College Financial Network Testimonial Collection

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CFN has helped me (a single mother of 4 children) restructure my situation to maximize the benefits of the FAFSA process.  They encouraged us to look at private universities and not just state schools because there is more money available for financial aid in a private school.  Between academic scholarships, university grants, and low-cost student loans, my twin daughters are attending a private university which costs $35,000/year per student at a cost to me of $6,000 for each daughter.  CFN not only helped me restructure my financials, they helped me to understand the whole FAFSA process.  I highly recommend CFN for anyone who has a child entering college to help access their financial situation.

~ Laurel B.

As many parents with children getting closer to going to college, we were setting away money for their education, but as we found out, not nearly enough for the astronomical prices that we have now been exposed to.  Faced with the fact that our Family Contribution could be as high as $25k per year for 8 years for our two children, we needed to find effective ways to do this without sending us into debt that we couldn’t get out of.  We also do not want to strap our children to what could amount to be a lifetime of debt.

We attended a brief, one hour Workshop introduction to College Financial Network.  As the Workshop ended, I found myself saying “this sounds too good to be true.  What’s the catch?”  There was no “catch”, just a detailed total plan of lowering our Expected Family Contribution, providing us some tax advantages and staying within the agreed upon budget that we had established.  The additional ‘perks’ of filling out financial aid forms, working with our children on narrowing down the selection of colleges and essay writing was just icing on the cake!

~ Bob and Gina A.

When we attended College Financial Network Workshop, we knew it was different than other seminars we had attended before that simply told us how to fill out the dreaded FAFSA and when to do it.  The presenter was knowledgeable and gave many "free" tips and techniques in the Tele-Workshop.  After an hour of an informative session, we chose to hire College Financial Network to help us through the College Funding process.  CFN gave us tips and techniques of lowering our EFC that we would normally not have known about.  By lowering our EFC we have saved our family thousands of dollars in college funding. 

I thought I understood the college funding process based upon my experience with my first child in college.  When my second child was ready for college I decided there was no harm in seeking some additional professional support and contacted College Financial Network.  I thought maybe they could provide some suggestions for dealing with two college students.  In reviewing my situation with the CFN professionals, we were able to make adjustments in my financial situation to improve - which meant reduce - the magical Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number for both children.  We got subsidized versus unsubsidized loans which will save a lot of interest over the long-term.  Additionally, we were also able to improve my overall family financial situation by paying off debt and readjusting our strategies for retirement. Thank you.

~ Bob M.

I am not a trusting person.  When my husband and I first decided to attend CFN’s Free Workshop, I was skeptical, but he wanted to listen.  We decided to go the next step and sign up for College Financial Network services seeing that they offered a guarantee if we were unhappy with their work.  I was pleasantly surprised when we started working with them.  They were very knowledgeable and gave us options we thought we would never have.  Having CFN fill out our FAFSA forms was a big relief for us.  We thought we would not be eligible for financial aid, but they helped us with options to carry us through 6 years of college when we will have another student to put through.  Our daughter, Brittany, was able to go to the small, private college of her choice for the same cost as a state school.  They helped her receive aid and additional scholarship money.  She is very happy, doing well and we are planning on sending our second daughter to college in the fall of 2008.

Good friends recommended College Financial Network to my wife and me.  They conveyed a sense of relief at having experienced professionals handle the college funding process from start to finish.  It can be overwhelming.  My wife and I, too, have been very happy with the decision to utilize their services.  We found ourselves comfortable discussing our financials and very pleased with their counseling and recommendations.  We all have our expertise.  It was nice to know that when the time came to need someone else’s expertise, College Financial Network was there to assist.  Simply put, they took the worry out of the process and saved us time and money we wouldn’t have otherwise known to be possible.

~ Jim & Katherine O.

We have just begun working with CFN.  Already we have received help that we would not have known about.  We received information on how to reduce our estimated family contribution.  We also have access to the DISCOVER program, which is a great resource for our daughter in researching colleges and writing a resume.  CFN suggested different options for studying for the SAT and ACT.  Most of all, CFN has reduced the amount of stress associated with the entire college process. 

~ Jim & Michelle K.

We have had a very positive experience with CFN, particularly by comparison with our previous attempt to select/fund college by ourselves.  Our son selected his college and obtained his aid through his parents' advice.  The school turned out to be an inappropriate choice and a very expensive mistake.   Our daughter, two years younger, has benefited from the advice and council of our advisors at CFN and, as a consequence, she has several good choices and a nice package of grants and scholarship money to consider.  We would highly recommend the CFN group for anyone who wants to target the best options for their child's college experience. 

~ Steve and Gail S.

I think my wife and I are like most parents who have kids in High School.  All you hear is about the high cost of college.  As parents, we worried about how we could afford to send our son to college without taking everything we had in savings and if that would even be enough.

We first heard of College Financial Network through a flyer we got in the mail.  After attending their Tele-Workshop, we found out that there are options available for sending your child to college.  This was our first time through the college maze.  There were financial forms, college applications, what college fits your kids’ needs and the list goes on.

We contacted College Financial Network where we found everybody that we came in contact with very friendly and very knowledgeable.  I even asked for personal recommendations and everybody that I contacted could not say enough about College Financial Network.

Here I am a year later and our son has been accepted to the college that was first on his list of colleges.  College Financial Network supplied us with a time line for what we needed to have done.  Working with my son on college applications was hard enough.  I am thankful that I did not have to worry about filling out all the financial forms.

College Financial Network took the pain out of the confusing financial aid forms, along with helping take the stress out of the college search.

~ Wade M.

We are a middle class/double income family and we did have some money saved for our three daughters’ college.  Like many of you, we anticipated there wasn't much we could do but pay the bills and take out loans when our savings ran out.  But after listening to the advice from the college specialists at College Financial Network, we saw that we did have choices and things we could do to get our EFC down and also pick from some better schools.  CFN gave us simple reorganizing techniques for our estate that brought our numbers down.  They also enabled our daughter to go to Case Western, which was a school we were not even considering due to the high tuition.  Our family also had the problem of ex-spouses incomes and their impact on our FASFA.  CFN gave us good advice regarding money sources other than our own incomes and savings.  They could answer questions that others couldn't.  Lastly, having their service fill out our forms and help with reply letters to colleges was a real time saver.  We always had someone to ask if we didn't quite understand what to put on the form!  All services are done professionally and in a timely manner.  We would definitely recommend listening to what they could do for you and your child.  After a few conversations with them we were amazed at what we didn't know.  

We came to CFN  to help us develop a financial plan to cover the cost of two college educations.  We had one child in college as a sophomore and a second child ready to start as a college freshman in the fall .  We knew our current plan of just taking out government loans to pay for their education was not going to work without significantly impacting our current household budget.  CFN helped us fill out the FAFSA forms and provided some financial advice to optimize the use of government loans and school assistance to minimize the financial impact to our household budget.  CFN helped us put together a plan that provides an education for our children and peace of mind for us.

~ John & Denise P.

With two students in high school, the thought of having them enter college back to back was keeping me up at night.  After attending a Free Workshop and talking with College Financial Network, I was able to relax, listen to their advice, and face the next several years with the knowledge that I have made some preliminary choices regarding our financial situation to at least maximize our chances at lowering our EFC.  Also, having professionals work with my son, energize him, and help navigate him towards the college admission process has been very valuable.  Parents get tired of being the heavy and appear to be "lecturing".  Having an outsider take an interest has instilled a sense of excitement, if not urgency.I would recommend this service to any non-independently wealthy parents of future college students.

~ Joyce G.

As a family with 2 children, the cost of high school has been a significant burden upon the financial picture and being able to ‘make-ends-meet’.

When our older daughter was ready for college, we were advised to consider the services of College Financial Network, and I am so glad that we took the time to investigate what CFN has to offer.

We started using CFN three years ago and continue to utilize their services as our older daughter now will enter her junior year in college and our younger daughter enters her senior year of high school. 

From the beginning of the college search, through the college selection, the procedures required to apply for admission, all the required college forms, and the methods of applying for scholarships, grants, and loans, CFN has been a major advisor upon all of our decisions.

The approach CFN utilizes is a personal and a very thorough review, taking into consideration all of the aspects of the search process, including the desires of the pre-college student, the long term cost of the education, the impact of the financial cost upon the family, and most importantly - an emphasis upon how these goals can be accomplished while maintaining the financial viability of the family.

The funding of college education is an overwhelming task.  CFN assists by providing a complete review of the process.  With the services of CFN, we will meet the goals of having both of our children attend quality schools and the financial burden will be minimized and viable for all concerned.

~ Mark & Mary A.

Sitting in on CFN’s Free Workshop made me realize that the college search and the financial preparations were much more daunting than I realized.  CFN was a tremendous help and they even appeared to have fun helping us!  We created timelines for the college search, and College Financial Network completed and submitted my FAFSA forms early.  They really helped to simplify the process and calm our nerves.  We were even able to reduce our monthly bills!  Initially, the cost of sending three kids to college appeared overwhelming. I am now confident that we can do it!

We have been very pleased with our initial experiences using CFN.  Their staff has always been available to talk with us, remind us of deadlines, and return multiple phone calls when questions came up.  Because we are new to this “college jungle”, the stress level has been greatly reduced to know we can always call with any questions and they will get back with us in a timely manner.  Thanks again!

~ Pam & Eric C

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Our experience with College Financial Network has helped our family at multiple levels of the college planning process.  CFN has helped us make the best college choice for our daughter.   Our assets have been retained for our retirement.  More grant and scholarship monies were received from her college.  The biggest benefit is that they counseled us through the FASFA process, helping us receive the lowest EFC for the past three years.  We feel more confident starting the process again with our Junior and know we can get factual answers to new questions. 

~ Kevin and Mary Lou T.

CFN took care of all of the FAFSA forms for us and submitted them well in advance of school deadlines to insure maximum funds would be available to our daughter.  It was a great experience and well worth it!

~ Katherine & Donald C.

My parents recently signed up for your services after attending a Free Workshop.  They were hesitant at first, but when they received the advice on how to decrease their EFC on the FAFSA, they were very happy.  Without the advice, they said that our EFC would have been much higher.  They wished they would have known about College Financial Network more than a year ago to make the changes that needed to be made a lot sooner.  I have received my award letter from at least one college so far and our out-of-pocket costs through the college is actually lower than what the EFC was on the FAFSA!  Thanks for saving my parents money!

~ Courtney G.

Our financial situation was very complicated due to our involvement with several small businesses and start-ups in progress.  We had pre-planned and saved for our children’s college educations, but decided to attend one of CFN’s Free Workshops “just in case”.  We were shocked when we found out that, due to the formulas used for financial aid eligibility, we could basically be penalized for the college savings.   CFN worked with our daughter to help her with her college search, and was able to wade through and re-allocate our financials, and substantially improve financial aid eligibility in a fair, legal, and equitable manner.  We are confident that our pre-planned education assets will now not be depleted prematurely.  We are so glad for CFN’s help, and for the excellent follow up when additional information and yearly FAFSA is required.

~ Ed & Vilija K.