Paying for College

The following is a guest post from our friends at Clarifi College. When it comes to college planning, getting in is only half the battle. One of the biggest challenges facing families is figuring out how they will be able to afford their child's college education.Specifically, many families find themselves in a position of uncertainty as to how much aid colleges will offer and how much tuition they’ll have to come up with on their own. Understanding how to navigate the financial aid process can be time-consuming and, for some, a bit overwhelming. For families who don’t understand their options, they can find themselves taking on more debt than they expected and ultimately facing an unmanageable amount of college debt. There are a lot of resources and tools online today to help students and parents get a better understanding of the financial aid process, but piecing it all together in a way that makes sense for your family can be a difficult task. Clarifi, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit,offers a financial college planning service designed to help families determine how to pay the smart way—Clarifi College. The focus of the program is a two-hour counseling session led by a financial professional who helps families understand their options and avoid excessive college debt. To do this, they educate families about the financial aid process, create projections of financial aid for targeted schools, and develop four- to six-year funding plans for the student’s undergraduate education. Families also receive a glimpse into the student’s life after college in a unique â€Å"post-college lifestyle consideration† that illustrates a mock budget for the student with potential student loan payments factored in. Because they are a nonprofit, their pricing is extremely affordable. The complete two-hour counseling session, including a personalized college action plan and funding plan, costs just $195. With this service, you’ll save a lot of time in the planning process, and the investment you make can potentially save your family thousands of dollars over the course of your student’s college education. For more information call 888.657.4922, or visit them online at ClarifiCollege.org.