Berkeley Parents Network: College Financing Consultants

Berkeley Parents Network

College Financing Consultants

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Legal & Financial Services > College Financing Consultants

Questions

Advisor - Paying for College
LGBT Friendly, College/Retirement Financial Planner?
College Financial Aid Advisor needed
Consultant for planning financial aid
Edifi Financial Aid Service?
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Advisor - Paying for College

March 2012

Can anyone recommend someone local who is experienced in: 1) evaluating college financial aid offers, 2) making recommendations about how to pay the expected family contribution, such as accessing retirement funds? Home equity? student and parent loans? 3) College financial planning for kid #2. Prefer someone who can advise and does not want to sell any financial products. Last of all, how much can we expect to pay for this type of consultation and how quickly can a meeting be arranged? Thank you! anon

Hello Frances Fee is the person you want to talk to for financial aid advice. She helped us tremendously all four years of my son's college education, and with her help, he got a substantial award. She really knows the ins and outs of the financial aid process. You can reach her at ffee@comast.net. Btw, you should make an appointment as early as you can. She gets booked up fast. Good luck, Jamie

LGBT Friendly, College/Retirement Financial Planner?

Oct 2009

Can anyone recommend a financial planner/adviser who understands the unique financial considerations for gay families regarding college financial aid & parents contribution, (our child) applying for college scholarships and loans, retirement planning, filing CA taxes and related concerns? We would prefer an independent adviser, as opposed to one who is affiliated with a particular company and thus in the business of selling certain investment products. Berkeley moms

North Berkeley Investment Partners fits all of your criterion to a ''t''. They are on Solano Avenue in Berkeley. Both partners in the firm are long time Berkeley residents, with strong ties to the community, deep experience and the utmost integrity. www.northberkeleyinvestment.com Grateful client

I would recommend Nancy Corrigan of Beacon College Funding Solutions, Inc. She is a college funding strategist whom I have found extremely helpful. She helps parents understand college costs, sources of financial aid, the amount families are likely going to have to pay for college, as well as long term financial planning. She actually started doing more college focused consulting when her financial clients started asking for more help in that area a number of years ago. She is an independent consultant. I spoke with her about whether she knew about the technicalities of LGBT financial situations and she does and has a number of LGBT families as clients. Her website is www.beaconcollegefunding.com and her number is (415) 377-4210. Sharon

College Financial Aid Advisor needed

Dec 2006

Who do you recommend for giving practical advice about maximizing the chances of getting college financial aid, i.e. where to put money, how to deal with special circumstances, etc. etc. Right now we need advice on financial planning with financial aid in mind. In a couple of years, we'll need advice on the application process as well. Contra Costa County is preferrable, but we could do Berkeley/Oakland - or travel further for someone great. THANKS!

Once again, I can not express too highly, my experience dealing with Paul Wrubel. http://www.paulrwrubel.com David

We had a bad experience with college financial counselor Paul Wrubel, who seems to get glowing recommendations in the newsletter. We explained our circumstances, and he assured us that we would get an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $20,000 (that's how much we would be expected to pay for college). We paid him $800 to help us fill out the FAFSA/CSS Profile. But it turned out that our EFC was $35,000! That is close to the entire cost of a private college and way beyond what the UC's cost. It felt like we paid the $800 for nothing. anonymous

Consultant for planning financial aid

October 2006

I'm needing questions answered regarding financial aid planning. Specifically how to maximize our current assets in retirement accounts, taxable accounts, etc. Does anyone have recommendations for a competent college financial aid consultant who knows more about the process than just how to fill out the forms? Thanks
Curious

I have some experiance with Financial Aid counselers and I can not rave enough about Paul Wrubel. http://paulrwrubel.com/
He is on the Peninsula but I look forward to the drive again this year. He has held my hand with phone call and email David

Hi, I am working with a woman named Frances Fee, and she's extremely knowledgeable and helpful. You can reach her at ffee[at]comcast.net.If you're interested in her help, get in touch with her soon as her schedule fills up quickly. jamie

Try Frances Fee--she works exclusively in financial aid counseling and nothing else. I've had a family I was consulting with use her, and we had fantastic results.

Frances Fee
Independent Consultant
280 Caldecott Lane #303
Oakland, CA 94618-2417
(510) 548-0896
ffee[at]comcast.net

Description - Comprehensive college financial aid
counseling. I work with families to help them understand
and navigate through the financial aid process. I complete
the financial aid applications, and I assist with letters
of special circumstances and/or appeals, should such be
necessary.

Rick Grisel
Veritas College Admissions Counseling
www.veritascounseling.org
415.378.5463

May 2006

Just having completed the college application process for my son, I wanted to share a valuable resource: I sought the assistance of Frances Fee (ffee[at]comcast.net). Frances helped me navigate the treacherous financial aid forms and letter of special circumstances. Thanks to her guidance, I am able to send my son to a fine private school that I would never have thought I would be able to afford. She is well worth her reasonable charge.
Relieved Parent

Edifi Financial Aid Service?

Feb 2004

My son is a sophmore in high school. We have started receiving all sorts of invitations for information from colleges and related services. Most of these I have just tossed in the garbage. But we just received one from an college financial aid service called Edifi offering a free 90 minute ''interview'' to discuss issues such as scholarship opportunities and other financial aid possibilities. I am very suspicous of this ''offer''. I am also a little taken aback that we are receiving this information at all. Has anyone ever heard of this company or have they had any experience with them? Thanks,
Cindy

Just wanted to warn you and others -- don't get sucked into these offers -- it's a waste of time and money. A few years ago, I spoke with the BHS college advisor and others about it, and was told these are basically "cons". These companies prey on the fact that so many parents worry about the cost of financing their child's education, and their come-on is that they'll do all the work for you if you pay them $500-$600 for their services (not true--you have to provide them with a lot of info about yourself and your child, and there may be other hidden costs as well). However, if you use the info you have and start your own search for resources that are free (on-line, the library, school), beginning with a college handbook (and BHS has its own college handbook), you'd see that financial aid is pretty much formulaic and begins with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)--just type in Google, "FAFSA"--the website is self-explanatory). One good book I liked, and think is worth purchasing, that helped me understand financial aid was Paying for College Without Going Broke, by Kalman S. Chany. This is like a research assignment--it's worth doing your homework on this one. Good luck! --j.

More Recommendations

Sept 2007

Re: Financial Planners
This is a message for parents of high school seniors beginning the financial aid application process. I have found an expert who made a big difference in our quest for financial aid. I want to share her with other families. Frances Fee helped make my daughter's dream of attending an east coast university come true. As a single mom public school teacher with limited resources I did not think my daughter would be able to attend college on the east coast despite an excellent academic record. Frances helped us prepare the FAFSA and CSS Profile, advised us of the financial aid policies of the various schools my daughter was considering, and even helped me write an appeal letter that yielded additional money. She answered every question I came up with and allayed my fears as we went along. This fall my daugher will be attending George Washington University in D.C. with the help of a substantial financial aid package. Frances is tops in our book. As we must reapply for financial aid each year, we will be using her services in the future. I cannot recommend her highly enough. Frances Fee can be reached at ffee[at]comcast.net Robin D

this page was last updated: Aug 2, 2012

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