Our Consultants Are here to assist you from assessment to application
The financial aid piece of the college admissions process is quite possibly the most daunting and least understood of them all. It can potentially cost a family tens of thousands of dollars if they don’t follow the process and complete the forms correctly.
Never Judge a College by its Sticker Price
I always say never judge a college by its sticker price. All colleges are not created equal and some are more generous than others. Depending on the school and the credentials of the student as they compare to the entrance criteria of a college, a private school that has a sticker price of greater than $60,000 can come down to less than the cost of an in-state college cost of attendance.”
~ Elizabeth Levine, Founder, Signature College Counseling
A Personalized Financial Aid Profile is a Key Part of the College Search Process
One service we offer in our financial aid package is compiling a personalized financial aid profile for a family based on the financial information they provide and the colleges they are looking into. We calculate the family’s estimated Expected Family Contribution, which is a critical number in the financial aid process, and provide a package that compares each school, side by side, from an estimated net cost perspective for that particular family. This provides the family with an understanding of how a college will view their finances, and how their finances will impact their child’s bottom line cost.
Note: This is an a la carte item or part of our Premium Plan.
Guiding Families Through Completing their Financial Aid Forms
In addition to the above, we also guide families through completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid), which is the federal financial aid form that a family needs to complete for all schools if they would like any federal and institutional aid (at most colleges). In addition, we assist you in completing the CSS Profile, through the College Board, which is a much more complex and detailed form, which is required in addition to the FAFSA for 300+ schools for institutional aid only. Making an error on either of these forms can mean thousands of dollars not being awarded.
