLANNING

Knowing your Expected Family Contribution years before your student applies to college will give you the opportunity to position yourself financially so that your student can maximize grants and scholarships from the colleges upon acceptance.

Wouldn’t it be helpful to have an idea how much aid you can potentially get from the colleges before your student applies?
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STUDENT POSITIONING

It’s now too expensive to figure it out in college!  We can guide the student on what potential career paths to consider based on their aptitude test results that determines their interest, values, skills, and their personality.  They can then research careers that matches their aptitude, then determine the major to study in college.  We will then help the student choose the right colleges that makes sense for him/her academically.
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FINANCIAL FORMS FILING & ANALYSIS

We encourage each family, at any income level, to complete and file the FAFSA and other financial aid forms whether you’re looking to get need based, merit based, athletic based or talent-based aid.  This is your way of asking the colleges for financial help!  The wrong information reported on these financial aid forms could cost you thousands of dollars in lost aid.  It is important to fill it out accurately and submit it early!
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Financial Positioning & Planning

Financial analysis to determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on both the Federal Methodology and Institutional Methodology calculations.

Help you reduce your Expected Family Contribution using legal strategies to help you maximize aid from federal, state, and the colleges.

Assist you in implementing any recommended strategies, as needed, to ensure it is done properly for college planning as well as meet your short-term and long-term financial planning goals.

Provide financial reports for each college to determine not only the total cost of attendance, but also how much need-based aid you may be eligible for and potential merit aid available to your student to determine if a college also makes sense financially for your family prior to applying.

Based on your EFC and potential out-of-pocket costs, we will build a financial plan on how to pay for college the most cost-efficient way possible that will fit your budget or cash-flow.

Student Positioning

Career Profile Assessment: The client is given access to the career profile assessment. An online aptitude/attitude program designed to confirm or discover a student’s career goals. This is step one of the Student Positioning concepts. The aptitude assessment aids students in searching for possible career avenues and encourages the pursuit of an appropriate major. This step can conceivably reduce the overall cost of a higher education by making a bachelor’s degree attainable in the normal four-year time frame.

Access to a one-of-a-kind web-based application, ENGUS, www.engus.info, is a content-rich client web portal dedicated to the needs of college bound families. An interactive website, ENGUS is an indispensable element of our service. Features of the site include separate resource sections specifically tailored to students and their families. Parents will find financial planning info, college planning guides, award status, a schedule of dates, forms and form filing guides, among other resources. For students, ENGUS offers study guides, career guides, test preparation services, and links to pertinent articles.

Student Positioning Session: Designed to help a family/student choose the most viable schools. This second step of the Student Positioning concept involves an in-depth review of the career profile assessment results and the student’s interests through the guidance of an experienced educational counselor. The sessions are intended to first show, and then educate our clients in a method of finding the colleges that are both an academic and social fit. Included in the consultation is a college search based on customized search criteria, the results of which consist of data sheets that outline the general, administrative, and financial information on each college. College selection is the responsibility of the family/student. The role of the counselor is to make suggestions, offer mentorship, and coach the family on how to make these important choices.

Interactive Online Program Tool Access: This online program is to be used as an adjunct to the Student Positioning session. This unique resource is the only college search tool designed to incorporate both an academic and financial perspective. The Student Positioning online tool, accessed through ENGUS, allows clients to add/drop colleges from their inventory of prospective schools, and view/print general, administrative, and financial data sheets on over 1500 U.S. Colleges. Also included are interactive capabilities which allow students to explore a “what if” scenario, should they improve their standardized test scores or increase their GPA.

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Financial Forms Filing and Analysis

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Completion: The FAFSA must be completed to qualify for Federal aid, most State Programs, Institutional/College grants and is often required for institutional merit-based aid.

CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE Completion Registration and completion of the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE (PROFILE): The PROFILE is more complicated than the FAFSA. Additionally, the information needs to be consistent with that which appears on the FAFSA. This form is required by certain colleges for financial aid consideration.

Institutional Financial Aid Forms Completion: The College Funding Service Center completes college institutional financial aid forms of a need-based nature. Some schools have their own need-based forms that are just as important as the CSS PROFILE and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Data Verification Session: The data verification session is complete with the parent(s) to verify the accuracy of the financial data to be used to complete financial aid applications. By use of our internet-based system, parents will have the opportunity to agree to the accuracy of all data before any financial aid forms are filed.

Online Awards Analysis: This program provides a breakdown of the award package by offering two reports. The first report shows the family’s cost to attend college per year with long-term loans in the student’s name. The second report shows the family’s cost to attend college per year without long-term loans. These reports make crystal clear the family’s true cost for the first year of college.

Evaluation of Award Letters and Appeal Process Support: Awards letters are sent by the college(s) to the student. The College Funding Service Center requests a copy of all award letters from the family to evaluate each award package to be excellent, fair or poor. Through this analysis, the Service Center Consultant will determine if it is to the family’s benefit to appeal. If so, the Service Center Consultant will assist with the appeals process and provide an appropriate appeal letter template. The family will edit to include specifics for their own situation, sign and mail it to the college. We also coach parents on how to discuss the appeal with a college financial aid officer.

Standardized Test Prep

Test prep is provided by ePrep.com and available for the SAT, ACT, PSAT. ePrep features full-length practice tests and includes hundreds of videos with teaching experts demonstrating how to solve practice problems. ePrep Analytics is an adaptive diagnostic tool to analyze the student’s potential, direct their efforts and track progress. ePrep WordSmith is an interactive vocabulary builder that makes learning words easy and fun.

Founded by a team of Princeton University graduates, ePrep is the most affordable, expert way to maximize standardized test scores.

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