<p>We went to visit one of my son's choices in schools today and met with a financial aid counselor just to make sure we weren't missing out on anything and what we could maybe change for next year or any info they could give us on loans and basically they told us nothing. What a waste it was speaking with them. Have other parents ever spoken with FAC'S and gotten any help or are they just worthless like this one was. I hate to beat down someone, but they told us nothing new, just said everything we had done was good, and gave no new info at all.</p>
<p>pretty much</p>
<p>most of the aid available will come from the college & that will depend on how attractive your child is to them.
<a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D">www.finaid.org</a> is a good website
and so is
<a href="http://www.nela.net/%5B/url%5D">http://www.nela.net/</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the Nelanet website, I didn't know about that one. But even they say to go to your colleges financial aid offfice for more info. I just thought they could give me maybe more info on let's say in college scholarships for good grades, or grants or some info that might know from working with students all the time. But this person was no help at all .</p>
<p>I took time off work to talk to one - clueless about CSS Profile. Total waste of time and made me mad.</p>
<p>Our high school has a financial aid counselor come in twice a week (paid by some grant). He's there to help low income kids (but he'll help anyone who has a question) for whom the financial aid aspect of college is very intimidating. He even sits down with them on the computer and helps them get a PIN # for the FAFSA.</p>
<p>But most CC parents are not in that much need of help.</p>
<p>Sometimes a financial aid counselor could be useful if he or she knows of school specific programs/scholarships.</p>
<p>This was a college not his high school. And not a small one either.I feel like contacting the university and see if anyone else could help.</p>
<p>brucesprings, I think you can save your time. I believe you are looking for something that is not going to happen. HS and college FA seminars and counselors provide only basic help. They are not there to manage your finances. If you want that help, you need to deal with private financial advisors. </p>
<p>Once you have received a financial offer, you can always ask for a reconsideration. This is most likely to be successful if there are some special circumstances. Let's face it, many of us try this and few of us are successful. The response depends on the circumstances and the college. Many State Us follow strict rules. Many privates stand their ground. It is always worth a try because there are successes and there is nothing to lose.</p>
<p>In addition to the appeals, there are not likely to be any magic solutions. You can always try for outside scholarships and awards. My W spent many hours on the internet and making phone calls. After numerous applications, my D was lucky enough to get $1000/yr for 4 years. My W tried to repeat this with no further success. There may be a few big winners for outside scholarships, but it is more like the lottery. Most get little or nothing for their efforts.</p>
<p>At a certain point, the game is over. We need to decide if we can handle the costs or need to select a cheaper option. With the costs of higher education, handling the costs can mean major sacrifices: tapping into savings, reducing expenses, and almost always home equity or other major loans. For many of us, the final information we get comes from the lenders.</p>
<p>I went to a FA counselor and she told me buying an annuity from her would shield $ from the FA Offices-- also a big waste of time. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, once you get into it, you find the Financial Aid Industry, and it is that, an industry trying to get you to borrow money, has made a mess of trying to make a rational college choice. Good luck, this whole thing is not easy.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>I went to a FA counselor and she told me buying an annuity from her would shield $ from the FA Offices.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Yikes!! Any annuity has beaucoup sales commissions up front and usually draconian early termination fees. What a rip!</p>
<p>Talked to FA counselor at one of the universities where D was accepted - huge waste of time. Talked about special circumstances, and that D had better offers from other schools. Got a cursoy we'll look at it, and perhaps she should go to one of the other schools - they are good schools, too! Talked to other parents there and we all left shaking our heads. Many of us said that they thought this would ensure their child not going there.</p>
<p>The only thing this counselor said that I didn't know was if you are approved for a stafford subsidizied loan you can't get a unsibsidizied loan also.</p>
<p>Is that true? Because our package offered both a sub. stafford loan, and an unsub one! I'd better check it out.....</p>
<p>I have to say, I did pay an advisor for advice and it was helpful. He was one of the authors of college financial aid for dummies books. I am lucky to live fairly close to him. A one time meeting was not very costly..HOWEVER, I must admit, that I was the worlds biggest dum dum when it comes to this stuff and I knew pratically nothing about it, so I guess anyone could have taught me alot. My experience has taught me don't pay for advice. It seems you can learn everything on your own from books. One of the best books I have read is "Paying for college without going broke" I also talkd to the financial aid person of our local community college who was helpful. (and free)
I also talked to alot of parents who have been through the process already. This stuff doesn't come easy for me.</p>
<p>If you have a complicated finances I suggest hiring a financial aid consultant. It is not ultra expensive if you look at grand scale of money involment. Anyway, there is nothing better than go to your local library and reading there every book that they have on subject... ;)</p>