College Selection Strategy

• Avoid College Chaos

• Changes, EFC, SAR, CSS 

• Save Time, Get Answers 

• Time to CELEBRATE !

• Go Coach For College 

# 1 Mistake Students Make

Not Graduating In Four Years

Do You  Know  Graduation Rates? [act.org]

• Graduation Rate 4 Years for Public Schools 29% 

• Graduation Rate 4 Years for Private Schools 49%

How  Much  Extra Cost For College 2010/2011? [College Board 2011]

• Average Annual Public In-State $21,447

• Average Annual Out-of-State Costs $33,973

• Average Annual Private College $42,224

Find Out The Solution That Everyone Can Use 

College Selection Starts With A Career Test

"College Major Quiz" Helps You Choose  College Major

Process Information Into Solutions

How To Pick A College Major And Find The Right School

A simple, very affordable online career assessment test can simplify the college choice process from the start. Confusion turns into clarity with a systematic approach that allows the student to engage and synthesize information in choosing the right school.

You can review college majors and using your identified interests the software will help you identify a college major.

You can discover more details and how the process works by requesting the e-Book on college selection above to the right. It's free and provides tips evaluating the student's interests / strengths into possible occupations, college majors, and identifies schools that apply to those criteria based upon student and family preferences.

The career assessment software with the student's input provides solutions to these problems.

• No Career Test, No Career Goals
• No College Major or Undeclared
• Undecided and Uncommitted
• Choosing  the wrong school and switching schools

In addition the career test tool can be integrated with Coach-for-College proprietary College Selector Worksheet resulting in the final college list to visit and then choosing the application schools.

"List a College Selection" feature simplifies the college search process  by allowing you to perform college campuses search based upon many important school demographics. Here are a few...

• 6,500 Schools, Tech, 2 and  4 year colleges / universities

• College list by school location, college majors, costs, size, enrollment yield

• College Campuses "Visual Tours" and links to schools' Website

• Save College List and rank your favorite College Campuses

The aptitude test is no ordinary test. First, there is no right or wrong answer. It simply measures your interests, strengths and attributes.

Then occupations you would enjoy, college majors that apply to those occupations, and colleges that meet those college majors with detailed college demographics.

Strategy Tip: "Geographic Diversity" - You might choose a school out of state from where you live. You can review where the students come from and your state might add to the diversity of the freshman class. You will be rewarded a cash award for this that does not have to be paid back, probably $1,000 - $1,500 per year (each school is different).

The details of the how the career profile works is reviewed in the complimentary e-Book.

The key ingredient is a systematic approach that provides organization and logic to selecting the best school while graduating in four years.

Unlock Financial Strategies Paying for College

Amazing Results Revealed With Career  Exploration 

       "Thank you so much for sending me the career test!  I have completed the first two parts but it has already helped me a lot. I am going to try and take some more of the other modules this weekend when I have more time! But I just wanted to let you know I like how it shows what jobs I would be good at and also the salaries as well that's interesting." - Kylee, Grapevine Texas

When going to college some people believe there are only two ways to pay for college, your money with possible debt, or other peoples' money. The primary objective is to use as little of your money and possible debt as possible.

There is a third way to pay for college, Professional Help. When you have the right information with proper guidance college can be more affordable.

When planning mistakes are identified by a trained professional they can be eliminated and applied toward receiving college financial aid.

As an example, one college strategy that uses the career/college exploration process is positioning the student in high school to maximize their financial opportunities receiving "free money" from colleges. The personal portfolio you create becomes your "brag sheet" that you present to colleges.

Here are some tips in this area.

• Build a resume of solid achievement
• Concentrate on maintaining good grades
• Test Prep for the achievement tests with an economical online video test prep course
• Select an area where you have a passion and donate time for community involvement
• Your personal portfolio can be used to show schools your "demonstrated interest" in their school, admissions personnel love this!

Selecting College Can Be Confusing

Predictable Outcomes Eliminate Decision Confusion

College is not only a decision making matrix but also a financial burden that can cut into retirement savings. College bound families can easily become overwhelmed and confused.

Coach-for-College provides an affordable systematic platform so families can do what they do best, live their daily lives as a family. Here are a few of the 25 steps within the coaching program that are available and outlined in the e-Book "College Choice 4".

• Provide a proven online Career Test Assessment Tool, Coach's son used it. Internships with the NBA Academy and International Management Group (Tiger Wood's Agent Company) before his senior year - Sports Management Major.
• Expected Family Contribution "Dry Runs" and Corrective Strategies
• Action step emails with "to-do" lists and follow up
• Video's explaining individualized college planning strategies
• Over 150 Financial Strategies including managing liabilities into assets
• Borrow Smart Repay Smart proprietary software  analysis

And here are some of the student preparation services;

• Academic, Application, and Admission guidance with online video processes
• On going tracking of agreed upon objectives with updates
• College Visitation Navigator
• College Decision Navigator
• 20 video lessons for students learning about money and borrowing before going to college

Parents are with the student every step of the way.

Choosing College With Social Media

Finding Answers Through Peer Evaluations

There are some site you can visit that can provide "feet on the ground" experiences from current students.

• How is the food?
• Is there adequate parking?
• What is the weather like?
• How accessible are the Professors?
• What about  safety, security, and the surrounding area?

You cannot find these answers with the career profile college selection process, but you can find these answers using some social media sites. Here is one, contact us for a list, collegeprowler.com.

Going To College - Top Salary By School Type

How Co College Majors Compare With Income Potential

Do you want  to know what the salaries are for various schools you might be considering?

What about the best salary potential when you graduate based upon school location?

You might be considering more than one major. Here are the most popular jobs by majors and answers to how different colleges compare with your income potential following graduation, copy this into your browser payscale.com/best-colleges.

Career Profile Secret To College Admissions

Your College Screening Process Sets You Apart

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling some colleges consider demonstrating interest in their school to be a very important factor.

They indicate that 20% of colleges consider demonstrated interest more important than the interview or class rank. Why is this you ask?

• Enrollment Yield - Schools strive to improve their yield through their selection process.
• Graduation - Students who show higher interest are more likely to stay and graduate from that school.

When you develop your Career Profile properly, you will easily be able to show through your research analysis of matching the school to your profile that you have carefully thought out your selection process. But you have to be careful about how you proceed.

There are certain steps to take so you don't over due it and become a proverbial "pain in the butt" which will hurt you more than help you.

We can help you.

Professional Help Uncovers Best "ROI"

►     "I Wish I Would Have Known That".

►     "Where Were You When We Needed You"

►     "No, my [son or daughter], won't graduate next year."

Will This Be You?

We work with College Bound Families  who want to send their children to the right school without going into debt and robbing their retirement.

Our clients ultimately navigate through the college financial matrix and make the best family financial choices.

We worked with a family who could not qualify for financial aid, the student received $14,000 per year for a total of $54,000 ("free money") over the four years. In addition we saved over $600 per month in cash flow, this adds up and compounds to make a real difference worth finding out about.

The student graduated in four years with one major and three minors. There is no reason students cannot graduate in four years, but it is the exception today. 

If you take the $54,000 savings in just this one strategy and it grows just 5% per year for 15 years, we were able to help the family save over 100,000 that could go toward retirement. 

If you are looking for choosing the right college and financial clarity on how to reduce the cost of college please contact us. 

 Jim Kuhner, CCPS, CLA

 Certified College Planning Specialist

 Founding Faculty Member

 National Institute of Financial Education 

 jimkuhner@CollegeSelectionStrategy.com