"I want a college for my older son where he will be happy, but I also need to be able to pay for it without jeopardizing my ability to pay for my younger son's college."

Situation:
Roseanne Collins, a divorced mom with two sons (Nicholas'11th grade and Tim'9th grade), assumed that state and community colleges were all that she could afford.

Solution:
Using the College Cost Calculator, Roseanne entered her family's financial information and immediately learned that most colleges, public or private, would probably cost her about $14,000 per year. Roseanne then tried out the money-saving strategies in Minimize College Costs. She learned how to improve her financial aid eligibility and reduce her cost of college to $9,000 per year. Even better, Roseanne discovered that once both Nicholas and Tim were in college, she would still continue to pay a total of only about $9,000 per year, for both of them combined!

Results:
Armed with this information, Roseanne encouraged Nicholas and Tim to set their sights on any college they' like, regardless of cost.

"How do we send Carlos to college without having to cash in our retirement assets to do it?"

Situation:
The Rivera parents had conscientiously saved for their retirement, not wanting to ever become a burden on their kids, Carlos'10th grade, Samantha'7th grade, and Sylvia'5th grade. When they learned their expected family contribution (EFC) for college would be $22,000 per year, they couldn't see how they could pay for college without cashing in their retirement savings plan.

Solution:
Using the Analyze Funding Options tool, the Riveras discovered strategies that allowed them to protect their retirement assets.

Results:
Retirement without worry. Now the Riveras can send Carlos, Samantha and Sylvia to college without worrying about their long-term financial well-being.

"Understanding the financial aid process and getting through the forms is a complete mystery to me."

Situation:
Patty Smith, a single parent supporting her 12th grader, Gina, felt intimidated by the entire financial aid process.

Solution:
After signing up for TuitionCoach, Patty discovered worksheets that walked her step-by-step through the two most common financial aid forms and provided her with tips to improve her financial aid outcome.

A few months after successfully submitting the financial aid forms, Patty received her financial aid offer letters. Three colleges admitted Gina, and each offered financial aid. Patty became perplexed trying to understand each of the financial aid offers and couldn't evaluate how good or bad each one was.

Results:
Through the Evaluate & Negotiate Financial Aid Offers module, Patty received an expert assessment of each financial aid offer. Once she knew how good each offer letter really was, she turned to the specific negotiation tips in the module to get a better offer from her first-choice college.

"In this economy, what happens if I lose my job and my kid is off at some college? It is too risky!"

Situation:
The Feldsteins were doing fine. Their daughter, Lucy, was enrolled in an Ivy League college. As subscribers to TuitionCoach, the Feldsteins were able to get a sufficient financial aid award supplemented by an out-of-pocket funding game plan that made college affordable. Then the unexpected happened. Out of the blue, Mr. Feldstein was "downsized" by his employer. Suddenly he was looking at a fifty percent drop in his income that put paying for college out of reach.

Solution:
Following the advice in TuitionCoach, Mr. Feldstein was able to work with the financial aid office at Lucy's college to craft a new aid award based upon his projected financial prospects.

Results:
Lucy never missed a class and is scheduled to become an Ivy League graduate in two years.