We are a nonprofit agency assisting students and their parents through the college planning and funding process. This is called the Student Positioning Session.
ACF DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
Access College Foundation (ACF) will provide the following:
1. Career Assessment Your student will work with us using our award winning, nationally recognized Interests/Abilities assessment programs designed to confirm or create your student’s initial list of career paths. Criteria will include; high school courses recommended, level of higher education required,
salaries to be expected, future outlook for their career choices, etc.
2. Indentify Career-Related Major Courses of Study and Explore, Evaluate, and Select the Most Suitable Colleges Your student will work with us using our award winning, nationally recognized Career/Majors assessment programs designed to indentify which Majors are required by the Career Paths your student has chosen. It is our philosophy that when asking your student about college you should ask what they are going to do, not where they are going to go. The proper sequence is to first identify possible career paths, the second step is to identify the majors that serve those career paths, and the third and most important step is to identify the colleges that best match your student’s needs. This Educational Counselor coaching of student position provides a live “coaching” session between the family/student and an educational counselor. This session is designed to help a student pick appropriate colleges. This is the third step of the Student Positioning Concept which will facilitate finding those colleges which fit the student both academically and financially. This session also includes a college search based on custom search criteria which will include; higher education required, salaries to be expected, future outlook for their career choices, and;
INTERNSHIP AND CAREER PLACEMENT PROGRAMS: Working with your student, we will identify the colleges which have nationally recognized Internships and highly successful Career Placement programs that specifically serve your student’s chosen career paths. ACADEMIC COMPETETIVENESS: We will identify each college’s last year’s incoming freshmen class’s 75th percentile of GPA and SAT/ACT scores. (Preferential Award Packaging)
FINANCIAL SUITABILITY: We will identify each college’s last year’s incoming freshmen class’s percentage of eligibility met and the grant-to-loan ratio. GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY: Working with your student we will define colleges she wants to attend and assure your final college choice list of six to eight colleges has sufficient diversity to generate competitive award offers. This will facilitate your student’s selection and/or confirmation of the best colleges for a career-appropriate pool of 6-8 competitive colleges.
3. SAT/ACT Diagnostic Exam Appropriate Practice Exam, and Results Analysis We will provide a 50 question exam to discern on which College Entrance Exam your student will do best. We will then provide a practice exam and results report.
4. SAT/ACT Preparation Assistance One of the unique features of our web-based SAT course is that students can listen to a professor tutor explaining the concepts and questions that they are struggling with. This allows both auditory and visual learners to benefit. By using our audio component, students don’t need to read through pages and pages of intimidating text.
5. Data Verification Session We provide a CFS Financial Data Questionnaire for you to complete and return prior to our initial meeting. We will personally work with families to verify the accuracy of the financial data to be used to complete Federal, State, and College Financial Assistance applications.
6. Calculate Expected Family Contributions (EFC) We will use the completed CFS Financial Data Questionnaire to calculate both the Federal (Public Colleges) and Institutional (Private Profile Colleges) EFCs.
7. Financial Assistance Eligibility After verifying Financial Data Questionnaire and calculating EFCs, we will analyze your current financial assistance eligibility and recommend actions to maximize eligibility, when possible.
8. Development of a cost-effective funding plan
• We will develop and recommend tax-efficient strategies to reduce your out-of-pocket costs.
• We will develop and present customized plans utilizing current resources and cash flow to pay for college without diminishing or delaying retirement goals.
9. Monthly E-mail Newsletters We provide monthly editorials e-mailed to the student. These useful editorials provide an overview of the college planning topic of the month. The editorial part of the program starts in June of the Junior/Senior Year Summer.
10. College Tracking List We will provide the client with an introductory package outlining the service and key points of action. This package includes a College Tracking List (CTL) designed to keep students and their families informed of what is being accomplished. The CTL outlines what steps will be completed and when. This tracking system keeps clients continuously aware of the next step in the process. Included in this package is “The College Plan Calendar.”
11. Produce college financial assistance history We detail the Cost of Attendance, the average merit award, the percentage of need met, and the Grant-to-Loan ratio of your college choices.
12. Assist your family to register for the Financial Aid Profile (FAP) This form is required by certain colleges for financial aid consideration. You must register to obtain this form or complete it online. This registration is completed together in our office. This application is completed electronically. The FAP is more complicated than the FAFSA. Additionally, the information needs to be consistent with that on the FAFSA. The additional cost of filing incurred by the College Board is the responsibility of the student family.
13. Assist with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) This form must be completed to qualify for financial aid from Federal and most State Programs. This form is completed in our office. Once as an estimate in mid January and second as a final filing after subsequent tax returns have been completed.
14. Confirm accuracy of the Student Aid Report (SAR) The SAR will be received by email from the U.S. Department of Education reiterating the FAFSA information and officially confirming your family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC). We will review and confirm accuracy or assist you to submit for correction.
15. Assist with the complete of College Institutional Financial Assistance Forms Some schools have their own need-based forms that are just as important as the Financial Aid Profile (FAP) and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The institutional financial aid forms are completed electronically together in our office.
16. Award Letters and Appeals We provide an awards analysis program. This program provides a breakdown of the award packages by offering two perspectives analyzing the award letters from the family’s viewpoint without long-term student loans or work study programs. These perspectives make it clear what the client’s true cost is for their first year in college. We help you evaluate award letters and facilitate the appeal process. We will request a copy of all award letters from the student family. Upon receiving them, we evaluate award packages and let the family know if they have received a fair award offer from the college. When warranted, we will assist with writing an appeal letter that will be sent to the college by the student.
17. Loan Option Counseling We will counsel the family on Education Loan options and provide guidance on their specific loan options. We will also provide the family with a college loan booklet which addresses important Student and Parent loan topics.
