The Financial Self Reliance Group

If everything you thought about paying for college was wrong, when would you want to know?

Planning for college takes work and planning. Parents and students must start planning for college when the student enters high school. Laying out a plan and sticking with it will help get the student into the right college. Getting into the right college is much more than simply filling out an application in the senior year of high school.

If you are within four years of incurring a college expense, you are in "short term college planning." Applying conventional long term financial planning or retirement style planning to achieve your goal of paying for college is a mistake. Families who use the appropriate short term financial planning strategies during this time will be most successful.

Proper planning will also provide the right financial aid and the right college major. This is where we come in, we ask the right questions and assist you and your student in the college process.

• Over 120 billion dollars of financial aid is available every year.
• Only 3% of the financial aid dollars are awarded as scholarships.
• The average cost of attendance for a full time student is over 20,000 annually.
• Cost of attendance is increasing at an average of 6% annually
• Having any asset in the student's name will result in a penalty in your financial aid award.
• Parent assets, if available to pay for college expenses, will result in a penalty in your financial aid award.
• Having your college savings in the market, exposed to risk, can result in a loss of principal
• Each school will determine how much of your financial need will be paid with financial aid if you attend their school
• Each school will determine how much gift aid will be given to you if you attend their school
• Resources are available that make a college education financially realistic for almost every student.