Welcome to College Aid Consulting

  • Aid Explained

    Do I Qualify For Financial Aid?

    Would it be fair to say that the financial aid component of college admissions is not exactly intuitive? Applying for aid and not knowing how it works is like playing a sport without knowing the rules. You can be in the game, but how well will you play? By educating yourself on just some of the basics, you’ll be well on the way to navigating to the best sources of aid for your student. Unfortunately, most people rely on information they glean from their friends, family, co­workers or even other parents, and sadly, they are not as knowledgeable as they are well meaning. Have you heard any of these yet? “Don’t bother. It was a giant waste of time.”, “We did the forms and we got nothing.”, Or “All we got offered was loans”. These may be true, but do they even know why? We can tell you exactly why and show you how to avoid these same results.

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    Services

    For over a decade College Aid Consulting has dedicated itself to providing ethical, reliable, and timely services to help families navigate the complexities of the financial aid process. Filling out forms, understanding the “rules and regulations” of financial aid awards, knowing which colleges will give you the best award, and having someone by your side to walk you through all this is what we do best. We offer everything from simple consultations, form review, form preparation and our complete concierge services so you can get help at any stage and any price.

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    Workshops

    Our educational workshops are designed to help you understand the complexity of the financial aid process and show you how to become more informed on this often-misunderstood topic. The lack of transparency surrounding the financial aid system and the misinformation floating around can make it scary and nerve racking for most parents. In our “on location” workshops at schools and businesses, we aim to deliver straightforward and easy­ to­ understand information so that you can feel confident and make informed decisions that will help you get what you need. We regularly present public and private workshops on all aspects of financial aid.

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    Resources

    Sending your student to college takes more than good grades, test scores and extra curricular activities. It takes money! Helping and advising on how to navigate the financial aid process is just a part of what we do here at College Aid Consulting. In our resources section, we’ve gathered books, articles, website links and lists that we know will help you to better understand the financial aid system and how you might cut the cost of college make it more affordable.

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Got a High School Junior? Now Is The Time To Be Thinking About Financial Aid For College!

Your 2017 income is the biggest factor in determining your student’s financial aid for the freshman year of college.  When 2017 ends, those numbers will be locked in stone.  Do you want to get an idea of what you’re looking at before or after it’s too late?

5 Things You Won't Hear During College Night at Your Student's High School

Download Our Must-have List So You Can Get Ahead of The Competition

Make college affordable with the college aid lady

Listen to Our Weekly Podcast for Plain-talk on the Essential Actions You Can Take to Reduce the Cost of College

Percentages Can Tell You A Lot

54%
54% is the Average Discount off College Tution
86%
86% of All Aid is Distributed by Colleges and Universities
31%
31% of Students That Drop Out of College Site Financial Constraints as the Reason
7%
7% of All Aid Comes from Private Scholarships

FAQ

The Most Important Facts About Financial Aid.

Testimonials

  • Stephanie is a great resource for navigating the myriad tasks of financial aid

    A grateful father from Santa Monica, CA

    "Stephanie is a great resource for navigating the myriad tasks of financial aid. With her help, the process was painless and the results were great."

  • Our children into the colleges of their first choices

    Andrew Wald, California

    “After surviving the rigors of getting our children into the colleges of their first choices, our financial situation changed course midstream and we needed to seek financial aid. Your guidance and assistance was a tremendous resource, and I know that we would never have succeed at the level we did without your involvement. You were and will be irreplaceable. Well worth you consulting fees. The maze and ins and outs of financial aid are confusing and many. You made this process easy, your experience and capabilities. Our daughters were successful in getting financial aid because of you. If we had done it...I know it would have been very frustrating and mistake filled. The correct answer in the right place is more important here than on the SATs. We cannot say any more than that you are the right professional for this process, college financial aid. We were successful because of you. We were very pleased with the results to say the least. Thanks again and I send you my best wishes.”

  • We could never have managed financially to send our daughter

    John Achorn, Venice, CA

    We could never have managed financially to send our daughter to a school like Vassar, but with Stephanie's advice and assistance, our daughter is there at an affordable cost to us. Ms. Hancock is well worth her services.

  • My family is extremely grateful for the able guidance Stephanie provided

    Judith Schonebaum, Idylwild, CA

    My family is extremely grateful for the able guidance Stephanie provided during the application process for our daughter, Hannah. She helped us focus on the best 4 choices (avoiding the trap of applying everywhere), helped us get every grant or scholarship that was possible, and generally enabled us to go through the process without undue stress, worry or confusion, with patience and professionalism.

Our Mission

College Aid Consulting was founded in 2001 to help families of all income levels identify and secure the best financial aid opportunities available, and to reduce the amount of debt that students and their parents are burdened with in the future.

Through our AidProfilerTM process and college selection system, we help families identify the colleges and universities where their students might have the best chances of getting financial assistance. Our three levels of services provides families with as much or as little help they need to more easily apply for the aid they are seeking.