<p>Anybody ever used a Financial Aid Counselor? My dad went to a presentation a few nights ago. He said it was interesting to hear how schools use the FAFSA and especially, the privates use the CSS Profile. </p>
<p>If anyone has used a Fin Aid Counselor what did you think and do you think it helped you get more Financial aid?</p>
<p>I never used a financial aid counselor, but had there been such services available when I was applying, it would have been most useful for our family. The general response I have heard about these counselors has been a resounding "NO WAY". There are some issues about ethics with some of these services--you do have to check them out carefully, and about the value added from their services. My feelings are different from most of the parents' here, as I do believe such services can add value and can make things a whole heck of alot easier for some families.</p>
<p>It is true that if you have a motivated parent/student that can work on the financial aid apps and stay on top of them, the difficulty level is not horrorific. Also, it 's not like taxes, where you pay an accountant to do them and just file them and forget about them. You do have to stay on top of things if you are going to do this right. If your familiy is like mine was, a service would be useful. I had a lot of trouble with my father trying to get him to gather his materials and fill out the paperwork, and I lost out a few times due to his reluctance to hustle. Had he been working with a service, I think it would have saved me a lot of trouble. It was just his nature to be slow with paperwork. This happens more often than one would think with families. If a service can jumpstart the process and provide a help line for the family, I think it is money well spent.</p>
<p>the bulk of financial aid comes from the schools themselves and from the govt
I doubt if a financial aid counselor can get the schools to give you more money & there really aren't any "tricks" to reporting your money to receive more need based aid
<a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D">www.finaid.org</a> for free information</p>
<p>The Financial aid counselor does not interact with the schools. Apparently, they help you structure your assets so that when you complete the CSS profile you can get a more favorable report that could lead to more aid.</p>
<p>I don't understand it all. My dad said you would need to work with a person like this when the student was a freshman or sophmore to get everything done well ahead of when the CSS profile needs to be completed.</p>
<p>Sounds a little shaky, but apparently the schools and the CSS Profile folks don't explain how things work for you or mostly against you. Like college savings plans penalize your financial aid award. Dad said it was an eye-opener.</p>
<p>oh so they are more like financial/investment advisors?
Make sure they are liscensed, you don't want to give anyone detailed information about your finances until you know they are on the up & up</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fool.com/college/college01.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.fool.com/college/college01.htm</a></p>
<p>Our local UC offers seminars periodically where various private consultants give admissions/financial aid presentations. A financial aid advisor is included. I'm assuming the UC FA admins "approve" the private organization before inviting them to participate. The seminar I attended was free, and offered a free financial assessment. They weren't able to tell me anything I hadn't already learned through my own research, but I have friends who could certainly have benefited.</p>