"The College Authority"

RScientist
Wed, 20 May 2015 15:50:26 +0000

My wife went to a seminar by “College Authority” advisor I went to one by financial aid person from a state university we could not both do to same seminars because we are very busy and have multiple pre college kids. Also had CA advisor run our numbers and present their services to us. It is not a scam but not cheap either. Everything the man said is what I have read elsewhere. It is all legal and very time consuming possibly a good deal for very busy professional parents with good incomes but little extra time. Important to start planing early. Expect to pay about $2850 for first child and about $1850 for each additional child but $500 discount for referral is possible. This includes about 12 different profession services that you could and probably should do yourself but many not be as effective at. Many people think the State school is the cheapest because the tuition is lower but if State U provides you with less aid the private may actually cost you less out of pocket, also if you do not know how to make them compete over you/or child you could leave a lot of money on table, and not know how to negotiate effectively after an offer has been made by the university on aid. Especially 2nd year and beyond. Knowledge is power and $$$. “College Authority” does not know anything that is not in the public domain, but how much time do you have to learn what you need to know? How much money is at stake? All money you set aside of all your kids can be demanded for just the first kid who goes to college, these are the federal rules/law right or wrong that is how it works. Know the game rules before you play. Same thing with savings for assisted living or elderly parents, protecting money is not illegal just smart but many other strategies are also important CA can help but help yourself as well with knowledge that is in public domain. I.e. which std testing can child improve on SAT or ACT then focus on that. many more, like which and how many universities to apply to.