Paying for College Proves Painful for NH Parents in Today’s Economy
The economic downturn has slashed college savings. A new local business is helping New Hampshire parents devise creative strategies for paying for college.
Londonderry, NH, May 06, 2009 --(PR.com)-- New Hampshire families are expected to meet less than 22% of college costs, causing the average student to graduate with five figure debt. This, in an already tough economy, where the demand for financial aid is greater than ever and there are no guarantees of employment after graduation.
To help locals pay for college, The College Planning Authority (http://www.yourcollegeauthority.com), the first and only organization of its kind in the Granite State, has opened its doors. The College Planning Authority was started by Newmarket resident, Jim Hayes, CCPS, who, together with his team, employs creative, little-known strategies to help New England families pay for college, regardless of income level, student’s grades, SAT scores or college savings. They do everything from the basics of helping families fill out FAFSA and CSS/Profile forms accurately to providing realistic cost estimates and finding the best loan.
Hayes’ interest in college financial planning started while a financial planner for Waddell & Reed, one of the largest investment management firms in the U.S., and LPL Financial where he worked with a number of families to finance their college education. Later, as an admissions representative for Westwood College in California, he saw the other side of the college planning process. Four years later, he has helped hundreds of families, is certified by the National Institute of Certified College Planners and is a chartered member of the National College Advocacy Group.
“The biggest thing that parents of college bound teens need to remember is that colleges are businesses too and need to be treated as such,” said Hayes. “Like most companies today, they have been affected by the economy so if you go into the process having certain things in place that will put you in a much better position than the next person.”
Since opening their doors a couple of months ago, The College Planning Authority have already worked with many families throughout New Hampshire, including the Max family of Londonderry. The Max’s college savings for their daughter, currently a Junior and Honors student at Londonderry High School whose career goal is to be a Physician’s Assistant, was reduced by 40% when the market took a nose dive last year. However, because both have good incomes, mom is an RN and dad Steve is a scientist at Wyeth, they knew qualifying for need-based aid was not an option.
“I was completely unfamiliar with merit-based aid,” said Steve Max. “Jim has helped us devise a strategy for getting as much as possible, even playing schools off one another to get the best deal.”
Vanessa Russo, a Hudson widow and mother of two who is presently working with Hayes, agrees. “If you don’t cross your I’s and dot your T’s then forget about it. People of middle income today do not have a lot of obvious choices.”
Like the Max’s, Hayes has provided choices that includes merit-based aid so that son Alexander can achieve his goal of majoring in History and becoming a Museum Curator.
“I am hearing from more and more families who think their only option is for John or Jessica to postpone college or go to community college because, like the Max’s and the Russo’s, they don’t have much savings or the savings they did have has taken a big hit and they can no longer afford it,” said Hayes. “There are a number of little-known ways that a student or parent(s) can pay for a better college. We work with each client one-on-one to evaluate their specific situation so that students can, not only go to a college they desire, but graduate with little or no debt.”
“The message we’ve been getting from colleges and educational organizations in the Granite State is that you [parents] can do this on your own,” said Max. “Sure, you can do the basic filling out of forms on your own, but college is a major investment of time and money. In my opinion, especially in this economy and given the high demand, it deserves a much greater strategy. You wouldn’t try to perform your own operation and, in my opinion, this isn’t much different.”
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To help locals pay for college, The College Planning Authority (http://www.yourcollegeauthority.com), the first and only organization of its kind in the Granite State, has opened its doors. The College Planning Authority was started by Newmarket resident, Jim Hayes, CCPS, who, together with his team, employs creative, little-known strategies to help New England families pay for college, regardless of income level, student’s grades, SAT scores or college savings. They do everything from the basics of helping families fill out FAFSA and CSS/Profile forms accurately to providing realistic cost estimates and finding the best loan.
Hayes’ interest in college financial planning started while a financial planner for Waddell & Reed, one of the largest investment management firms in the U.S., and LPL Financial where he worked with a number of families to finance their college education. Later, as an admissions representative for Westwood College in California, he saw the other side of the college planning process. Four years later, he has helped hundreds of families, is certified by the National Institute of Certified College Planners and is a chartered member of the National College Advocacy Group.
“The biggest thing that parents of college bound teens need to remember is that colleges are businesses too and need to be treated as such,” said Hayes. “Like most companies today, they have been affected by the economy so if you go into the process having certain things in place that will put you in a much better position than the next person.”
Since opening their doors a couple of months ago, The College Planning Authority have already worked with many families throughout New Hampshire, including the Max family of Londonderry. The Max’s college savings for their daughter, currently a Junior and Honors student at Londonderry High School whose career goal is to be a Physician’s Assistant, was reduced by 40% when the market took a nose dive last year. However, because both have good incomes, mom is an RN and dad Steve is a scientist at Wyeth, they knew qualifying for need-based aid was not an option.
“I was completely unfamiliar with merit-based aid,” said Steve Max. “Jim has helped us devise a strategy for getting as much as possible, even playing schools off one another to get the best deal.”
Vanessa Russo, a Hudson widow and mother of two who is presently working with Hayes, agrees. “If you don’t cross your I’s and dot your T’s then forget about it. People of middle income today do not have a lot of obvious choices.”
Like the Max’s, Hayes has provided choices that includes merit-based aid so that son Alexander can achieve his goal of majoring in History and becoming a Museum Curator.
“I am hearing from more and more families who think their only option is for John or Jessica to postpone college or go to community college because, like the Max’s and the Russo’s, they don’t have much savings or the savings they did have has taken a big hit and they can no longer afford it,” said Hayes. “There are a number of little-known ways that a student or parent(s) can pay for a better college. We work with each client one-on-one to evaluate their specific situation so that students can, not only go to a college they desire, but graduate with little or no debt.”
“The message we’ve been getting from colleges and educational organizations in the Granite State is that you [parents] can do this on your own,” said Max. “Sure, you can do the basic filling out of forms on your own, but college is a major investment of time and money. In my opinion, especially in this economy and given the high demand, it deserves a much greater strategy. You wouldn’t try to perform your own operation and, in my opinion, this isn’t much different.”
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Carol Arnold
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