What We Do for You at GetCollegeFunding
What Are GetCollegeFunding's
Key Objectives In Helping Families?
- Educate your family with the facts regarding the College Funding process through free seminars in a variety of venues.
- Assess your family’s financial aid eligibility and make appropriate recommendations through a free personal assessment consultation.
- Counsel your family in order to optimize the children’s financial aid eligibility, based on need and/or merit considerations.
- Offload the task of completing your FAFSA and CSS Profile forms, thereby enabling you to focus your attention on helping your children where they need you most - preparing for their college admission.
This Page Shows 'What We Do' For You
For a comprehensive list of services, features and fees, view our Schedule of Services.
College Funding Seminar
GetCollegeFunding conducts FREE Seminars. The purpose of our seminars is to educate families with the facts of College Funding. We will dispel the misconceptions and reveal the process that parents need to understand.
You can expect to learn a lot of new, relevant and ACCURATE information. Our seminars are one hour long and are held in high schools, in our Dana Point office and at private facilities upon request. And for our non-local families all across the country, we offer live Internet-based WEBinars!
We have nothing for sale at these seminars. This is our outreach to the public. We encourage you to carve out the time from your busy schedule and take this first step in getting educated on the facts regarding College Funding. The return on your investment of time will be well worth it. Regardless of your qualification for financial aid eligibility, understanding the College Funding process is relevant for all families. What you will learn in one hour with us would take you many hours of research on your own.
- To view our Seminar Agenda & Presentation (PDF format), click here.
- NEW: To view (and listen to) our Online Seminar - animated PowerPoint AND full audio, click here.
- For a list of Upcoming Seminars, click here for dates and locations.
- If you would like to Register Online for a seminar, click here or call our Seminar Registration Hotline at 949-226-7158.
We also offer Private Seminars for you. These are especially fun as you are learning and interacting with friends and family – and there is never a cost to you. We offer you three options:
- In our Dana Point conference facility: If you have a group of 5 to 10 we’ll set up a private seminar just for you in our Dana Point conference facility – and remember, it's always free.
- In a facility that you provide: If you have a group of 10 or more and would like to provide a meeting place – whether it be your home, your church, a clubhouse, or any other appropriate facility – we will be glad to come to you and present our seminar, as long as you are within 50 miles of our Dana Point facility.
- If you are in a remote location (relative to our Dana Point office) and would like a group presentation, our Webinar works well for you. If you have a computer with Internet access, a projector, screen and speaker-phone, then we're in business! Gather your group together and we'll transmit our live presentation to your computer. And we'll present to your group through a tele-conference and control the video presentation from our location.
|
Personal Evaluations
GetCollegeFunding offers you a FREE Personal Evaluation in our Dana Point office to help you prepare for your family's College Funding. And even after your student is in college, if you have any questions or concerns about College Funding, we'll continue to be here for you. For families outside southern California, read about our Tele-Consultations below.
Our Personal Evaluation typically lasts from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the complexity of your family's profile. The purpose of the Personal Evaluation is to provide you with an assessment of your family’s College Funding situation. You can expect to leave with an accurate assessment and understanding of your financial aid eligibility and any potential of reducing your Expected Family Contribution (out-of-pocket costs).
It’s extremely beneficial if you’ve previously attended a seminar or WEBinar. And we recommend that both parents attend the Personal Evaluation. It's proven to be more effective when both are involved.
We Need You To Complete The 'EFC Wizard' BEFORE Your Personal Evaluation |
|
You Can Expect The Following Results
From Your Personal Evaluation
- EFC Analysis – Analysis of your family’s eligibility for 'need-based' financial aid at public and private colleges. You'll receive a report showing you your EFC calculations - both FM and IM. The report will reveal 'best-case' and 'worst-case' scenarios for your family's EFC. We'll tell you if there’s anything you can do before filing the financial aid forms that may reduce your EFC.
- Financial Aid Statistics – We will share with you the %Need, %Gift Aid (grants) and %Self-Help (loans/work studies) financial aid statistics for the schools your student is considering. These statistics reveal to some families that it may cost less money out of pocket to send their child to some of the more expensive private schools!
- College Data - You will receive a College Data Report on the school of your choice. This report includes Admissions, Financial, Academic, Extracurricular Activities, General Information, and Contact Data and detailed statistics regarding the school.
- Loans – There are many different types of college loans from which you can choose. We will explain the differences between them and guide you towards those that are best suited for your family.
- Referrals – If your student needs assistance in preparing for the standardized tests (SAT/ACT) or you are seeking a personal college admissions counselor, we will provide referrals to you.
- Q&A – Bring all of those unanswered college funding questions with you and ask away! We are here to help you in any way we can.
Even If You're Outside The Southern California Area
We Want You To Receive The Benefit Of A Personal Evaluation:
We Offer You A 'Tele-Consultation'
We would love to meet you in person, but if this isn’t possible because of location or schedule constraints, we will gladly set up a free 1-hour Tele-Consultation instead. There's no need to be concerned that your Tele-Consultation will be any less effective than meeting in person – because it won’t, thanks to technology! You'll log onto a proprietary area of our website dedicated for Tele-Consultations, so you'll see the same materials and have the same evaluation as those families that come into our office.
Would You Like To Request YOUR |
Call Us at 949-340-2675 to Schedule |
CollegeFunding 'PLUS'
CollegeFunding 'PLUS' is our fee-based comprehensive offering for families who want us to take care of the entire College Funding element for them – from start to finish. It allows you as parents to focus on the other elements of college preparation, as required, by your student: College Selection, Admissions, Standardized Test Preparation.
If you decide that CollegeFunding 'PLUS' is right for your family, we'll get started right away in preparing your personalized 'College Funding Planning Guide' and then we'll meet again within a week or two to begin the program. This exclusive Guide is available only through GetCollegeFunding and reflects the expertise and attention to detail that you'll come to expect from us. The contents of our College Funding Planning Guide are listed further down on this page.
We want to emphasize that in no way will you ever feel pressured into engaging with our CollegeFunding 'PLUS'. The primary mission of GetCollegeFunding, Inc. is to provide a public benefit to families by way of education and counsel. We encourage families to utilize GetCollegeFunding at whatever level they need us. You will never feel pressured by anyone on our staff to 'sign up' for anything!
| Here's Some Benefits You Can Expect From Our CollegeFunding 'PLUS' |
|
Here's A Glimpse Of What's Included In Our Exclusive
'College Funding Planning Guide'
- GCF Care Center Services –
'Information e-Book' defining for you all of the steps of the financial aid forms process we will perform on your behalf. You will receive confirmations of each step as completed so that deadlines are not missed, and we’ll send you reminders of crucial steps you need to take on your child’s behalf.
- To-Do-List/Next Step – High School Calendar description of action items, freshman to senior years, that will guide your student in preparation of College Admissions and College Funding. Also, a detailed Sequence of Services from the Client Care Center that defines key milestones for parents.
- Financial Aid Tutorial –
A comprehensive 'Guide to College Financial Aid'. This document covers it all – EFC, need-based aid, merit-based aid, grants, loans, work study, sources of aid, tax considerations, financial aid forms, professional judgment, graduate students, a glossary of terms, and more.
- Personal EFC Analysis – Extensive calculation and breakdown of your Expected Family Contribution using both the Federal and Institutional Methodologies. This will provide you with an 'early look' at your EFC, which is the foundation for needs-based financial aid. The earlier you know your EFC, the better. Also included is a 'What-If' Report, showing any possible reductions in EFC, as applicable, and an 'Aid Eligibility Comparison Report' showing the anticipated need-based financial aid awards from all your colleges of interest.
- College Cost Analysis – A personalized Cash Flow Analysis Report which illustrates if your family’s current financial profile supports a surplus or deficit relative to paying for college. We will evaluate the anticipated cost of college for all the children, education loans, annual cash flow available for college and ear-marked savings. This analysis is critical as we begin to prepare a plan in paying for college in the most cost-effective manner.
- Financial Strategies –
College Cost Reduction Strategies, Tax Strategies, and Tax-Advantaged College Savings Options, including 529 Plans, Coverdell ESA's and UGMA/UTMA Custodial Accounts. There’s something in this section for every family.
- College Data - Individual 2-page reports on all the colleges your family is evaluating. These reports address in detail the following categories: Admissions, Financial, Academic, Extracurricular Activities, General Information, and Contact Data. Included is information such as: Admissions Procedure, Freshman Class Profile, Expenses, Scholarships and Grants, Student Employment, Instructional Faculty statistics, Degree Offerings, Facilities, Housing, and much more.
| Don't just HOPE for a good College Funding package PLAN FOR IT GetCollegeFunding Is Here To Help YOU |
This service is included with CollegeFunding 'PLUS'. There’s no way around the paperwork! The purpose of this critical part of our service is to assure that your financial aid forms are completed accurately and submitted on time. We want you to expect excellence from us! When you engage with GetCollegeFunding we offer this service complimentary. Here’s what it includes:
- FAFSA and CSS Profile Forms – Completion and submittal on your behalf for up to 12 colleges. You can rest assured that your financial aid forms will be submitted with impeccable accuracy and timeliness.
- School-Specific Financial Aid Forms – Required by many private colleges in addition to the standardized forms. Unlike the FAFSA and CSS Profile Forms, an electronic signature is not allowed, so we will provide all the support you require in order to accurately complete.
- Awards Review – Analysis of all financial aid awards your student receives and evaluations for fairness. We will evaluate the award based on a needs-based analysis and your student's merit.
- Financial Aid Appeals – In the event of an unfair award, we will offer advice, strategies and coaching as necessary to optimize your ability to leverage a better award through the appeals process. The appeals process is a specialty of GetCollegeFunding.
- Student & Parent Education Loan Applications – We will explain all of your options regarding education loans, both student and parent. You can rely on us for accurate and up-to-date information on current interest rates and payment terms - and will share with you the pros and cons of every option facing you. We will review the loan process and provide any guidance you may need through the completion of application forms.
|
Now that you have a good sense of who we serve, how we work and what
services we provide, read About Us to learn more about the people
at GetCollegeFunding who would like to work with you