How do other parents seem to effortlessly send their kids to school? What is it they know that you don't? It may come as a shock, but most likely they are probably taking "traditional advice" and making huge sacrifices because that is what they were told.
There are lots of people that will give you advice, including family, friends, and even financial advisors. The main problem is they are not experts. Would you have your family physician perform delicate heart surgery? The same principals apply.
We are TRAINED experts in the area of College Planning with (stuff here).
Understand the financial aid rulebook and how it applies to YOU
Know which schools have money and which do not
Figure out how where you are at for retirement and how to pay your share
File your forms accurately and on time
Negotiate with school or schools, when appropriate
We made it as simple as possible. You can put in over 200-300 hours of time just with ONE child...that's 6 weeks of full time work or more! Do you have that time to spend going it alone? Ideally, this should be started in the Fall of the Junior year of High School. Here are the 9 Steps in our process:
There are two primary profiles that may need to be done: the FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the CSS or College Scholarship Service Profile (College Board). The big misconception is there is no reason to complete, and that is not always true. Schools use these profiles to determine merit aid for students!