Before you hear from all the professionals who share their expertise with you, we’d like you to learn a little about us and how helping kids get into the right college for the right cost became our passion. It’s been an interesting journey.
Maria’s story:
I came up through the ranks as a teacher, and they were some pretty tough ranks. That’s because I started out in Catholic schools, which really put you through the ringer. My first job was in the Bronx, in New York City, where I taught seventh and eighth grade, teaching multiple subjects with 50 kids in each class. The good news is that it taught me discipline and organizational skills, and showed me how much I truly love working with students. I also learned that if you can teach 50 kids in a class and hold their interest, you can do pretty much anything.
I continued in Catholic schools after Tom and I moved to the Poconos, but as so many others have done, they closed down, so I became a teacher in the public school system. I'm certified in English literature, Communication, and Social Studies and Geography. I had the wonderful privilege of being chosen as a National Geographic Teacher Consultant, which was great fun, especially during the 200th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in the New World.
Then our daughter Brenna was identified as a gifted student, and she had a hard time. She was very inquisitive and asked a lot of questions. Often teachers consider students like that to be aggressive and unruly. So, through her, I became interested in gifted education. I got a Master’s degree in Gifted Education and Leadership, and continued my studies after that, to really solidify my thoughts on what makes a gifted student and how to teach them.
That led me to work with high school gifted students. One of the things I did with them was start to get them ready for college. These students are high achieving, but still need assistance, and don’t necessarily get the help they need because guidance counselors tend to concentrate on the students who have a more visible need, such as those with emotional or social issues.
So, I put a program together and worked with them to make sure they were able to properly compete, and help to find the right school for them. Not just looking at their grades, looking at their interests and finding their passion. Many gifted students just don’t know who they are and what they want to be. They actually have so much talent it’s hard for them to really concentrate.
I did that for more than 10 years while still working in public schools, then retired and took a few years off to catch up on my sleep after all those years of getting up at 4:00 in the morning. Then Tom and I decided to combine our skills and start our business.
Tom’s story:
We met during our senior year of high school. We went to different schools but we both worked part-time at the same supermarket. Then we went to different universities in New York City and pursued different things. She’s the educator, I’m the business side of things.
After getting a degree in Business Administration I started out in retail, working at J.C. Penney’s Corporate Headquarters doing marketing and advance planning. Older readers may remember the Penney’s catalog. I worked on that, and made presentations to company directors and other executives on marketing the catalog.
It was a fun job, but by then we were living in Pennsylvania and it was a two-hour commute to Manhattan, which ages you very quickly. I was recruited by an insurance company and began selling life insurance, annuities, and other investments. I then expanded into the commercial insurance field, which I liked much more because every day you're talking to somebody different, getting their life story and trying to come up with an insurance solution for them. If you’re bored one day, you’re going to meet somebody new tomorrow.
Then, as Maria said, we combined our talents to solve this problem of financial aid and getting kids into the right major and the right school. I became certified as a college funding specialist, which is a pretty rare thing. Now we interview students and try to get them on the right path into the right place.
How it works:
We use an assessment that is absolutely phenomenal. It looks at the strengths of the student, the interests of the student, the needs of the student, and their stress points. We can use all this information to guide them into career fields. There are 20 to choose from. First, we narrow it down to three or four career fields. Then we drill down into specific careers and look into things like how much it pays and its longevity, because you certainly don’t want to go into a career that’s going to be gone in five years. Speaking of longevity, this assessment is good for a lifetime, which is amazing. It’s based on 65 years of data.
Then we build around it. It helps them determine just who they are, where they’re going to be, where they’re going to shine, and what happens when they stress out. That last one is very important. I explain to the students that when they do stress out, which is going to happen, they need to know why it’s happening, which is because a need wasn't being met. Identify that need, and then go find your interest. Then your interest will actually help you get over that stress. It’s a complete learning system. It’s very interpersonal, and incredibly accurate. Even when the results are surprising, they’re accurate.
For example, we did one with a family where the parents were highly educated professionals, including an engineer, and it came back that the child’s main interest was cooking. When we talked to the parents, the mother said, "Oh my God, he loves to cook." When we went over the assessment with them, and they saw how clear it was that this was his passion, it sent him on that career path. That might not have happened without the data in the assessment. We trust the process because it always works.
Knowing your path is so important. Fewer than 30% of college graduates have a job related to their major. Some benefit from their degree, but for many, spending four years and all that money was a complete waste. Also, about 80% of college students change their major at least once, and many go through several changes before they graduate, which often means an extra year or more of college, and all the costs associated with that.
Helping the student identify a career path and find their calling is just the first step of what we do. We also help them identify the right college and get into that college, and help the parents get the financial aid to pay for that.
Why we do it
We both come from professions where we were helping people, which we loved. Now we’re doing it again, albeit in a different way. Now we’re working as a team, combining our different skill sets and knowledge in a way that helps students and parents.
As parents, we know what these families are dealing with. We’ve faced the same challenges. We wish we had known what we know now, or had someone like us to help us, when we were going through this with our kids.
We went through the commotion, the ups and downs, the emotional and financial struggles. The cost of college wasn’t nearly as high as it is now, but we were far from wealthy, and with three kids, we had a lot of college costs for a lot of years.
Only one of our three children went through college without changing majors. Ironically, her career choice was the least stable of the three. She wanted to be an actress. We said, “Okay, what’s your Plan B?” There wasn’t one. But she stuck with it, and she loves it and she’s successful.
The other two both ended up getting post-graduate degrees, so that added to their college costs, but both finally ended up in careers they like and they’re both successful as well.
So, we can tell parents, “We know what you’re going through.” We’re sympathetic and empathetic with them. It’s not an easy transition when your child goes to college. But we can help make that transition as easy as possible, and nothing makes us happier.
Mistakes made
One of the most important things we do is help families avoid many common and costly mistakes when it comes to finances. One of the most common ones is waiting too late to do something about financial aid. We get calls from people who say, “Can you help us? Our child is a freshman in college and we’re already running out of money.” Rule number one in financial aid is to start your planning early.
Rule number two is to take advantage of the money that’s out there. Many parents don’t do that either. 30% of families don’t even fill out a FAFSA form. That’s like standing in front of an ATM machine and not putting your card in, but still expecting money to come out. Even if you want to take out a loan down the road, you still need to have that FAFSA figure for them to work with.
Another common mistake is thinking you make too much money to get financial aid. Higher-income parents we work with are often very pleasantly surprised to learn what their child is actually eligible for. This is an area where it’s especially important to work with a skilled professional.
In fact, going it alone is another common mistake. In particular, when parents have a very smart child, they let the student handle the entire process. There are so many forms to fill out, and so many steps to follow, and so many deadlines to meet, that no matter how smart or mature your child is, they still need your guidance. They may be old enough to drive, but they can’t drive this bus.
And parents shouldn’t either. Another reason not to do this without assistance is many families don’t look for the scholarships in the proper place. We got a call from a family who was struggling financially. Their child goes to Penn State. We asked them if they checked out the scholarships that Penn State gives directly to the students, and they said, “No, we haven’t.” That’s actually a very simple thing to do. You tell them your major, your ethnic background, your religion and other factors, and there’s a scholarship based on that information which you can apply for. More than 90% of scholarship or grant money comes directly from the school, which most people just don’t realize.
Why this book:
We’ve learned something from every one of these interviews. From career advice to choosing and being accepted by the best college for you to not missing out on any opportunity for financial aid, after every interview we’ve always said, "That was interesting. We didn't know that." Every interview we’ve done is helping us do a better job of helping the students and families we work with.
Every interview in this book is filled with insights and information that you might not otherwise learn from experts you might otherwise never meet. They shared their knowledge, and just as important, they shared their passion. In many ways, what we do is not a profession. It’s a calling.
Think of this book as one-stop shopping for parents. It’s not a college admissions guide, but that’s in here. It’s not a career guide, but that’s in here. It’s not a financial aid guide, but that’s in here. It’s a multi-pronged guide for parents about preparing their child for life. Not just college, but what comes next, and what comes after that, and what comes even further down the road.
In a way, by doing this we’ve come full circle. Maria is teaching again, only this time she’s teaching both kids and their parents. Tom is once again giving people peace of mind.
So, if a parent comes up to us down the road and says, “I read your book six months ago,” we hope they would finish the sentence this way: “….and I found it inspirational. It got us started on a journey that will help our child now and in the future.” And continuing that thought, if we happen to meet that child, or anyone whose parents read the book, we hope they tell us, “My mom and dad treat me a lot differently now. They know where I’m coming from, and we’re able to talk about the process without banging heads like we used to.”
So, let’s get started on that journey.