About GetCollegeFunding Meet our Key Players 
Learn About The People Dedicated To Help You
This page tells you all about us. We're equiped to help families across America - not just southern California - begin to plan for their College Funding. And we've established a national network of 'best in class' individuals and firms that help us provide families with accurate and up-to-date information in every aspect as they prepare for college.
Following are links that will take you quickly to various sections of this page (or you can scroll down):
The Story Behind GetCollegeFunding, Inc.
KEY PLAYERS
Tom and Lawrene Bottorf, the founders of GetCollegeFunding, are committed to helping parents (and grandparents) of college-bound students understand the concepts of College Funding and then counsel and guide them through the entire process of minimizing their out-of-pocket costs, file the financial aid forms on their behalf accurately and in a timely fashion, and offer direction in developing a sound, systematic and strategic plan in paying for college. We hope you'll take us up on our Personal Invitation to you before you leave our website - please check it out. We can promise you significant personal benefit if you simply allow us to help you get started with the College Funding process.
We operate out of our Dana Point, California office and enjoy welcoming families into our facility – whether it be for a free College Funding Seminar, Private Consultation, Professional Services, or just to answer a few questions and help them determine their "next step" in preparation for college. Expect a friendly office and a staff that is eager to help. And by the way, being so close to the beach, don’t expect suits and ties - but instead Hawaiian shirts and dockers!
GetCollegeFunding conducts FREE public and private seminars. As a non-profit, public benefit corporation, we enjoy partnering with high schools - both public and private, churches, and organizations in order to offer free College Funding Seminars to parents (and grandparents), educators and counselors. This is our first step in helping families by educating them with the facts concerning the College Funding process. If you want a more intimate setting, GetCollegeFunding offers private (and always free) seminars in our Dana Point conference facility. Gather a group of 5 to 10 and schedule one! And for larger groups, we’ll come to you.
We support our local schools and businesses. We are thrilled to sponsor school activities and events and enjoy helping out with needs in the local districts whenever we can. And we are happy to be a member of the Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano Chambers of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau.
Important NOTE - College Funding 'Reputation'
KEY PLAYERS
Sadly - The College Funding Industry Has Earned A 'Black Eye'
We at GetCollegeFunding are fully aware of this and acknowledge the mistrust that has resulted. It's no wonder that many school administrators, teachers and parents question the overall integrity of the industry. Read about the GetCollegeFunding ADVANTAGE - what it is that sets us apart from the rest of the pack!
Here's a perfect example: An advertisement commonly used across the country promises to share with you “the secret to sending your child to a private school for less than the cost of a junior college”. Be cautious of such claims as well as any reference to "little-known ways of getting money for college, no matter how much income you make, or how well your student performs". The staff of GetCollegeFunding does not endorse any type of misrepresentation or over-promising.
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GetCollegeFunding, Inc.
KEY PLAYERS
Tom Bottorf
GetCollegeFunding, Inc.
President & Founder
Dana Point (Orange County), CA
Tom is a College Funding Specialist and founder of GetCollegeFunding. He conducts College Funding Seminars in order to educate parents with the knowledge they need concerning this critical element in preparing for college. He speaks in public and private high schools and also to organizations - and he now offers his monthly WEBinars so that families across the country can benefit from his expertise, instruction and desire to help.
Tom has a weekly column in the Orange County Register in southern California. In it he answers relevant questions of the day that so many parents have. The online version of this column finds its way across the country and is often captured on College Funding and Financial Aid websites. Tom's weekly email distribution of this column reaches over 1000 parents, educators, financial aid officers, and colleagues nationwide.
Tom offers free Personal Evaluations at which time he meets 1-on-1 with families and assesses their personal College Funding situation. For families outside southern California, through the use of high-technology tools, he meets with them through tele-conferences and Internet conferencing. Tom resides in Dana Point, CA with his wife Lawrene and their golden retriever Sammy. He (Tom, not Sammy) is a graduate of Penn State with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Tom worked in the high-tech industry for 26 years in Arizona and California before entering College Funding full-time several years ago.
In 2002 he left the technical field and began pursuing his real passion of “making a difference” in people’s lives. It was a short time later that he first learned about the emerging field of College Funding. Since then he has helped thousands of families understand the College Funding process and its financial implications to them. Tom is relationship-oriented and loves to engage with the families he meets. His engineering background has proven to be an asset to GetCollegeFunding through the organizational skills he learned along the way and his attention to detail. (Being good with numbers and spreadsheets helps, too!)
Lawrene Bottorf
GetCollegeFunding, Inc.
Co-Founder
Dana Point (Orange County), CA
Lawrene is a College Funding Specialist and co-founder of GetCollegeFunding. She manages the GetCollegeFunding office in Dana Point, CA and also provides her technical expertise to the organization. Lawrene left her data base consulting business of 7 years in order to start GetCollegeFunding. She is a graduate of Biola University with a B.S. in Business. She also received her MBA from California State University at Dominguez Hills and her M.S. degree in Management from Pacific Western University.
Tom often says of his wife, "Thanks to Lawrene - all I have to do is show up and talk to nice families!"
The GetCollegeFunding ADVISORY TEAM
We continue to enhance our network with experts nationwide covering many disciplines, all for the purpose of providing world-class service and support to our GetCollegeFunding families. This allows us to continue to focus exclusively within our niche of College Funding and to call upon them as necessary to assist our families in areas including college selection, career assessment, tax strategy implementation, cash flow analysis and advanced financial strategies.
Don Betterton
Betterton College Planning, LLC
President & Founder
Pennington, NJ
Princeton University
Director of Financial Aid (retired)
Princeton, NJ
Don served as the director of financial aid at Princeton University for 30 years. During that time, he was the architect of Princeton’s innovative no loan program and gained recognition a national leader in his profession. His range of knowledge is extensive, including all aspects of both need-based and merit aid.
He has been a trustee of the College Board, chaired the policy committee for an association of the country's most selective colleges, and recently was honored by being named the College Scholarship Service Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the aid profession.
Don has been a consultant to more than 30 colleges. Don also served on Princeton's admission committee and is familiar with college admissions from policy level discussions to the evaluation of student credentials. He has done individual and group counseling sessions on how a student should prepare both inside and outside the classroom for admission to a selective college.
Gary Carpenter, CPA
College Planning Services
President
Syracuse, NY
CollegeLOAN Evaluator
Co-Founder
Syracuse, NY
Gary is a Certified Public Accountant in New York and a Certified College Planning Specialist. He is the co-founder of the CollegeLOAN Evaluator and owner of College Planning Services. Mr. Carpenter has also provided continuing education courses in the area of college planning and financial aid for the New York, Connecticut, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, Georgia, California, Oregon and Pennsylvania State Societies of CPA’s, the New York State Bar Association and the Financial Planning Association of New York.
Gary is co-author of College Financial Planning for Any Income Level and has been quoted in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, MONEY, Financial Advisor, AARP Magazine and on MSNBC and CNBC. He has had over thirty years experience in tax and financing and has spent the past eight years in college planning and consulting. He is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Institute of Certified College Planners. He is active in committee service for the New York State Society of CPA’s and serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations.
Carri Frechette
Think Ahead, LLC
Special Projects Manager
Portland, Maine
Carri Frechette, Special Projects Manager, brings hands-on experience to Think Ahead as a former Financial Aid Administrator at University of New England. She is an expert on the EFC calculation and plays an integral role in GetCollegeFunding’s ability to strategize families’ EFC assessment and management.
Carri graduated from Boston University in 1992 with a BS in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. She worked as a Financial Aid Specialist for over three years with a specialty in alternative loan financing. That, along with Carri’s time with Think Ahead, gives her more than 10 year’s experience in the financial aid industry.
She is a member of NACAC (the National Association of College Admission Counselors) and NASFAA (the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators). She lives in Biddeford, Maine with her husband and four children.
GetCollegeFunding works closely with Carri as she supports College Aid Calculator (EFC Wizard as we call it!) that Think Ahead has developed and continually updates as the FAFSA and PROFILE financial aid forms change, as well as the tables, calculations and methodologies.
Eric Goodhart
Programs For Education (PFE)
Director of College Admissions Advising
Lunenburg, MA
Eric speaks nationally to parents, financial advisors and CPA's. His pragmatic approach demystifies the college planning process and
is considered by many college admissions professionals as one of the most professionally knowledgeable and
comprehensive counseling systems for college selection in the United States. His firm specializes in working with students anywhere in the country who aspire to be accepted to the more competitive colleges. That is, those that accept less than 40% of applicants.
Eric participates in the College Board's admissions and financial aid workshops for College Admissions and Financial Aid Administrators. This personal association with such individuals can help you and your student get an early and realistic assessment as to how both admissions and the financial aid offices may evaluate the applicant and parents. This "behind the scenes" insight has helped hundreds of families over the last 15 years plan strategically for optimal results.
PFE's support as a member of our team can include pre-college academic preparation, college selection, essay advising, recommendations and interview strategies. In addition, coaching in how to show "demonstrated interest" in a prospective college without being superfluous or insincere. Keep in mind that the supplemental applications and the college specific short answer questions can be the downfall of a bright student's acceptance chances. Eric and his counselors will carefully review all applications prior to submission with the student. This will enhance his or her chances of success.
Chuck Moore
National College Planning Association
Kentucky State Director
Louisville, KY
Student Athletic Center
President & Founder
Louisville, KY
In the late 1960’s Chuck was an all round high school athlete. During his high school years he received 16 varsity letters while playing four different high school sports. At the end of his high school career he was offered several full athletic scholarships from NCAA Division I and Division II colleges in football and track. Chuck now is a Certified College Planning Specialist, Certified Cash Flow Consultant, Certified Athletic Marketing Consultant and a Certified Athletic Financial Consultant.
Over the last 24 years Chuck has helped hundreds of families in the athletic marketing process. He has been approved to conduct EILA (continuing education courses) to all guidance counselors, principals, and school administrators in the state of Kentucky when it comes to addressing the high cost of a college education.
These same courses are also approved in the states of Washington and South Carolina.
He has appeared on local and national radio and TV and has been interviewed by local and national media publications.
Chuck has assisted hundreds of families on how to pay the balance of the educational costs when the athletic scholarship fell short of the student’s financial need. Chuck has trained CPAs, past college athletes, past/present high school/college coaches and financial consultants on athletic marketing across the United States.
Karl Schellscheidt
ePrep, Inc.
Chief Executive Officer
Princeton, NJ
Karl is the President, CEO, and Co-Founder of ePrep, Inc. Based on 15+ years of teaching and private tutoring experience, he led the development of ePrep's unique video-based platform that uses the Internet to deliver expert video instruction to students around the world.
Karl graduated from Princeton University in 1990 with a BSE in Civil Engineering and from Seton Hall University in 1993 with a Masters Degree in Secondary Education. After graduate school, Karl served as an Environmental Science Instructor for the Office of Continuing Education at Rutgers University. Karl also taught, coached, and served as a dorm parent at The Hun School of Princeton from 1994 to 1997.
In 2000, Karl earned a juris doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He worked as a corporate transactional attorney for Dechert LLP until 2002. Karl is a member in good standing of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He lives in Rocky Hill, New Jersey, with his wife and three children.
Nick Williams, RMA, RFC
Nations Home Funding
College Loan Strategist
Newport Beach, CA
Nick’s unique College Funding Optimizer™ process helps parents evaluate the different financing methods to bridge the gap between the EFC and the actual cost of college. These include comparisons of Stafford and PLUS loans as well as less traditional methods.
Nick’s aim is to help parents pay for college without prejudicing their retirement and other financial goals or dramatically changing their lifestyles.
A graduate of Exeter University in England, Nick is both a Registered Financial Consultant and a Registered Mortgage Advisor. He has spent the last fifteen years helping his clients structure their debt and equity to meet their short and long term financial goals and objectives. He also works closely with his clients’ other financial professionals to ensure a consistent and cohesive plan is implemented.
FRIENDS of GetCollegeFunding
KEY PLAYERS
Paul Bozymowski
Vice President
Securities Equity Group
Washington, MI
Paul is a College Funding Specialist and is also an Investment Advisor Representative and one of the Market Analysts for Select Portfolio Management Inc., a Registered Investment Advisory firm. He also serves as Vice President and is a Registered Principal and Registered Representative for a broker dealer, Securities Equity Group, ( a member NASD, SIPC, and MSRB).
Paul has been in the Financial Services industry since 1972 and has worked with thousands of investors in various aspects of money management and financial planning. He began his career with Paine Webber (now UBS) in 1972 in the back office and eventually became an Asst Vice President of Administration. He earned his stockbroker Series 7 license in 1978. He was a Branch Manager for First of Michigan Corporation and worked at E F Hutton, Merrill Lynch and Investment Timing Consultants before joining Select Portfolio Management and Securities Equity Group.
After hearing from his clients and their need for counseling on college financing and all the misinformation out there, Paul decided to join forces with GetCollegeFunding and Tom Bottorf to begin to educate parents on their options for college planning and funding. Paul is available to make educational presentations to schools and organizations/ associations regarding financial aid, cash flow management and various other college planning topics. He is also available to meet with individual families to help them with their specific situation. He can be reached by phone at 800-443-5217.
Now that you have a better idea of who we are, we would love for you to take a
moment
to
check out your options and possible "Next Step" by going to our
Contact Us
page to find out how you might start working with GetCollegeFunding
