College Benefits Available to Associations

One of the most expensive undertakings your members or employees will probably ever face is funding their student's education. College Planning Strategies, LLC can help them prepare their student(s) for college while minimizing stress and out-of-pocket college expenses.

College Planning Workshops

This option is for groups that are geographically located so that members can attend a workshop at a central location. Our president, Murray J. Miller, is a published author and popular speaker with insider's secrets on how to beat the high cost of college. Our professional college planning advisors have been featured speakers for numerous Fortune 500 companies, national organizations and local high schools and non-profits. You can request a college planning workshop especially for YOUR association.

Demystifying Financial Aid and Maximizing College Funding topics include:

• Preparing for financial aid applications in advance to maximize aid and minimize expenses.
• How going to a "more expensive" private university may actually end up costing less!
• How to position students for more gift aid (Free Money) rather that loans.
• Expensive mistakes families make and how to avoid them.
• How to get ahead by developing a customized college plan for all college costs.
• How to save more money on your taxes.

I am impressed with the full range of knowledge that you and your staff bring to bear on the college admission and funding process. I find the combination of financial advice, application process insight, and negotiation strategies to be exceptionally valuable, going well beyond what I expected at the beginning. Arthur L.

CPS provides each family that attends a free e-book,Winning the College Funding Game, packed with useful tips and resources regarding the entire college planning process. Depending upon your group, a personal college planning consultation may also be available to workshop attendees for low or even no cost. Contact our office for details or to request references from organizations that have already hosted our workshop.

College Prep Audio Program and Member Discounts

This option works for groups regardless of their geographical location. We will provide you with information to distribute to your members. Upon a member's request, we will send them a free audio program and our e-book, Winning the College Funding Game. They may also receive a discount toward an SAT/ACT test preparation program or any of our other college planning services.

College Planning Strategies
www.OurCollegePlan.Com
www.SmartTrackToolKit.com
www.facebook.com/collegeplanningstrategies

Your Roadmap to College Success

College Planning Strategies, LLC recognizes that the needs of each family—and for that matter, the needs of each student—are different. Therefore, we developed the flexible Smart Track Series of personalized in-depth services. Our highly trained team of advisors and support staff are up-to-date on the pressing issues related to preparing your student for college and a successful graduation. We can help guide you step-by-stepthrough the obstacles that may hinder your student’s college dreams: potential job loss, college funding issues, choosing the right school, admissions challenges, financial aid and scholarships, changes in educational loans, and a variety of other serious issues that today’s families must face.

Student Support Services

For many students, applying to college is a stressful process. There are so many things to do, so many deadlines to meet and new information to learn. We will guide you and your student step-by-step through the college search and application process and be there to answer all of your questions.

Our workshops help with everything from career exploration, to college search and visits, to acing the college admissions interviews. We help your student clarify his or her goals, overcome insecurities, and make the best impression possible. This will help them gain admission to their top choice colleges, receive merit scholarships, and obtain jobs and other opportunities. We’ll also give the whole family important college planning tips that will help eliminate family conflict, save you time and money, and keep you on track so you can sleep well, knowing nothing has been forgotten.

Does your student need help with admissions essays? Our professional essay editors will make suggestions on how to show off their best qualities without losing their own voice. Our editors will not only catch grammatical and spelling errors, but help them communicate in a compelling way.

Customized College Planning

One of our professional college planners will work with you to analyze your family’s unique situation, goals and current strategy for handling college expenses—even if that means “one semester at a time.” After analyzing your current situation, we will help you develop a plan for moving forward. We will help you uncover ways ofreducing your out-of-pocket college costs.  This encompasses maximizing financial aid possibilities, choosing schools that are more likely to award your student grants and scholarships, utilizing tax-favored dollars, and several additional strategies.

If your family will need to borrow money to help pay for college expenses, we will assess for you variousborrowing strategies and recommend the best loan types and repayment options for your situation.

After a few sessions you will have a customized plan of action charting your course through each year you will have at least one student in college. In addition to the written plan, our entire team of professionals will be here to guide you each step of the way through regular consultations, phone conversations, and email support. We will make sure your college plan adjusts with each curve that life brings, whether positive or negative.

Financial Aid Assistance

There are literally billions of dollars available in both merit and need-based assistance. In order to receive most of it, however, the proper paperwork must be submitted correctly and punctually. This can include, but is not limited to the FAFSA, CSS/Profile, Institutional forms, and Business/Farm Supplement. In order to maximize your awards there is a lot you would need to learn, especially if you have your own business or special circumstances. Many of these forms are considered longer and more complicated than the federal tax forms. Similar to taxes, it often pays to have advice on how tolower your expenses, not to mention reduce the hassle and stress of this process for you!

Our Financial Aid Specialists will tackle all of your financial aid paperwork including the FAFSA, CCS/Profile, Institutional forms, and Business/Farm Supplement. We’ll ensure all paperwork is done accurately and on-time so you don’t miss outon any aid you deserve.

Our Financial Aid Specialists will tackle all of your financial aid paperwork including the FAFSA, CCS/Profile, Institutional forms, and Business/Farm Supplement. We’ll ensure all paperwork is done accurately and on-time so you don’t miss outon any aid you deserve

You’ll want to know if your award is a fair one or if your case is strong enough to risk appealing for more aid. Our experts will evaluate your case, and if your situation warrants an appeal, we will walk you step by step through this delicate process. We have found the appeals process is more of an art than a science. However, our statistics are astounding: 8 out of 10 appeals we guide are awarded more money!

If your family will need additional loans to cover college expenses, we also help you select the most advantageous loan(s) for your family’s situation

Test Preparation

CPS has partnered with leading test preparation companies to provide programs that can fit into almost any schedule or budget. They are not only educational and effective, but fun! This is a unique study program that offers the benefits of private tutoring at only a fraction of the cost of most test preparation courses, and is available for the standard SAT and ACT as well as for SAT Subject Tests in Math Level I and Level II.

Since the SAT and ACT do not administer their tests online, it is critical the student practice in the same pencil-paper environment they will experience on test day. We provide you with online access to printable practice tests for home practice. The student completes a practice section offline under timed conditions; the student logs in and submits answers for electronic grading; and, finally, the student launches into a self-guided video review of the practice test problems they had difficulty with or have questions about. There is even a vocabulary builder available. Studies show that this interactive video delivery platform makes learning 200% more effective than text-based learning, and results are guaranteed.

College Planning Strategies
www.OurCollegePlan.Com
www.SmartTrackToolKit.com
www.facebook.com/collegeplanningstrategies

Are You On the Smart Track?

In the United States the average four-year college education costs between $90,513 and $181,025. However, did you know that statistically a higher percentage of students require over 5 years to complete their undergraduate studies? Are you and your student(s) ready for the challenge?

Top 5 College Planning Questions

1. Have you learned the proven techniques of how to pay for college without jeopardizing your own retirement?

2. Are you confident your student is on target with selecting and being admitted to the best fit college for him or her?

3. Did you research which colleges are most likely to award your student a higher percentage of Gift Aid (scholarships or grants)? If so, do you know how to ensure the award is renewable throughout their college tenure?

4. Have you discovered how to provide yourself with a "tax scholarship" from Uncle Sam, above and beyond the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credit? When it is best to use funds earmarked for college and when it is not? How relatives including grandparents can help with college expenses without negatively impacting your students' award?

5. Does your current college plan cover ALL of the years that you will have at least one student enrolled and ensure you won't have an unmanageable cash flow crunch?


College Planning Saves Money

Taking college funding "one year at a time" will likely be an expensive mistake. Planning for college in this fashion will usually cost a family thousands more than if you had developed a plan for all students and all years before your first student has even chosen their college or enrolled. Even worse than wasted money, many families who plan this way find themselves in a cash flow crisis midway through their student's college career. According to a recent report approximately 50% of the students that drop out of college do so for financial reasons.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, many families that started saving when or even before their first child was born may believe they have a fail-proof plan for affording a college education and do not investigate their options further. What many of these families do not realize is that they could save themselves thousands of dollars, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars per student if they understood the various proven college planning strategies that may apply to them.

Student Positioning for College Is Key

Some students are self-motivated and know exactly what their goals are and the best way to achieve them. Most students need some guidance and encouragement in choosing a college, applying for admission, and choosing a major. Sometimes parents, teachers, and the guidance office can provide all of the support they need to be successful. However, students frequently find it helpful to have outside support to keep them on track—especially if time is limited or communication is strained between certain parties.

Helping Families Stay On the Smart Track for College

Since the turn of the century College Planning Strategies, LLC has specialized in giving individualized help to families like yours so they can effectively transition from high school to college and beyond. CPS also educates families on how to defeat the high cost of college through workshops, radio talk shows, corporate benefits programs and a national on-line series of workshops. Our president, Murray J. Miller, is a published author with over 20 years of experience as a financial advisor and educator. He was ranked Number One College Advisor in the Nation in 2006 and 2008.
Our highly trained team of advisors and support staff has earned an A+ Rating from the Better Business Bureau. We can help guide you step-by-step through the obstacles that may hinder your student’s college dreams: potential job loss, college funding issues, choosing the right school, admissions challenges, financial aid and scholarships, changes in educational loans, and a variety of other serious issues that today’s families must face.

Let CPS help you support your student’s educational goals without delaying or giving up your goals for your own retirement!

College Planning Strategies
www.OurCollegePlan.Com
www.SmartTrackToolKit.com
www.facebook.com/collegeplanningstrategies