If you haven’t done it already, you may be “late!”

Today is a key date in the financial aid process around the country. The FAFSA is due for hundreds of colleges considering high school seniors as “priority candidates” for financial aid.

Are you ready to tackle the paperwork?

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the form a student needs to file early in the new year to see what type and how much federal need-based aid he or she will be eligible for in the upcoming school year.

When filing for aid for the Fall of 2012, a student and family is requested to use their 2011 tax year information.

Unfortunately, most tax returns have not been started, much less completed, by the earliest priority filing date found at hundreds of colleges around the country of February 1, 2012.

Waiting to have your family tax return done so that you can file with accurate numbers, can lead to disaster.

In my past life as a financial aid administrator, I saw countless students shocked when their aid packages were not sufficient, or renewed simply because they missed the filing deadline.

Whether it be federal or institutional money that a student is applying for, there is a finite amount of aid available each year. Schools have filing deadlines for a reason. They have to be able to distribute the available funds to those who filed “on time” …

And then give whatever is left, to those who did not file on time.

The underlying advice from this post is to get your FAFSA (and ancillary financial aid forms) filed ON TIME, with numbers as accurate as possible. Then, when your taxes are done in a month or two, go ahead and update the FAFSA and the financial aid office directly.

It is more important to file on time with your best estimate for your taxes, than to wait until the tax returns are complete and file accurate numbers past the priority deadlines.

Check the financial aid websites of the college(s) your high school senior is applying to and make sure you meet the deadlines.

A guest post by Suzan Bekiroglu.

In October of 2011, President Obama unveiled changes to the federal student loan program.

The changes he introduced could affect millions of student loan borrowers.

If you are a college student, student loan borrower or a high school student looking towards the future, then you should be aware of the changes to federal student loans that will take effect in 2012. If you are considering federal student loan consolidation, it is helpful to know what to expect ahead of time.

Eligibility

Only federal student loans are eligible to be consolidated under this program and there is an estimated 5.8 million borrowers who would be eligible.

If you have at least one federal student loan that was borrowed directly from the government rather than a private or bank lender, then you may qualify under the new rules.

If you do have federal student loans, but have obtained them from a bank or private lend-ing institute, you can still consolidate your loans under the original loan program, but it will not save you money.

Also, important to note, if your loans are in default, you are not eligible regardless of who the lender was.

Income Based Repayment Plan

The first change is in capping monthly payments due on federal student loans to what the borrower can afford to pay.

For example, if a teacher makes $45,000 a year and owes $60,000 in student loans, under the typical repayment plan, he or she would most likely pay about $690 a month.

But, now with the In-come Based Repayment plan, the payment would be reduced to $358 as it is capped to 15% of her discretionary income. In 2014, the IBR’s rates are scheduled to change from 15% of discretionary income down to 10%. Loan forgiveness after 25 years is also included in this plan.

Debt Consolidation for Easier Payments and Reducing Default Risk

The second change has to do with the federal government’s *student loan consolidation program which encourages borrowers towards federal student loan consolidation.

It is important to note that these changes only affect the federal student loan program- private and bank loans will remain the same as before.

The Department of Education is encouraging borrowers with multiple student loan payments to consolidate their debt under the Direct Loan program. Eligible borrowers should be notified by the Department of Education to let them know more about this opportunity.

For example, if a borrower is about to start making payments with two FFEL Stafford Loans for $4,500 each with an interest rate of 6% and one direct Stafford Loan for $5,500 at 4.5% interest, this borrower will be paying over $4,300 in interest until the loan repayment terms are satisfied.

However, if he consolidates his loans, they would save almost $400 a month in interest and have only one monthly payment to make, rather than multiple payments.

*You can find the article at Student Loan Consolidation

About the author

This guest post is written by Suzan Bekiroglu. Ms. Bekiroglu is a published freelance writer and editorial and SEO consultant. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida, she faced the obstacle of paying over $24,000 in student loan debt. Ever since, she has sought to educate prospective students and parents on student loan debt. She also writes about general personal finance and money saving tips.

A note from the CSGP team.

We think you will find this post informative and useful. We stress that is essential for families to plan college finance as far in advance as possible, in order to avoid the heavy burden of debt on students and, increasingly, on parents. We address this in great detail in the CSGP membership site.

Today we introduce you to one of our advisory board members, Christine Moriarty.

Christine is a Certified Financial Planner with a very unique specialty area:  helping couples manage their money and their financial decisions.  She has worked with thousands of people to create financial peace of mind.

She is often seen in The Boston Herald as a featured financial planner, and has shared her insights on families and money with publications including USA Today, Good Housekeeping, the Boston Globe, Better Homes and Gardens, Fidelity Focus Magazine and The LA Times.  

Because planning and paying for college is at the forefront of our professional services, I’m sure you can easily see how Christine and I found our “common ground.”

The college decision nowadays represents one the largest – if not the largest – financial decisions a couple will make with their children.  It deserves our full attention even though the ripple effects of paying for college won’t be felt for years.  Christine is a resource for couples who will be making decisions like this.

Since many of us make financial resolutions for the New Year, I asked Christine to give us something for you to think about as we move into 2012.   Christine can be reached through her company’s website, MONEYPEACE, and  here is a brief sampling of her thinking:

One critical chapter of married life is money, and how that money gets handled is an essential component of any relationship.          

Money, like love, is fluid and personal.  No two relationships are alike and no two people handle money the same way.  After years of coaching couples, I have discovered that all couples have issues around cash flow and control of money.  Each couple resolves money issues in some way or another with a conversation, but real, deep communication seldom happens around money.

When couples solve the problem by merging all assets or by separating all money, they feel they have fixed the problem.  They fail to recognize that their lives are ever changing and how they deal with their money needs to be reviewed often.

The true strength of a financial partnership is measured by the teamwork involved. 

Can you say you are on a financial team with your partner?  Are you striving toward mutual goals? Do each of you understand financially where you stand?

Teams make better choices.  Regular coaching and meetings keep teams focused and trained for whatever life deals them. 

Enlightened Finance for Couples is one tool that offers a framework for how a couple can work together toward their goals and share their financial life.  Creating a team takes time, energy and a willingness to adapt. 

No matter how you seek to build your financial partnership – with therapy, coaching, a certified financial planner or enlightened finance for couples; know that your investment will pay off for the long-term.  The value will be found in your relationship and in your net worth. 

Learn more about Christine’s coaching techniques and her Enlightened Finance for Couples Workshop by visiting her MONEYPEACE web site.  And do subscribe to her mailing list.  Her insights are unique.

 

That sounds a bit over the top, I know. And no, I’m not talking about raiding the little ceramic piggybank either.

But some parents and grandparents who are struggling in this economy are finding the need to tap into their retirement accounts (worst case scenario) and even backing money out of 529 plans they set up for their child or grandchild, just to make it through these tough times.

These stories are still exceptions to the rule. However, some thought is essential as to how and why to liquidate a 529 Plan that is not being used for qualified higher education expenses.

Consider some 529 Plan basics

529 accounts are considered Parent Assets which may be assessed in the financial aid formulas up to a maximum 5.64% after allowances.

Also, 529 Plans are trying to keep up with the times by offering investors more flexibility to stay agile in the ever-changing markets.

Distributions from 529 Plans are tax-free when used for qualified higher education expenses. Joseph Hurley’s web site Saving for College is one of the best resources for families to learn all about 529 Plans.

• Qualified withdrawals include money for tuition, books, room and board, etc. If a computer is required by all students at a college, then the computer may also be considered a qualified expense.
• Computer purchases were qualified expenses up to 2010 but then the caveat expired. Congress may reinstate that expense in 2012 and make it retroactive for 2011, but there are no guarantees.
• You may NOT take loans against your 529 account.
• Withdrawals for non-qualified expenses may incur federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax.

So what happens when the financial constraints of “life” get in the way of planning for college?

A worried grandparent who has suddenly realized the gift they gave their grandchild in the 529 Plan is going to force them to become a financial burden on their offspring (i.e. unexpected medical bills) may need to withdraw the funds for themselves.

The benefit of the 529 Plan is that this type of transaction can take place, albeit with a 10% penalty and tax due on any earnings. The bottom line is that the plans are flexible.

Another question I have had a parent ask is: “What if my student is offered a scholarship, and doesn’t need all of the money we’ve set aside? Then what?”

Well, a family can withdraw up to the scholarship amount, penalty free. They may be subject to tax on the earnings, however. Or, the family can change the beneficiary.

Parents and grandparents who have been able to save for college are finding themselves in a better position to help their student pay for school than those who did not. The 529 Plan is not a big factor in the financial aid formulas so saving does not “hurt” a student’s prospects for need-based financial aid the way many might think.

To learn more about how a 529 Plan fits into the entire college planning process, take a free look at our member site. Families can learn how the “money works” and why it is an integral component of the college selection process.

Is your college plan going to suffer from the “Base Year Blues”?

Calendar year 2011 comes to a close in just a few days. And the onset of 2012 signals a critical date for parents of high school juniors.

Yet that critical date is rarely recognized in time.

What is it? It’s called the Base Year.

For members of the Class of 2013 who plan to apply for need based college aid, it’s the year upon which colleges will make decisions about how much aid to award.

Unfortunately, this important time falls in the middle of an academic year, so it kind of goes by unnoticed.

The importance of the Base Year is clear for those of us in the trenches. To the extent that income can be minimized during the Base Year, aid eligibility is maximized. For example, in the need analysis formulas for both federal and institutional dollars, the top dollars of most families are assessed at 47%. In other words, a dollar of income that does not land on your tax return creates 47 cents of additional eligibility.

That may not sound so fantastic until you take a look at all the little gremlins that can innocently land on your tax return.

• Can you avoid a capital gain distribution?
• Can you adjust your withholding to avoid a state tax refund?
• Are you thinking about withdrawing from a traditional IRA or qualified retirement plan?
• Should you be investing in a way to produce income or growth?

It’s not uncommon for us to see a combination of these elements create “taxable events” in excess of $10,000. That means a $4,700 reduction in aid eligibility during the first year of college.

That means over four years close to $20,000 in missed aid opportunities.

We advise students and their parents about dates, deadlines and critical events using a milestone planning approach, and one of the very first critical milestones is the onset of the Base Year.

This is just one reason why you must begin planning for college early. To help you with that, we are inviting you to download a Special Report that covers what we consider the 19 critical milestone events in college planning. In the report, you’ll learn what to do and when.

No more wondering “what’s next?” in college search.

The milestone planning approach is further emphasized in our online community. By taking advantage of the education modules, forum and personal Q&A features of our membership, you can develop a top-notch game plan for college. Give it a try. You won’t regret it.

Access the College Planning Milestones Report here.

A National Public Radio segment (November 4th., 2011) highlights the burgeoning increase in student debt.

Student loans now exceed credit card debt here in the United States.

This figure does not include debt or asset reduction on the part of parents in an effort to fund a college education without their child graduating with a crippling debt burden.

According to which survey you study, individual student debt on average ranges from $25,000 to close to $40,000 after graduation.

But these are just averages. In our world, we often see students emerging from college with debt loads in excess of $50,000.

Then, many will look for work (if they can find any) that will barely cover their monthly living expenses as well as the educational loan payment.

After you read and/or listen to the article, we recommend you check out the comments below. Review it here at NPR: “College Students’ Borrowing Hits An All-Time High” by Larry Abramson

One of the most perplexing issues for parents in this piece is the contrast between Alabama A&M whose graduates leave with an average debt of more than $31,000, while students at Williams College, in Massachusetts have an average debt of only $8,000 while the “sticker price” at Williams is around $55,000 a year (and will probably exceed $60,000 by next year).

The big difference? A&M is a state school with shrinking state support, while Williams has a $1.7 billion endowment, which allows a generous and laudable admissions and financial aid policy.

This is just one example! So what is our message here?

Get into the college planning game early!

Where should you begin?

Look at your college funding position right now, even if your college bound child is still in middle school (or even earlier).

This might sound excessive. But if you wait until the high school sophomore year, when college issues (academics, location, personal traits and environment) begin to raise their heads, your financial flexibility will be highly restricted.

And this is most likely to have a negative influence on your student’s search for the ideal college.

Getting the college Money Factor squared away early will make the college search and planning clearer and much more relaxed (we have many years of experience that have taught us this).

Here is a symptom of how this effective approach is ignored …

Monthly Google Searches* (as of 11/7/2011):

• “Grants”: 2 million + per month
• “Scholarships”: 2 million + per month
• “College Plan”: 14,800 per month
• “Planning for College”: 1,300 per month
• “Student Loans”: 1 million + per month

Does anyone sense a panic button here? A frantic scrabbling for “free” money, while objective preparation is a rare occurrence.

And then the search for loans (note that no parent loan searches are mentioned). This is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the search for money for college.

So, regardless of what stage your student is in with respect to college search and admissions, we invite you to visit the CSGP Membership. When you join, you get to use all of our content for seven days absolutely FREE.  We encourage you to enroll and then take a serious look at the Money Factor section which will allow you to research and understand exactly how your college funding position will evolve.

Your student can then review those colleges that offer an excellent education as well as a feasible financial profile.

There is no cost to review. You can continue your enrollment at minimum cost and stay with the program at your convenience (just use the material and tools that are most relevant to your needs). You are able to build your college plan’s foundation, then leave and return when the other elements come into play.

Our objective is to help students and families achieve an excellent and successful college experience while protecting the family from an excessive financial burden.

As you can see from the Google search figures above, this is not a simple task.

* Google search based on “phrase” and limited to U.S. searches

A recent online article in the Wall Street Journal (online) by Susan Shellenbarger addresses an issue facing millions of high school students right now:

Tests – SAT, ACT & PSAT (also known as nightmares)

The article covers important elements such as the impact of diet, sleep, pre-test studying, and test practice.

Test Time

Ms. Shellenbarger’s piece also addresses the myths of studying effectively while listening to music, texting or working in a noisy and distracting environment, as well as how to address and hopefully overcome exam nerves.

Our main additions to the message of this article are:

• Do not treat the PSAT as a “practice” test. This is the entrance door and puts the student on the radar.
• Review the question: Is the student more competent at SAT or ACT, and what is the predisposition of the colleges?
• Do not take the actual test repeatedly. You can never be sure which scores will show up. There are many courses with practice tests. Use them. Taking the official test more than twice? That gets some colleges asking the question: “Is test prep all this student does?”
• And taking a comment from a reader of the article: “Test prepping doesn’t start the day before or the week before. If that’s necessary you are already doomed.”

(We will not address the test optional issue here.)

We strongly recommend you read Ms. Shellenbarger’s Article, “Toughest Exam Question: What Is the Best Way to Study?” (WSJ Online) for some very useful insights.

We welcome any comments from our readers also.

This is part three of our three part series on enrollment management, net price calculators and affordability.

In part one, we learned about how colleges employ various enrollment management and financial aid leveraging strategies to attract the students they really want.

In part two, we discussed the Federal mandate for all colleges to provide “cost transparency” by posting net price calculators on their websites.  We also shared the results of our research on the net price calculators at over 80 colleges.  Based on the inconsistencies we found, there is much work yet to be done in pursuit of true cost transparency.  So nothing has really changed.  Each family still has the responsibility to determine exactly what is affordable while evaluating many desirable college options.

Wouldn’t it be great if you were able to go to a college or university website, enter your financial data into a secure calculator and get the real annual cost to you if your son or daughter were admitted to that school?

The new Net Price Calculators (NPC) are supposed to provide that option.

October 29th is the date when all colleges in the United States are required to post calculators on their web sites that provide this type of cost transparency to prospective applicants and their families.

The jury is out on just how effective and accurate these calculators will be, and our research to date justifies those who have expressed serious doubts about this initiative.

This post is split into two parts:

• Results of our research and why parents and planners should treat the NPC’s with extreme caution and diligence.
• An account of the background and history that has led up to this development,                (Essential Background) if you are not fully up to speed with college financial aid basics.

We must also confess that this is not the easiest or most entertaining topic, but it is an essential element to grasp and understand.

Higher Education Act 2008 – Feds To The Rescue?

• The objective is valid.  The current outcome is lacking.

• The goal of the NPC provision was to help families determine how much they will really have to pay.

• For an explanation of how students and families have been confused and disadvantaged by the college admissions and financial aid process see below: Essential Background.

• Under the new system, prospective applicants will now be able to enter financial (and in some cases, academic) data into the NPC on a college website.

• The intent was to provide a method for consumers to get a cost estimate from a college before an application for admission was made.

• The U.S. Department of Education developed a basic NPC template. Other companies also offer NPCs that add more flexibility for the colleges.

• Consequently, consumers are going to find a lack of uniformity among the NPCs they encounter and this will indeed create confusion.

Observations From Our Research Of Over 80 NPCs

• Many families will not know whether or not a college employs tuition revenue management or “financial aid leveraging” wherein students at the top of the admit pool (academically) receive preferential aid packages in order to influence enrollment decisions.
• There are close to 1,000 colleges that employ some form of this practice.  No single net price calculation will flag them.
• Even if you know the college’s policy, you will not know where you stand until you get your award letter.
• We conducted almost 200 calculations using a variety of different NPCs and found only two that truly incorporate the student’s academic record. 
• Even that does not speak to one’s standing within the pool of admitted students.
• It was very concerning to us that each of the calculators we used collected different family data.
• Colleges are permitted to use customized approaches, but without a uniform method, real comparisons among colleges are difficult to make.
• There is no uniform way that colleges are required to display NPC results.
• Finally, there will be serious confusion for divorced and/or separated parents.  Some colleges will require financial data from both biological parents to ultimately determine a financial aid package, but we have not yet seen an NPC that can “run the numbers” for these situations.

Like MSRP Net Cost Is Only Part Of The Story

• The uncertainty with regard to your standing in the pool of admitted students extends to awards made to meet financial need as well as merit scholarships.  While average merit awards are embedded in the college’s average grant aid figure, this is only marginally informative or helpful for any individual applicant.
• Merit scholarships may or may not be part of college’s aid package (a policy issue) and for some colleges any amount assumed is pure speculation.  The NPC’s we researched often include a disclaimer in this regard and note that it will be subject to the judgment of Financial Aid Office or scholarship committee.  That’s comforting.
• Our research of 80 institutions indicated that net price varied by more than $10,000 for the same college depending on the EFC (Expected Family Contribution).  We also found that variations among colleges for the same EFC can also be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
• So you must enter data into the NPC for each school under consideration using the instructions provided on the respective websites.  And, you should run the NPC in subsequent years too.  This will account for changes in TCOA (Total Cost Of Attendance), EFC formulae, family finances and other important data.
• Families should also be aware that timing is a key issue.  Colleges may change their financial aid packages in the spring depending on the applicant pool and the enrollment targets they need in order to achieve net revenue goals.  The aid estimate generated by completing an NPC in the high school senior year may differ from the aid awarded in the spring even with no change in financial data.
• We advise you to print the NPC results from each college website in order to compare the results to the award you actually get.  This will provide some potential leverage at decision time.

Establish Your Financial Comfort Zone

With all of these conditions in mind, when assessing one or comparing a list of candidate colleges it is up to each family to conduct an “affordability review” that determines precisely what you can comfortably handle for a net cost.

• Remember, true net cost is TCOA minus grants and scholarships (money you do not need to repay).
• But you will be offered student and parent loans to cover unmet financial need.

In part three of this series, we will discuss the affordability review and how it can help you evaluate your NPC results  - before you write that first tuition check!

Essential Background

For decades, the financial aid system in the United States has been grounded in three major elements:

• The college’s so-called “sticker price” (Total Cost of Attendance or TCOA)

• The Expected Family Contribution (a calculated value based on a complex formula that allegedly reflects  “family financial strength”, and

• The difference between the TCOA and EFC which is defined as “Need”(or more precisely, a family’s maximum eligibility for financial assistance)

Financial Assistance has always been delivered in two flavors:

• Self Help (Student Loans and Campus Work Study and,
• Gift Aid (grants and scholarships) which do not have to be repaid.

After financial assistance has been subtracted from the TCOA, it is up to each family to find a way to pay the EFC.  It’s the most basic responsibility in paying for a college education.

In a perfect world, each family would pay its EFC and financial assistance would cover the difference between the EFC and the TCOA.  However …

In Most Cases, Confusion Reigns And Families Pay More Than The EFC
At their discretion, colleges often award financial assistance packages that fail to provide all of the aid for which a student is eligible.

There is a myriad of reasons for this practice, but let it suffice to say that most colleges do not provide financial assistance that covers one hundred percent of a student’s financial need.

And even in cases where one hundred percent of need is satisfied, grants and scholarships are combined with substantial portions of self-help.

Unfortunately, awareness of the EFC, its meaning and how to calculate and use it are often obscure to the public until late in high school.  As a result, most families really do not plan and strategize with the EFC like they do about income taxes.

In fact, many financial services professionals will provide financial plans that simply include the time inflated TCOA when “helping” parents plan for college.  Rarely is there any discussion of net price or establishing college savings strategies focused on covering the EFC versus the TCOA.

In and of itself TCOA is not a good metric when looking for the best value or when trying to compare colleges unless you are a well-to-do, full-pay family who has no need of financial assistance.

But what about everybody else?

Our Affordability Review (a major element in our CSGP membership program) is an essential foundation of our college planning approach.  It enables a family to create a clear and realistic vision for a successful college funding campaign.

This is installment number one of our three part series on what goes on behind the curtain in the admissions and financial aid offices at over 1,000 colleges in the United States.

In this article, we discuss the use of enrollment management and financial aid leveraging by colleges who seek to enroll a first year class that can be retained and which can produce optimum revenue for the institution.

It was first explained to us as follows in the 1990’s by a former Dean of Admissions:

• A generation ago, admission into most colleges and universities was a fairly simple, straightforward process.
• Many admissions offices in the seventies and early eighties were headed by former educators with significant experience as teachers and/or counselors.
• Goals that were considered good practice and typical of the times were:

1. To match students to a college, even if it was not at his/her own institution
2. To help all students receive appropriate need-based financial aid

Then there came a “sea change” …

Enrollment Management:  The “Stealth” Game-Changer

During the eighties, college admission operations began shifting from the educational model described above to a new model utilizing a technique called “enrollment management”.

Though enrollment management can be complex and sophisticated in its full-blown form, the concept is pretty simple.

The colleges designate an executive enrollment manager (Dean or Vice President) who oversees both the admissions and financial aid offices. The mission:

• To enhance the college’s ability to achieve targeted numbers of students (new and retained)
• To do so while optimizing net tuition revenue

This seemingly innocuous, unadvertised transition changed the game dramatically for both students and parents.

Uninformed families can be blindsided by the fallout from this transition.

Enrollment management has quietly brought about increasing levels of scrutiny and competition for admission for college applicants and introduced invisible obstacles to financial assistance for parents.

Overcoming these forces to find the “right college” requires families to conduct more thorough research and to exercise due diligence in their decision making.

It is paramount to be aware that enrollment management has become the norm.

And this is not reserved to only the high profile elite private colleges.

For example, flagship state universities in many regions have adopted selective policies that adversely affect outcomes through such unusual phenomena as state lottery scholarships, diversity quotas, and admission into specialized programs such as Honors Colleges.

Diversity here is interpreted in the broadest context:

• Gender
• Geographic
• National origin
• Socio-economic factors
• Racial factors
• Academics
• Artistic and athletic interests

Some enrollment management practices offer as many as five different admission options and deadlines, and each option offers undisclosed advantages and disadvantages.

Counselors & Financial Professionals Need To Grasp This Concept

As if the tactics noted above are not confusing and stressful enough (how is the average hardworking parent or student expected to be expert in this domain?), another key building block of enrollment management is “leveraging.”

Leveraging (AKA enrollment and revenue management) is a statistically driven system designed to help colleges match aid packages to each student’s “price sensitivity.”

In other words, financial aid is leveraged toward willingness to pay vs. calculated financial need. Advocates believe that without leveraging, colleges tend to “overaward” (offering more aid than a student “needs” to decide to enroll), or they may “underaward” (not offer enough thus causing a student to go elsewhere or to not continue through graduation).

Leveraging purports to get each student the “ideal amount of aid” not just to enroll, but also to continue through graduation.

Parents and students who seek admission at colleges that are even moderately selective and that routinely reflect an annual total cost of attendance in excess of $40,000  (and rising 4-6% per year) are especially in need of professional counsel due to these practices.

Flying solo may be “penny-wise” and “pound-foolish”.

How can the average hardworking parent or student be expected to be aware of these practices let alone develop the expertise to function effectively in this domain?  The first step is to get some help and get educated.

Independent college counselors and financial advisers are in pole position to provide this essential service.

Why College Search GamePLAN Membership is Just What You Need

The information presented above came to us in the mid 1990’s,  and we have built our strategies for college search and paying for college with enrollment management in the forefront of our private practice for more than 15 years.

Later this month, CSGP members will have access to a new Special Report unveiling more specific details on leveraging and a plan to manage all of the difficult realities of the enrollment management puzzle.

This is in addition to over 20 other training modules focused on the ins and outs of developing of a comprehensive, win-win, college gameplan.

You can begin a 7 day free trial membership with College Search GamePLAN today.

Next …

In part two of this series, we will share our research and conclusions about the “Net Price Calculators.”  Our findings are based on what we discovered on 80 college websites.  We’ll also explain the relationship (or lack thereof) between the NPC you find on a college web site and that college’s enrollment management strategy.