Our relationship with each client involves an initial four-step process that typically spans a 12 to 24 month time period beginning in the student's junior year of high school. The relationship continues throughout the college years until the focus shifts to retirement planning for the parents.

Step One - Income and Asset Planning

This step begins by determining how much income or what assets, if any, can be set aside to pay for college expenses. Every family's situation is different so every plan is customized to meet the family's needs. The following are some strategies that have been used by recent clients.

Asset Security - Often times families put college savings in risky investments hoping to recapture the market losses of the last few years. We show them that such strategies may not be necessary.

Debt Restructuring - Many of our clients have found themselves unable to save for college on a regular basis due to relatively high levels of personal debt. For those clients we put together a college savings plan that includes restructuring that debt.

Tax Savings - For families that are planning on paying for college with appreciated assets we show them how they may be able to cut their capital gains tax in half.

Step Two - Identifying Schools with the Best Aid Packages

This step begins by calculating the family's Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This is the amount, based on a formula developed by the US Department of Education, that a family is expected to contribute each year toward college expenses. The difference between the cost of attending a particular school and a family's EFC is the amount of financial assistance for which they are eligible.

Financial assistance can come in any of three forms including grants (that do not have to be repaid), work-study (part-time on-campus work), and loans that have to be repaid once the student graduates. Schools with greater financial resources are able to provide a larger percentage of assistance in the form of grants, while students who attend schools with more limited resources end up with a greater percentage of student loans.

College Funding Associates has developed a comprehensive database that can accurately estimate the amount and type of financial assistance you can expect from each school you are considering, before you apply! Many families have discovered that it does not cost any more to attend an expensive private school than it does to attend a local state supported school.

Step Three - Completing all the Paperwork

If you knew that you were about to do something and you had a 90% chance of doing it wrong, you would probably ask for some advise first, wouldn't you? According to the Department of Education, 90% of the forms submitted for financial aid have errors or inconsistencies in them. These errors can cause delays that can reduce or eliminate a student's eligibility for financial aid. We routinely have parents come into our office who think they are not eligible for financial aid because of their experience with an older son or daughter. A quick review of their paperwork reveals that they made a simple mistake on the financial aid form. If you think you will be part of the 10% who do it right, think again. We have seen engineers, small business owners, and even CPAs make mistakes that have cost them thousands of dollars in assistance that they were eligible for. Are you really willing to take that chance when thousands of dollars could be at stake?

College Funding Associates will complete and file all of the necessary paperwork including the FAFSA form and if required, the Profile form.

These forms should be completed even if you know your EFC is more than the cost of attendance. Many merit-based scholarships require that one or both of these forms be completed. Also, some loan programs require the forms as well.

Step Four - Negotiate with Schools for a Better Assistance Package

It is not uncommon for schools to make mistakes when putting together financial aid packages. It is also not uncommon for schools to intentionally under award in order to stretch their limited resources. How would you know if this happened? And what do you do when it does? Because College Funding Associates can accurately estimate what each award package should look like, you will know if you have been under awarded. If that happens, we will work directly with the financial aid office at the school to try to improve the financial aid package. While there are no guarantees that they will change the award package, if it is not questioned, you are guaranteed it will not get any better.