Testimonials

~ Arlen and Bonnie G.

CPN has helped me (a single mother of 4 children) restructure my situation to maximize the benefits of the FAFSA process. They encouraged us to look at private universities and not just state schools because there is more money available for financial aid in a private school. Between academic scholarships, university grants, and low-cost student loans, my twin daughters are attending a private university which costs $35,000/year per student at a cost to me of $6,000 for each daughter. CPN not only helped me restructure my financials, they helped me to understand the whole FAFSA process. I highly recommend CPN for anyone who has a child entering college to help access their financial situation.

~ Laurel B.

As many parents with children getting closer to going to college, we were setting away money for their education, but as we found out, not nearly enough for the astronomical prices that we have now been exposed to. Faced with the fact that our Family Contribution could be as high as $25k per year for 8 years for our two children, we needed to find effective ways to do this without sending us into debt that we couldn't get out of. We also do not want to strap our children to what could amount to be a lifetime of debt.

We listened to a brief, one hour Tele-Workshop introduction to The College Planning Network. As the Tele-Workshop ended, I found myself saying "this sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?" There was no "catch", just a detailed total plan of lowering our Expected Family Contribution, providing us some tax advantages and staying within the agreed upon budget that we had established. The additional 'perks' of filling out financial aid forms, working with our children on narrowing down the selection of colleges and essay writing was just icing on the cake!

~ Bob and Gina A.

We are a middle class/double income family and we did have some money saved for our three daughters' college. Like many of you, we anticipated there wasn't much we could do but pay the bills and take out loans when our savings ran out. But after listening to the advice from the college specialists at The College Planning Network, we saw that we did have choices and things we could do to get our EFC down and also pick from some better schools. CPN gave us simple reorganizing techniques for our estate that brought our numbers down. They also enabled our daughter to go to Case Western, which was a school we were not even considering due to the high tuition. Our family also had the problem of ex-spouses incomes and their impact on our FASFA. CPN gave us good advice regarding money sources other than our own incomes and savings. They could answer questions that others couldn't. Lastly, having their service fill out our forms and help with reply letters to colleges was a real time saver. We always had someone to ask if we didn't quite understand what to put on the form! All services are done professionally and in a timely manner. We would definitely recommend listening to what they could do for you and your child. After a few conversations with them we were amazed at what we didn't know.

~ Lea and James D.

Our financial situation was very complicated due to our involvement with several small businesses and start-ups in progress. We had pre-planned and saved for our children's college educations, but decided to attend one of CPN's Tele-Workshops "just in case". We were shocked when we found out that, due to the formulas used for financial aid eligibility, we could basically be penalized for the college savings. CPN worked with our daughter to help her with her college search, and was able to wade through and re-allocate our financials, and substantially improve financial aid eligibility in a fair, legal, and equitable manner. We are confident that our pre-planned education assets will now not be depleted prematurely. We are so glad for CPN's help, and for the excellent follow up when additional information and yearly FAFSA is required.

~ Ed & Vilija K.

We have just begun working with CPN. Already we have received help that we would not have known about. We received information on how to reduce our estimated family contribution. We also have access to the DISCOVER program, which is a great resource for our daughter in researching colleges and writing a resume. CPN suggested different options for studying for the SAT and ACT. Most of all, CPN has reduced the amount of stress associated with the entire college process.

~ Jim & Michelle K.

With two students in high school, the thought of having them enter college back to back was keeping me up at night. After attending a free Tele-Workshop and talking with The College Planning Network, I was able to relax, listen to their advice, and face the next several years with the knowledge that I have made some preliminary choices regarding our financial situation to at least maximize our chances at lowering our EFC. Also, having professionals work with my son, energize him, and help navigate him towards the college admission process has been very valuable. Parents get tired of being the heavy and appear to be "lecturing". Having an outsider take an interest has instilled a sense of excitement, if not urgency.

I would recommend this service to any non-independently wealthy parents of future college students.

~ Joyce G.

As a family with 2 children, the cost of high school has been a significant burden upon the financial picture and being able to 'make-ends-meet'.

When our older daughter was ready for college, we were advised to consider the services of The College Planning Network, and I am so glad that we took the time to investigate what CPN has to offer.

We started using CPN three years ago and continue to utilize their services as our older daughter now will enter her junior year in college and our younger daughter enters her senior year of high school.

From the beginning of the college search, through the college selection, the procedures required to apply for admission, all the required college forms, and the methods of applying for scholarships, grants, and loans, CPN has been a major advisor upon all of our decisions.

The approach CPN utilizes is a personal and a very thorough review, taking into consideration all of the aspects of the search process, including the desires of the pre-college student, the long term cost of the education, the impact of the financial cost upon the family, and most importantly - an emphasis upon how these goals can be accomplished while maintaining the financial viability of the family.

The funding of college education is an overwhelming task. CPN assists by providing a complete review of the process. With the services of CPN, we will meet the goals of having both of our children attend quality schools and the financial burden will be minimized and viable for all concerned.

~ Mark & Mary A.

We have been very pleased with our initial experiences using CPN. Their staff has always been available to talk with us, remind us of deadlines, and return multiple phone calls when questions came up. Because we are new to this "college jungle", the stress level has been greatly reduced to know we can always call with any questions and they will get back with us in a timely manner. Thanks again!

~ Pam & Eric C.

My parents recently signed up for your services after listening to a free Tele-Workshop. They were hesitant at first, but when they received the advice on how to decrease their EFC on the FAFSA, they were very happy. Without the advice, they said that our EFC would have been much higher. They wished they would have known about The College Planning Network more than a year ago to make the changes that needed to be made a lot sooner. I have received my award letter from at least one college so far and our out-of-pocket costs through the college is actually lower than what the EFC was on the FAFSA! Thanks for saving my parents money!

~ Courtney G.