419-631-2968 touby@collegeplanningalliance.net

Let Us Develop a College Game Plan for You!

At College Planning Alliance...

We help both students and parents navigate the college planning process.

We have helped thousands of families save money, reduce stress, save time, and protect themselves from costly mistakes.

College Planning Alliance is here with you every step of the way!

What We Do

The college admissions process has definitely changed since today’s parents went to college! What worked then does not work now. What was true then is not true now. At College Planning Alliance, we do this every day so we can help you navigate the current college admissions environment.

We spend quality one-on-one time with students and parents mapping out each step of the process, combining the student’s tasks and the parents’ financial planning results in an all-inclusive strategy. We work with families to create a specific road map unique to their circumstances. We provide clear direction to keep the student and the family on track throughout the whole process! We do this through in-person meetings or via Zoom. We have clients all over the USA and even internationally. 

Our solutions are unique and personalized based on your student’s credentials (think GPA, test scores, athletics, extracurricular activities) and your family financial situation. One meeting with us provides more one-on-one time than students generally get from high school counselors in all four years of high school combined. They have competing priorities, but our students and families are our only priority!

The college landscape is always changing. Many people overpay for college because they make mistakes, miss out on opportunities, and simply start their planning too late. Proper planning can save families thousands of dollars on college costs.

There are many “do it yourselfers” in society today. Working with an experienced college coach, who is an expert, provides both monetary and non-monetary advantages. Most families procrastinate or take a “wait-and-see” approach. This can cause you to miss out on opportunities and critical deadlines. It can also create stress and panic and result in poor decisions and over payment.

How We Do It

A Sample Roadmap...

Course Selection in Middle and High School

TIP: High school courses and, therefore, high school GPA often start as early as 8th grade. Not understanding the significance of this early on can cause a student regret later.

Career Choices – explore options, match interests, research career paths, understand job and wage expectations

TIP: The time to learn about career options is before starting college, when there’s no cost to explore interests. Changing majors/careers in the middle of college can be very time consuming and costly!

ACT/SAT Prep and Strategy – increase scores with practice and accountability, learn when to test and which test is best for you, understand the value of the tests and how scholarships are tied to test scores

TIP: Test optional is not always what it seems.

College Majors – understand options and likely outcomes, research trends and employability

TIP: Some majors lead to a higher return on your investment than others. Some jobs are tied to geography. Some jobs will likely not exist in another decade, while others will be plentiful.

College Selection – where to apply and why, meet needs and best opportunity to succeed, more affordable solutions, common misperceptions

TIP: Published cost of attendance costs are rarely ever what families actually pay, so learn how to make educated decisions based on real numbers.

Application Submission/Essay Review – timelines, accuracy, completeness, edits, and review

TIP: The essay that got the A in English class is often not the essay that will get you into your choice college.

FAFSA and CSS Profile – strategic pre-planning to produce the best possible financial aid package

TIP: One FAFSA is completed for each year of college using family financial information from two years prior to the school year so planning is key!

Advocate – we use our expertise to advocate and be a liaison between you and the college

TIP: Our clients capitalize on our expertise. We become a liaison between you and the college to ensure you are receiving the best possible offer.

Special Circumstances – sometimes “life” happens and circumstances change, and we are here to be your advocate

TIP: Death of a parent, divorce, guardianship changes, and job loss are examples of reasons you may need assistance advocating for reductions in college expenses.

Testimonials

Parents

Laura B.

“We needed assistance in figuring out how to make college as affordable as possible, but we did not realize we needed to redirect some of our investments. Touby helped us string everything together! It was very nice to have help with the FAFSA so that we could save time and so we knew we were doing everything right. My kids also utilized the ACT prep, and I think it helped guide their practice and familiarize them with the test material. My daughter’s score improved by three points after she started the ACT prep! The best decision in our plan was choosing to work with CPA.”

Quazi & Bonnie A.

“Planning for college intelligently so the rules, regulations, and financial strategies are all considered can be an intricate, time-consuming process. Just as in our busy lives we rely on tax accountants to handle the complexities of preparing our tax returns, so too the advice in negotiating the twists and turns of the college planning process we can ably leave to the professionals at College Planning Alliance. They go an extra step in helping align other financial considerations such as retirement, estate planning, big ticket purchases, portfolio growth, weddings, etc. with college planning so that you get to view the big picture. No one consideration is allowed to overwhelm any of the others in the planning process, leading to a balancing act that is ultimately sensible and comforting. We cannot say enough about how their planning not only helped both of our daughters get into their dream college, but, without Touby’s guidance, we would have over paid by a considerable amount. We are on track to save over $115,000 on our out-of-pocket expense for college. Thank you for taking so much of your time to educate us on the overall college planning process!”

Donna & Harry D.

“We are so amazed that we were able to make our son’s college dreams come true, as well as prepare for our own financial future! We never thought that we would be able to afford a state college, much less his preference for a small private college. Touby found us three additional small private colleges to apply to, and we are so thankful that he did. After all of the financial aid offers came back, the more expensive private school (on paper) actually was less expensive to go to! On top of that, Touby helped tremendously with the negotiations process to get us an additional $6,450 in financial aid! Wow…not only did you find a small college for our son to attend, you saved us over $8,000 per year. College Planning Alliance was so helpful in the entire journey of college planning from student support, financial planning, and keeping us all on track to meet the deadlines during the application and financial aid process. They were there with us every step of the way. We are so thankful for their skills and expertise! Our son is now a freshman at his number-one choice, small private college and our retirement is secured for our future as well. We would definitely recommend the services of College Planning Alliance!”

Karen F.

“College Planning Alliance has been absolutely crucial in helping me to structure my finances so that I can afford college for my children now and retirement in the future. College Planning Alliance’s assistance with college choices, completing the FAFSA/Profile forms, ACT/SAT test preparation, and interpretation of financial aid offers has been key to my son entering Case Western Reserve University this year and in preparing my daughter to apply to colleges next year. Touby McCammon, in particular, is not only very knowledgeable, capable, and detail oriented but has also proven to be a good listener and extremely willing to troubleshoot when my financial situation became complicated. I highly recommend College Planning Alliance!”

Tom and Beth F.

“In the spring of our daughter’s junior year, we realized that there probably was no way we could afford to send her to college. The sticker prices were shocking. Not only this, we knew very little about the process of applying to college, let alone paying for it. Then something brilliant happened. Our daughter’s friend mentioned that she and her parents were seeing Touby McCammon at College Planning Alliance. We went for a free consultation and were so relieved to find a professional who could not only guide us through the process but show us how to afford college. A huge load was lifted off our shoulders. Touby tailored a financial game plan to meet our needs. He recommended excellent colleges that provided the best financial merit-based aid and need-based aid. He filled out and submitted our FAFSA, so we did not make any costly mistakes. With his superb program for ACT prep, he helped our daughter maximize her chances of merit-based aid. She was able to take assessments that clarified her interests and the majors and careers best suited to her. Touby reviewed her scholarship essays and gave excellent feedback. Finally, he saved us thousands of dollars as he negotiated with colleges to give us the very best financial aid offer possible. We are so glad we did not go this alone.”

Students

Anthony T.

“Thank you for helping me with all of my college planning! Your career planning assistance absolutely was the difference maker in why I chose to go into physical therapy. Without your help, I would still be undecided on a major.”

Sophie H.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! All of your help on ACT prep was a huge benefit! I had all but given up after plateauing at a 27 on the last three ACT tests. Your prep and helpful tips pushed me over that plateau. I never could have imagined that I could get a 31 on the ACT. Not only did your help benefit my overall ACT score, it was also a $3,200 increase in my annual merit-based scholarship. Thanks again!”

Mackenzie P.

“I must admit that when my parents first said that we would be working with someone on my college planning, I was not too thrilled. But I am so glad that they did! I really wanted to find a college in Florida, but my parents said that it was too expensive. With your help, not only did you find multiple colleges in Florida, but they were actually less out-of-pocket expense than the Ohio colleges that I first looked at. Thanks again for showing my family all of our options and helping me get into the college of my dreams.”

Matthew S.

“I am so thankful for all of your kind introductions to multiple college coaches. I was not on too many colleges’ radar for soccer, but I really wanted to play at the college level. Not only did I get into those colleges, but they also gave me an athletic scholarship! Thanks again for all of your help!”

Tanya H

“Thank you for helping out with the negotiation of my financial aid package. I can’t believe they gave us an additional $3,200 per year. That just saved us over $13,000 worth of loans. Also, thank you for helping out Jenni and her parents! Without your help, we wouldn’t be going to the same college this year!”

Courtney S

“Okay…you were right! I know we joked about it in the beginning, but your help with the ACT was absolutely amazing! I can’t believe I went from a 24 to a 27. By the way, my parents thank you as well. The $2,700 extra per year in merit scholarship will really help all of us out.”