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Discover how we assist students in ME, MA & elsewhere in navigating ALL aspects of the college search & application process!
5 Tips to Jumpstart the Financial Aid Planning Process
1. Don’t Wait
There is a lot of dated and misleading information that perpetuates the myth that it’s fine to “apply first, then leave financial considerations until the end,” to quote the website of a nationally known university. Admission today in no way guarantees that the college will provide sufficient aid to make enrolling financially wise. The onus is on families to understand and prepare for this reality, and that means starting the financial aid planning process as early as possible.
2. Find out your estimated student aid index (SAI)
Even if you don’t think you’ll qualify for financial aid according to federal or institutional formulas for determining aid eligibility (through FAFSA and CSS/PROFILE respectively), you should still find out your federal SAI (formerly known as EFC) by using the FAFSA calculator (https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/estimate/student-information ). Anyone filling the FAFSA can qualify for unsubsidized Federal student loans even if unqualified for receiving any grant aid or other type of federal loans.
3. Familiarize yourself with FAFSA and CSS/PROFILE methodologies for determining aid eligibility
For example, among the key components of the federal/FAFSA methodology is that the base year used to determine aid eligibility is “prior prior year” for students starting college in the fall of 2017 and after. This means that the financial information collected through the FAFSA form will be based on the IRS return for the tax year ending in December of a college-bound student’s junior year of high school.
4. Recognize the difference between ABILITY to pay and WILLINGNESS to pay. Colleges definitely will!
5. Integrate affordability with other central criteria in exploring colleges
If paying for college is a concern, look for colleges with lower potential net cost that also represent a potential right fit with the student’s admission profile, academic and extracurricular interests, and career considerations.
The CSU Advantage
What We Do
College Search U provides independent college counseling to high school students and their families, currently in each of the New England states and California.
We offer comprehensive advising services and guidance through each step of the college search process from an insider’s perspective based on over 30 years college admission experience.
We focus not only on the outcome of a right fit and affordable college but also on the special journey that families can and should experience together.
What You See Is What You Get
We love colleges and universities and the energy, optimism, growth and lifelong learning they instill. Yes, this is unabashedly Pollyanna-like. But after 30+ years, we still sense magic when walking onto college campuses around the country.
We love counseling high school students. There’s a difference between “recruiting” and advising or counseling. The former is focused more on numbers, the latter focuses on students.
But we’ve also been in the trenches of higher education. We’ve seen the impact of budget crunches, hidden admission agendas, rising anxiety among students and their parents over virtually every aspect of the college search. We’ve also witnessed how strapped for time and resources high school-based guidance counselors have become with greater student loads and expanding responsibilities.
We will not make false promises because we know from experience that the nature of college admissions today is incredibly fluid and increasingly unpredictable. Anyone who thinks otherwise has not worked in the profession recently.
Continue scrolling to learn more!
Comprehensive Advising
Everything we do is customized and grounded in a thorough understanding of post-secondary education options that reflect all manner of academic records and affordability criteria. In this way, we meet students –and family situations -where they are, bringing professional experience and expertise that’s rooted in working inside higher education/college admissions most of our careers. This highly personalized and strategic approach includes three key factors, all centered on finding “right fit” college options:
- Extensive professional experience in college admissions so we use an insider’s knowledge of how colleges make admisssion, financial aid, and merit scholarship decisions to help predetermine not only the level of admission predictability but also the net cost to the family. Because of this professional background, we can help family accurately integrate academic/social/financial fit criteria throughout the process;
- High ethical standards;
- Love of helping students bring out their best selves not only in their college essays and applications but also in how they identify their goals/preferences, define quality/fit for them, make decisions, and experience personal growth throughout the college planning process.
Advantages of an Insider’s Perspective
Our experience, combined with the fact that we work only for our clients, and not their schools, gives us the ability to provide individualized service at every step of the college search process.
Here are some of the ways the depth and breadth of our experience directly benefits the college search journeys of our clients:
We get around. We have visited hundreds of high schools and conversed with multiple thousands of high school students across the U.S. – and many of their parents.
We see every year how stressful this process can be for all involved, and we have witnessed the same mistakes being made year after year; by hundreds of smart, well-intentioned students and parents.
In addition to schools, we have visited over 400 colleges and continue to do so at every opportunity. This first-hand experience helps immeasurably when making recommendations to our clients.
We've been on the front lines and have reviewed/made decisions on 1000s of college applications.
We know what goes into a strong application. We will teach each client how to complete all applications thoroughly and wisely, taking full advantage of the elements that are in the student’s control. The insider’s perspective on institutional priorities enables us to help clients understand those factors in the college admission process that are out of their control.
We are active in our profession and we maintain memberships in several professional organizations.
Involvement in organizations such as the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) provides regular valuable opportunities to develop and update our knowledge of the profession and best practices.
In over 30 years of attending conferences and workshops sponsored by professional organizations and serving on committees, we have grown an extensive network of school and college colleagues around the world – important resources whose expertise can be tapped for the benefit of our clients.
We continue to provide a variety of contract services to colleges and universities. (see our statement on transparency below) Ongoing involvement in the day-to-day operations of college admissions ensures that our advice to clients is based on real and current information.
We have experience with financial aid.
Affordability is a more important criterion to college-bound families than ever before. Our direct experience with how financial aid awards are made – and how the process can vary widely among colleges – allows us to advise our clients appropriately and cut through the confusion of disparate offers.
Our years of experience with higher education enrollment management means we know how most colleges and universities strategically base their financial aid and non-need merit decisions on their enrollment management policies. As a result, our clients gain insights that enable more pragmatic shaping of their college list according to affordability as well as academic and social criteria. With this perspective, our clients can bring a level of predictability to what is largely perceived as an unpredictable process. This enables families to take greater control of the college search in a crucial way, through their pocketbook.
Important Notice Regarding Transparency
W.C. McMurray & Associates adheres strictly to its core values and industry best practices and guidelines related to college counseling. As such, we disclose to our College Search U clients the names of any institutions of higher learning with which we currently or recently have had a contractual arrangement. Similarly, our work as independent college counselors through College Search U is made clear to institutional clients. We also communicate with clients the measures taken that remove any conflict of interest should the potential arise.
Advising Packages With Single Flat Rate
We offer packages for students beginning in sophomore or junior year, charging a single flat rate (payment options available) for its convenience and planning purposes for families. Services for rising seniors are offered on a space available basis. The maximum number of students we work with at any given time is 30 and capacity is typically reached each admission/application cycle.
Who We Are
Kathy Strand - Lead Educational Consultant and Co-founder, College Search U
BA, Boston University; MS, Simmons University.
Higher Education Professional Experience:
Simmons University (graduate online program admissions)
Colby College (parent giving & programs)
Simmons University (undergraduate admissions)
Roger Williams University (short-term consultation –alumni admissions; Florida recruitment planning)
St. Joseph’s College (short-term recruitment assistance in NJ/PA/MD)
Co-President, Northeast Coordinators of Alumni Admission Programs (2004-2011)
Boston University (academic librarian)
Recruitment travel experience:
Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, Chicago, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York
Secondary Schools:
Sturgis Public Charter School (MA), founding member/trustee
Professional Affiliations:
National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC)
Member, Current Trends Committee (2016 to 2023)
Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA – 2016-2021)
Presenter, Annual Conference June 2019
William McMurray - Co-Founder and Consultant, College Search U (not currently accepting clients)
B.A., Bates College; M.Ed., University of Vermont
College Admission Experience: University of Vermont, Wheaton College (MA), California College of the Arts, Roger Williiams University (RI)
Secondary School Counseling Experience: Culver Academies (IN), St. Sebastians's School (MA), Bishop Fenwick High School (MA)
Bill spent 43 years in the field of college admission and secondary school counseling. He retired from full-time institutional work in 2023, but maintains his professional memberships and continues to consult and add his insights to our work at College Search U.
Getting Started
At College Search U we customize the timeline of our services according to when students and their parents or guardians enter an agreement with us.
Based on our experience and professional best practices, we recommend that students and parents begin working with us by the end of the fall of junior year of high school By this time, chatter among friends and relatives (“where are you thinking of going?”), media-based rankings, a plethora of reference sources, and what we term “noise,” can overwhelm even the most sanguine among us.
Get started earlier if you sense that the “noise” is causing you or your child to feel eager (or anxious) to get started. Early spring of sophomore year or during the summer heading into junior year are other good times to set up an arrangement with College Search U.
If starting later (summer prior to senior year), we still welcome your inquiry and can help on a space-available basis.
The first step is letting us know you are interested. The next step is to schedule a no-obligation introductory consultation
The purpose of the consultation is for us to learn more about the college planning needs and aspirations of you and your family –and especially your son or daughter and their interests and achievements in high school thus far. We will share information about common admission practices in higher education today and how following the “journey” approach to the college search can help you take greater control of the process. Based on our conversation, we’ll share some initial points of advice and encouragement. Most important, this initial consultation is an opportunity for you to gain a good sense of who we are, our values and the passion we feel about college counseling and higher education.
We look forward to hearing from you soon!