How To Negotiate The Best Deal On A College Education For Your Child...

How To Negotiate The Best Deal On A College Education For Your Child...

by Red Oak College Planning- Mike Velasco

In this series, I am going to discuss an extremely important topic - one that will significantly impact both your child and your bank account.

I am talking about...

How To Negotiate The Best Deal On A College Education!

Most parents take this subject lightly, and figure whatever the schools end up offering them is the best that they will get.

Let me tell you something...

Nothing Could Be Further From The Truth!

Let me ask you a question...when you went to purchase or lease your car - did you accept the first offer they made you, or did you look at their price as a "starting point" for negotiation?

What about when you bought your home? Did you purchase it at list price, or did you muster up all of your negotiating skills to try to get the seller to come down in price?

So why is college any different?

Even the cheapest state schools today will cost you about $30,000 between tuition, fees, books, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses.

A private university can easily cost you $45,000-$70,000 a year and up.

Now multiply those amounts by 4. Wow!!! And that doesn't even include graduate school (God forbid!).

Are you starting to get my point yet?

A college education for your child (or children) is one of the single biggest investments you will ever make in your entire lifetime!

Doesn't it make sense to treat it like any other major purchase, and do your best to negotiate the best possible financial aid package for your child?

So Where Do You Begin?

Well, for starters, your children should be doing their best to get good grades in school. In addition, they should be taking some type of review course to get a good score on their SATs/ACTs (it's a little late for seniors, but not for juniors or even sophomores).

Second, you must start narrowing down your school choices to colleges and universities where your child lies in the top 10% of the applicant pool - this will significantly increase your chances of getting a good financial aid package.

Next, you must start researching schools that have the best policies on giving good financial aid packages. You want your child to apply to schools that will meet most or all of your family's financial need. It is also important to pick schools that have a history of giving more FREE money and fewer loans.

Hint - Pick schools that are well endowed and have a lot of money to give out to students. Private schools tend to have far more money available than state schools do. We recommend picking a couple of state schools as "safety" schools and the rest should be well-endowed private schools.

Fourth, you must apply to, at least, 6 - 8 schools to ensure that your child gets a good offer from 1 or 2 of them. If all the schools are the same academic caliber, and some give you a good financial aid package while others give you poor packages - it will allow you to leverage one college against the other when negotiating for a better financial aid package. Schools of equal caliber will often times compete for the same student by offering aggressive financial aid packages. Be sure to take advantage of this.

Lastly, you must know your numbers in advance.

For example, do you know what your "Expected Family Contribution" is?

It is the minimum amount that the government expects you to pay towards ANY school.

Schools determine what they are going to offer you by subtracting your Family Contribution from their "Cost of Attendance."

This provides them with your family's "Financial Need."

Frequently, schools will offer parents far less than what they were eligible to receive. Most families don't dispute this since they have no idea of what they should have been offered in the first place.

Don't Let This Happen To You!

Know your numbers in advance.

Find out what your Expected Family Contribution is. Then, find out what the cost of attendance is at each school. Make sure the schools include all costs such as tuition, fees, books, room and board, living expenses, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses.

Once you get these two numbers, calculate your financial need at each school, and make sure their financial aid package meets most or all of your need.

If they don't, call or write the school to discuss why they "left you short," and try to create a subtle competition with other schools your child applied to.

If you follow these steps, you should have no problem getting a great package from at least 2 or 3 of the schools your child applied to.

Conclusion:

When it comes to navigating the college financial journey there are many opportunities and pitfalls for obtaining or losing funding for your child. A good college financial planner can help you to maximize the aid available to your child while protecting your income and assets.

College is an expensive business, but when you know how to play the game you can finish as a winner! To help you get started, Red Oak College Financial Planning offers a free one-hour consultation where you will discover:

• Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC): What colleges expect your family to be able to contribute towards tuition (this is different for every family).
• A proper evaluation of your home: Assigning the wrong value could decrease your chance for merit aid and scholarships.
• Your asset protection allowance: The amount of assets you can rightfully exclude from your FAFSA application.
• Any opportunities to reposition your assets and income (to help reduce your EFC).

To schedule your free session, please email us at: mike.velasco@redoakcollegeplanning.com or call 908-758-1322.

Visit our website to learn more about College Financial planning : http://redoakcollegeplanning.com

Learn all of this and more at our next free workshop on Thursday 3/16 at 7:00 PM in Basking Ridge NJ! Reservations are required, since seats often fill up quickly. Please click on the link below to register for your tickets.

http://lp.redoakcollegeplanning.com/workshop

About Red Oak College Planning:

Red Oak College Planning is located in Basking Ridge N.J. Mike Velasco the President of Red Oak College Planning has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, with expertise in college financial planning, retirement planning and family income and estate protection. Red Oak College Planning is affiliated with the College Planning Network ("CPN"), and together they have helped numerous parents successfully navigate the college admissions and financial aid process so they can comfortably afford to send their children to college... regardless of the cost.

CPN is the Nation's largest and most reputable college admissions and financial aid servicing center and has averaged nearly $19,075 per year in college aid for its average family and nearly $4,900 in financial aid award appeals.