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On Early Decision Denials

Uncategorized Dec 17, 2023

This is the time of year when I offer the following thoughts and rants about Early Decision, and, what happens if you don't get in?

First, the whole ED thing is a scam that benefits colleges, not applicants. How can something that restricts your choices be beneficial? Not just a trivial choice, obviously. A choice that can impact the trajectory of a kid's life, not to mention the enormous financial impact of that choice on the whole family.

Here's the dirty little secret: Early Decision was invented to help colleges lock up their incoming class for the following year. To reduce stress on THEM, not students.

Putting that aside, who cares if you don't get into your top choice college? Dumb question, except that there is not much evidence to suggest that it matters where you go to college (See Dale and Krueger). Sure, there's anecdotal evidence that going to an Ivy League or Ivy Plus college can quote unquote open doors. I don't dismiss that...

Financial Aid "Secrets" Meeting Is Starting

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2023

We're Starting!

Financial Aid "Loopholes" and "Landmines"

November 29, 2023 6:45pm EST

We just started but you can still stop by! We're talking about how to get F.R.E.E. cash for college: grants and scholarships, the new rules changes pending New Year's Eve and how they could affect you, more! Here's where to join us:

Join Webinar

See you in class!

-Pearl and Andy Lockwood

Lockwood College Prep

Alert: Financial Aid Changes

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2023

Tutoring | Webinar

In the wee small hours of this morning, Pearl and I were talking about what to talk about, tonight on our webinar. Which is kinda funny, since we tend to talk about the same stuff over and over: financial aid "loopholes," mistakes to avoid, how the whole thing works, when to apply, etc. etc. etc.

Then she mentioned that she herself has been surprised this year, having seen a couple of colleges that now require different financial aid applications compared to last year.

Meaning, it's even hard for to keep track of everything in these crazy times!

Tonight, the agenda is to give you up to date information on the "seismic" changes to the FAFSA (the federal financial aid application required by all colleges) due out at the end of December, based on Pearl's in-the-trenches reporting. She's already prepared and filed a bunch of CSS Profiles for our class of 2024 clients, and will tackle the FAFSA after...

"Hiding" Your Money from Financial Aid Officers

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2023

Tutoring | Webinar

Whenever I'm speaking to a group of parents, their collective ears perk up if I mention how to "shelter" their savings from the financial aid formulas, in order to qualify for more grants, scholarships and other financial aid.

But here's the thing...

These shelters work for only SOME families. I'd guess 20%, maybe a little more.

They're fun to talk about, but how useful is it to discuss if you're in the other 80% of families, who may not see a way to qualify for need-based aid?

Tomorrow night, I'll cover that. Specifically, how ANY family can qualify for discounts of 56% off tuition, even if they make "too much" money, or their child didn't cure a deadly disease or single-handedly build a small village on last summer's "service trip" to the Dominican Republic last summer.

This free class is called "Financial Aid Loopholes and Landmines." I named it all by myself! (Hey, this guy's good!:)

On this live...

Financial Aid "Loopholes" and "Landmines"

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2023

Tutoring | Webinar

We're in the thick of financial aid "season" for our Class of 2024 clients, and the confusion and stress is snowballing.

Over the weekend, the good folks behind the CSS Profile financial aid application did us all the courtesy of blasting out an email that noted that "your CSS Profile application is incomplete." The email went to everybody registered for this service, including those who already completed and submitted a CSS Profile. Helpful.

But these cortisol-raising bits of "fake financial aid news" are par for the course. And sadly, just the tip of the iceberg of mistakes and problems you need to avoid if you're looking for financial aid or scholarships to help you pay tuition for your kiddo(s).

That's why we're running a brand new webinar this Wednesday night, "Financial Aid Loopholes and Landmines." On this live class, you will discover:

Four legal and ethical "loopholes" on the FAFSA (the financial...

This ends today

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2023

This all must end: our 10% off financial aid consulting deals (1-pay and 5-pay).

1-pay option (best deal)

5-pay option

(This service includes filing of your FAFSA, CSS Profile, other apps, assistance negotiating your merit aid and financial aid offers, more.)

...AND, promo #2: student loan repayment consulting. For parents who have already borrowed tens of thousands for their kids' tuition, and are now looking at ludicrous monthly debt payments that just re-started last month, and don't know where to turn: Our new service, Yesterday's Debt, helps you slash your student debt payments.

Coupon code NOIRE gets you 10% off the Strategic Consultation fee. (wait for the shopping cart to update before checking out)

Both 10% off Black Friday promos expires in a few hours, at midnight).

Jump in on either, money-saving program now at a discount, don't miss out!

-Andy Lockwood

P.S. Why are we running...

10% Off Promo

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2023

Good morning,

This reminder is for parents who need help paying for college next year, but are overwhelmed by the process of applying for financial aid and don't want to screw things up...

...AND, also for parents who have already borrowed tens of thousands for their kids' tuition, and are now looking at ludicrous monthly debt payments that just re-started last month, and don't know where to turn.

We're running a 10% off Black Friday promo to help you with either scenario (expires Sunday, midnight).

Here are the discounted pages for our financial aid consulting and applications prep service, with the 10% off coupon baked in:

1-pay option (best deal)

5-pay option

And here's the info for our new service, Yesterday's Debt, to help you slash your student debt payments.

Coupon code NOIRE gets you 10% off the Strategic Consultation fee. (wait for the shopping cart to update before checking out)

This train leaves the station Sunday at...

Black Friday - Our First Eva Promo

Uncategorized Dec 05, 2023

Hidey-ho, here's the deal, quicker than instant stuffing:

Pearl has a history of pulling rabbits out of her hat for our clients re: seemingly creating windfalls of financial aid out of thin air. That's been her bread and butter for more than a decade.

Now, because times have changed, she's added another arrow to her quiver: helping clients slash their existing student loan payments (they just became due after a three year slumber -- they're baaaaaack).

Her latest example: she turned a dual income client's $4,000 plus per month payment on their PLUS loans (parent loans) into $1,000 + per month, which will save them close to $39,000 per year...

...Times 10 years. That's a tidy sum.

But here's the kicker: the client will get $200,000 wiped off the books -- discharged entirely -- after 10 years. Not too shabby.

So today I'm running a Black Friday (is it still ok to use that term?) promo on these two, money and...

More Bad FAFSA News

Uncategorized Nov 20, 2023

BREAKING...the Department of Edu-macation has all but said the new FAFSA (the federal financial aid application required by all colleges) will debut on December 31.

Here's a quick summary of how this affects you, if you're applying for aid for the 2024-2025 academic year.

College financial aid spokespeople have pretty much confirmed that they won't even get to see the submitted data until the end of January, at the earliest. Behind the scenes, they are scrambling. They're already outmanned and untrained as it is. The new FAFSA will require more training, more technical, computery integration and other stuff I don't understand like mainframes, meta elements and parallel processing.
That means you won't see a firm financial aid award until mid-February at the earliest. Repeat, at the EARLIEST. Don't panic if it takes longer.
I'll bet dollars to donuts that many financial aid awards will be flat-out wrong, because glitches will invariably appear. Check your...

What Didn't Make it On the Air Yesterday

Uncategorized Nov 20, 2023

A big story around here is that New York is getting set to abolish its Regents exams, designed to ensure students' proficiency in high school, and replace them with yet-to-be determined, "holistic" exams.

There are smart people on both sides of this issue. And then there's me.

I'm against abolishing the Regents exams for a few reasons, almost all of which were relegated to the cutting room floor for yesterday's report on New York Fox 5. Here are the highlights/lowlights, depending on your perspective:

If you don't have a means to demonstrate proficiency, how can you measure whether students and teachers accomplished desired educational goals? What will a high school diploma mean other than a participation trophy and evidence that you showed up?
If you can't measure and track success, nobody wins. I want to lose weight but it's hard. I guess I'll just throw out my scale so I don't feel badly.
There's a strong argument that this...

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Financial Aid "Loopholes" and "Landmines"

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