<p>I need advice and input from anyone that's used the [name redacted] or similar service. My husband and I met with them last week and it all seemed very positive and they guarantee ROI in college funds, but it's our first time and i am in complete conflict with pros and cons opinions. I need advice from someone that has used a similar service. Both my husband and I have limited time to commit to the college planning process, but 3K for the service is also a bit overwhelming. Any advice is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thank you for posting your query here. The folks on this forum are terrific.</p>
<p>I have a few questions.</p>
<p>What year in high school is your child?</p>
<p>What are your student’s SAT/ACT scores and GPA?</p>
<p>How much do you think you can contribute annually for college costs?</p>
<p>What do you hope they will do for you that you don’t think you can do yourselves?</p>
<p>What is ROI?</p>
<p>Did these folks tell you that the best financial aid (merit or need based) comes directly from the colleges themselves? Did they tell you that the FAFSA is FREE and that you still have to pay a fee to file the Profile even if you use them? Did they tell you that need based aid will be dependent largely on your income…and that some schools don’t meet full need a year?</p>
<p>Did they tell you that there is a Net Price Calculator on EACH college website that will give you a good estimate on your aid potential at that school?</p>
<p>What DID they tell you they would do for you besides take $3000 of your money (which could actually pay the tuition for a community college for at least one semester)?</p>
<p>ROI = return on investment</p>
<p>You will have to be the one to do your taxes… all you need to do is transfer that information onto the Fin Aid forms. You don’t need to pay someone else to do it for you. </p>
<p>Does your child have strong stats?</p>
<p>Well…every person who fills out a FAFSA is guaranteed to receive a $5500 Direct Loan. Are they including that in your financial aid ROI?</p>
<p>They are charging you $3000 for information you can get free on the internet. </p>
<p>If you are short of money, then that is a particularly poor allocation of resources.</p>
<p>Go to your local library and check out a copy of Paying for College Without Going Broke or check out the website, finaid.org.</p>
<p>If you have specific questions about college financing, post them here.</p>
<p>If you don’t have time for that, read this book: [Paying</a> For College Without Going Broke](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Paying-College-Without-Edition-Admissions/dp/0307945324/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379380089&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+pay+for+college]Paying”>http://www.amazon.com/Paying-College-Without-Edition-Admissions/dp/0307945324/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379380089&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+pay+for+college).</p>
<p>And if you don’t have time for that, I guess you kiss your $3,000 goodbye and hope for the best. (Although I’m guessing that chances are you’ll end up with the worst, and not the best.)</p>
<p>Better yet in addition to the suggested reading, just bookmark and start reading the threads in the financial aid forum right on this site. You don’t need to spend money to learn just about everything there is to know.</p>
<p>Is this one of the insurance sales schemes? Are they trying to sell you investment products tied in with the financial aid ‘counseling?’ Sometimes these people have minimal qualifications to advise and the main goal is selling investment products.</p>
<p>As mentioned above, you can get the info free HERE.</p>
<p>Why don’t you tell us about your situation…your child’s stats, goals, major, how much YOU want to spend on college, expectations, home state, other children to put thru college, etc.</p>
<p>And search for previous posts on this forum (which, generally, will tell you they are not worth it).</p>
<p>The one thing (ok…there are probably many things) I have yet to figure out is how to link past threads. If anyone can link a past thread here about paid financial aid “advisors”, that might be helpful to the OP.</p>
<p>We empathize. But most of us found it’s worth examining the parts before deciding to farm out the work. Thumper asks good starting questions. You can run NPCs and take a preview look at the sort of info the CSS Profile asks for. I learned so much through finaid.org and many recommend the above book.</p>
<p>But, in the end, the aid depends on what the college has in its coffers and its policy for giving it, whether need-based or merit. You’ve got to build your vocabulary, get your bearings, id the right schools. And the student needs to have a reasonable shot of acceptance.</p>
<p>
What is your “limited” time worth?</p>
<p>“limited time”…</p>
<p>Well, if your child’s situation isn’t complicated, we probably could come up with a strategy for you in less than a day of reaches, matches, and affordable financial safeties. lol</p>
<p>Just give us:
home state
Any geographic restrictions (such as: up to 10 hrs from home)
child’s w GPA, uw GPA, ACT, SAT (and SAT breakdown)
child’s academic interests
child’s major interests
child’s career interests
child’s interests outside of the classroom
weather preference: warm or cold/snowy
campus preference: rural or city
culture preference: quiet/small…larger/rah rah with sports to watch and cheer for
How much you’re willing to spend each year:<br>
Whether good sized merit scholarships are desired:</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you earn more than $100k, then your “family contribution” will be calculated to be about 30% of your AGI at schools that “meet need”. Most schools do not meet need, so you’d have to pay more at those schools, unless you get merit awards to bring costs down.</p>
<p>If you’re self-employed or have a good amount of assets, then your “family contribution” will likely be hard to estimate.</p>
<p>
You find the thread in question, copy the url at the top, and then paste it into your response.</p>
<p>Don’t do it, just read and ask advice here. Before my oldest applied to college we went to a college consultant that came highly recommended by my attorney. It all sounded good too. This is a few years ago…he wanted $1200 plus a percentage of financial aid! </p>
<p>I knew nothing and did not know what to think. Luckily my now-ex, when I told him about this plan, said absolutely not. Just read and read on this website. And the Paying for College without Going Broke book by Kalman Cheney (it’s on Amazon) - for $15 you will learn everything you need to know.</p>
<p>
Is that legal?</p>
<p>I think he wanted the parents to give him an amount equal to the %age of the financial aid. Certainly the financial aid itself could NOT be distributed to this paid financial aid advisor. In the vast majority of cases, the aid is disbursed by the college directly to the bursar’s office to pay the bill. The student doesn’t actually ever have the money.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do it. You will learn so much information from this forum and by reading a couple of books. </p>
<p>Also i have heard stories of some of these “consultants” pushing insurance policies. If they do run. The carry very high commissions.</p>