Happy Holidays from our family to yours. I wanted to discuss the biggest, most valuable deal you can get for your student. Most families are still getting over the big deals from Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but let me point out an even greater deal – saving $144,000 on college. Most families get excited when they find a “doorbuster” Black Friday special on their new TV, but I get excited when I save families $21,000+ per year on college!
There are 5 simple steps to receiving a discount on college:
- Working right – good grades, high SAT/ACT scores, extra-curricular activities, sports, etc.
- Preparation and planning (starting in 9th grade)
- Research to find the “best fit college”
- Financial aid preparation to maximize all scholarships/grants
- Filing for financial aid without mistakes and on time
Each of these topics is very unique and every step can increase the amount of scholarships/grants that your student can get.
Sarah, a student we have been helping since 10th grade, attends Chapman University and receives $36,000 per year ($144,000 savings)! She is studying Business Administration, and will be graduating next year. Congratulations Sarah! How did she receive a discount this big? What did she do differently that made her get these scholarships?
It’s simple. Sarah and her family took the time to plan.
I’ll start off by letting you know the biggest way we helped Sarah – we found her passion. In 2010, Sarah had no idea what career she wanted to pursue. She was thinking of being a veterinarian, a teacher, or studying business. This is where we started the college planning process with Sarah (every student is different). Think about it. How is your student supposed to decide on 4,200+ schools in the country if he or she doesn’t know what they are going to do after they graduate?
After a series of assessments and working with our college career counselor, we were able to find that Sarah’s true passion was business. What we did for her next was the #1 reason Sarah was able to connect her career opportunities and get a HUGE discount in the process.
Let’s say your student knows what career they want to pursue. Well, how do you find the best college without wasting money or your time aimless browsing on the internet? You seek guidance. Finding the “best fit college” can be an overwhelming chore, and in a few meetings, our admission counselor consolidated Sarah’s list to about 25 schools that specialize in business across the nation. These were schools that fit Sarah socially and academically. What would have taken Sarah and her family hours and hours of time finding schools, we did in about 2 meetings.
Sarah, like many of our students, found her passion, chose a major & college that fit her life goals, and got a huge discount in the process, because she was informed. Are you going through this process blindly? With experience from 10-20 years ago? Stay up to date on all higher education planning by following my Blog or Facebook.
For more information on getting a bigger discount than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, give us a call now or sign up for a local information workshop on the college financial aid process.
RSVP at our workshop tab or visit: www.collegeplanningexperts.com/workshops today!
