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  How To PayFor College
  $ The Financial Game for The Pie $		Presentation Page 8


To summarize the game:
The COA--Cost OF Attendence--is the whole pie

The two main divisions (or slices) are:
  1. The EFC--Expected Family Contribution--the amount of the COA they think you can pay out of current assets and income.
  2. The Financial Need--the amount of the COA they think you need help with. The help might come in the form of free money, and/or low interest loans, and work study for the student.
Your Mission
If possible...
  1. Lower the EFC as much as legally possible
    1. File the FAFSA correctly, and on time; and if necessary, file the FAP.
    2. Supply them with the "right ingredients" by legally rearranging your assets, and where possible your income.

  2. Cover the Financial Need
    1. Get as much of the Financial Need as possible paid for with Free Money. (Please note that some Free Money you get from private scholarships and relatives etc. may only INCREASE your EFC--again you've got to know how to supply the ingredients to your pie.)
      1. Position your child correctly by doing a college search to assess where more free money might be offered.
      2. Review the SAR--Student Aid Report--for accuracy, so you don't overpay.
      3. Award Analysis and Negotiation (as necessary) to have your amount of Free Money increased.
      4. Pay for the rest (that you can't afford to cover) with creative financing, and/or low interest loans.
    2. Where possible use tax-advantaged money.
    3. Accomplish all this without jeopardizing your retirement, and/or getting hopelessly in debt.
You can attempt
to accomplish
Your Mission in
one of several ways:
  1. Get the college Financial Aid Officer to do it for you
    • Upside--Free Service-May be worth it for low-income families, they'll probably get all the aid they need, thrown their way anyway.
    • Downside--Loyalty is to the college. For middle and upper-income families it would be like having the IRS figure your taxes for you! Won't show you how to lower your EFC. Won't do a college search. Won't negotiate with himself. Etc.
  2. Do it yourself
    • Upside--Free
    • Downside--Got three weeks vacation coming so you'll have enough time to research and figure it all out? Love to search for and read book after book after book of complicated details to get the whole skinny? All the time and hassle involved? Maybe still not get it all?
  3. Hire our services
    • Upside--Be free from the nightmare and quagmire of navigating through the maze all alone. Have a savvy team on your side--save possibly thousands of dollars. Save on taxes.
    • Downside-Our services are not free--but our guarantee is good. If you are not satisfied, you get your money back, no questions asked! Because of this guarantee, we first offer a Free Consultation that will let you learn a little more first, and also let's us assess your situation. We'll be able to tell at that point whether we think we can save you money or not. That way we know you'll probably not only be satisfied, but very, very happy, happy enough to tell your friends!
But wait, don't request a free consultation yet.

There is more to be concerned with.
How are you going to pay for college?

You will hopefully get some free money, or perhaps a lot of free money, but still you are going to have to pay something. How will you do it?
  • Not go at all?
  • Settle for community college?
  • Outside scholarships?
  • Personal income?
  • Borrow?
  • Savings?

For too many people, even those making decent money, they either settle for community college, or pay from income, savings, and borrowing. That's not necessarily bad, but again the real key is to do that without sacrificing your two Financial Sacred Cows: Cash Flow, and Retirement. Managing that and not getting too far in debt is what you need to be concerned with.
Wouldn't it be good to get a better grasp on what you might be facing?

There are three basic catergories and all families fall in to one of them.
  1. Category One Family
    • Will always get some Need-Based Aid
  2. Category Two Family
    • May get some Need-Based Aid depending on which college is chosen, and on income and asset planning.
  3. Category Three Family
    • Will never get Need-Based Aid. Their whole focus will be on Merit Aid and Outside scholarships
How would you like to get that free consultation so you can at least know for sure what category your family is in? You may be surprised!

Please note that to qualify for the FREE consulation, you have to schedule one that takes place during our normal business hours.

Click on the link right below and intiate the process!
To request a Free Consultation, please click here!
 
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