Financial strategy is admissions strategy.
Which schools give money to a student like yours is a question that belongs at the start of the list-building conversation — not after your child has fallen in love with a school you cannot afford.
Most families build a college list, apply, and then find out what it costs. By then the emotional commitment is made and the leverage is gone.
We work the other direction. Merit aid is predictable enough to plan around: schools publish what they give and to whom, and a student who is in the top quarter of one school’s applicant pool is a fundamentally different financial proposition than the same student in the bottom quarter of another’s. That is a strategy question, and it is best asked in tenth or eleventh grade.
The parts of paying for college that actually have strategy in them.
FAFSA
Filing, timing, and the errors that cost families money every year.
CSS Profile
For the schools that require it, which are often the ones with the most institutional aid.
Georgia Futures and HOPE
Eligibility, GPA calculation, and keeping it once a student has it.
Merit aid strategy
Building a list where your student’s profile attracts institutional money.
Outside scholarships
Which ones are worth the hours, and which are a lottery.
Reading the award letter
Translating what a school has actually offered, including what is a grant and what is a loan wearing a friendlier name.
We will also have the conversation most people avoid: whether a particular degree at a particular price is a sound investment for this particular student. Sometimes the answer is that the less expensive option is the better one, and we would rather say so early than watch a family discover it during repayment.
We run financial aid sessions for parents throughout the year, on our own and in partnership with area schools. Contact us for the current schedule.
Ask the money question early.
Scholarship and financial aid guidance is an educational and advisory service of SEC Experts HQ | Savannah Educational Consultants, distinct from psychotherapy, medical treatment, diagnosis, crisis services, legal advice, or financial planning. SEC does not guarantee scholarships, aid awards, admission, or specific financial outcomes. Serving Coastal and Southeast Georgia families in person and clients nationwide through online services.
