Saves Time and Money

People often say, “Time is money.” That is correct, but this is more complete: “Your time is your life.” It is very easy to squander hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars spinning your wheels and going nowhere in the process. There are almost 4000 four-year colleges and close to 250 accredited college prep boarding schools in this country. The following time and money expenses should be taken into consideration when a family weighs whether or not they want to do this on their own:

• How much time and money do you spend when you book airline tickets to visit a school and it turns out to be a bad school match?
• How much time and money do you lose when you take time off work to visit a school only to find out it is a bad school match?
• How much time does your child lose when they take time out of school to visit a school that turns out to be a poor school match?
• How much money do you spend on meals, hotels, car rental, parking, tolls and gas when you travel to visit a school that is a poor school match? If you are driving yourself at 50 cents a mile–the current best estimate for the true cost of driving (including gas and wear and tear on your car)–how much does it cost you to drive to visit a school that is a poor school match for your child?
• How much time, money and stress do you expend when you enroll your child in the wrong school and have to pull them out and start the process all over again?
• How much money would you save if you had a skilled educational consultant working for you that has had success getting schools to adjust their financial aid offer when a school asks you to pay more than you can afford to pay?
• If you need financial aid, how much money would you save if you had a skilled educational consultant selecting schools for your child that have a track record of providing comprehensive and generous grants to students who need financial aid?

Make sure to do the math before making a choice to go it alone.