mooooom Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Can anyone tell me about their experience with a College Financial Planner? Dh and I are considering this. I would like to know what special services they provide and if you thought it was worth it, or a waste of money. Also an idea of what it might cost (I know it will vary all over the country). And anything we should know about finding one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Honestly, I think you'd be better served to learn about the college admissions and financial aid processes yourself than to pay someone else. In my experience, the particular situation for each kid can be so different because you have to consider what he/she wants to study, what kinds of grades/test scores he/she will have, which college(s) are a good fit, how much you can afford to pay, what types of scholarships/aid are offered by each school, etc. When my son was applying to colleges several years ago, we went to two different financial aid info talks, one at our local public high school and the other in our community. At the end of the day, I felt that both were rather useless because their information was so general. Take a look at the Princeton Review guide by Chany called, "Paying for College Without Going Broke". Your local library probably has a copy. Once you understand the overall financial aid/scholarship picture, then look at the discussions on the College Confidential forum. There, you will find folks that are very knowledgeable about all aspects of college financing, and you can also ask questions on specific colleges in their colleges forum. My guess is that once you have informed yourself somewhat about the process, you will be better able to decide whether a college financial planner would be able to provide detailed advice specific to your family that is worth paying for. Good luck! Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Our ps really discourages parents from using these rather heavily implying that they are a waste of money. Our guidance counselors generally will counsel the parents and/or students, or, as mentioned here, college confidential has a financial section. It can be well worth your time to lurk there. Just realize that many of the students on there are ivy wannabes. Not everyone IRL is. Not as many of the parents on there are either. It really does depend a LOT on the student and the college(s) they wish to attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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