From The Desk of Andrew Lockwood, JD. - College Advisor

RE:  How To Create a Balanced, Strategic List of Colleges That Roll Out the Red Carpet To Admit Your Kid...With Fat, Juicy Scholarships Offers!

Dear Fellow Parent

If you would love to figure out how to send your kid(s) to a terrific, “best fit” college that expands their minds, forges new life-long friends and relationships and changes their lives…

...AND get your hands on thousands in scholarships and financial aid, so you avoid CRUSHING them -- or yourself-- with high rate, high fee college loans…

...AND find colleges that actually prepare them to earn a living in a satisfying career AFTER college…

...then I promise you that it’s worth five minutes of your time to read this letter.

I’ve created a brand new program to help stressed out parents of college-bound teens, but it’s not right for everybody (more on that later.)  I call our new membership:

The Lockwood Inner Circle

Here’s a little backstory:  many of my colleagues, and my CPA, have told me that what I’m going to describe to you is too cheap, and that I’m giving too much value away.

They could be right, but I actually don’t care.  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate their advice!

It’s just that I’m dead-certain that this membership is going to change you and your family’s life…

...by helping your kids get into their life-altering “Dream Schools,” and win fat, juicy scholarships so you don’t have to mortgage your retirement or home up to the eyeballs :)

Let's face it - things are tough out there for college grads:

• The cost to attend a decent college has risen to insane levels, without regard to the value of that college education
• Student debt is at 1.4 Trillion, with defaults rising
• 50% of college graduates don't have a job that requires a college degree...TWO YEARS after graduating!

Things were MUCH different when we applied to college, back in ancient times (the 80's)!

I thought I had it bad - I racked up 100K in student loans, between college and law school.  

But today's kids regularly borrow double, even triple that amount!

Not to mention saddling mom and dad with deadly, high rate, high fee Parent Loans, which you hardly ever read about in the news.

For all of these reasons, I’m bending over backwards to make our membership so reasonably priced, and so irresistible, that you see clearly and naturally that it would be a huge mistake not to give it the old “College Try!”

Let’s get right to it…

As an Inner Circle Member, we’ll take you by the hand and lead you through the clutter, half-truths and confusion created by relentless college marketing and other “expert” parents eager to share their opinions and humble-bragging.

Instead, I have no agenda other than to ERADICATE  your stress and uncertainty, by laying out each and every step you need to take to maximize your chances of admission, scholarships and financial aid, ALL THE WAY THROUGH  high school, so you always know WHAT you should be doing and WHEN you should be doing it…

...so you NEVER BLOW A DEADLINE OR OPPORTUNITY to optimize your child’s odds of getting into the most competitive, elite colleges, and qualify for staggering tuition discounts along the way!  

Isn’t That What My Guidance Counselor is Supposed to Do?

Can we talk?

The short answer, is “Yes,” that’s what parents EXPECT them to do.

If I had a nickel for every time a parent of a high school Junior or Senior lamented to me, “Why didn’t my guidance counselor tell me THAT Freshman year?” I’d be writing you from my private, exotic island somewhere.

See, 99% of guidance counselors don’t have 1-on-1 meetings with high school students until Junior year.  

Many counselors wait until Senior year!

What’s the problem, you ask?

When your child submits his application Senior year, Admissions officers will judge the body of work your child will have created since 9th grade, or earlier!  

Not to mention that guidance counselors are clueless about how financial aid works, how to “shelter” assets, how to negotiate with a college for more scholarship money and how to market and promote applicants so that they stand out like a diamond at a coal convention!

Look, I’m not trying to hate on guidance counselors.  I actually like a lot of them, including the one assigned to three of our kids.  

Truthfully, I understand that her, and her colleagues’ shortcomings, have less to do with their attitudes and work ethic, and more to do with their training and 400-to-1 student to counselor ratio.  (Not a misprint: 400-to-1.)

This is why parent expectations never match up with guidance counselor realities!

Which brings me back to why Pearl and I created our Lockwood Inner Circle Membership .  Think of it as a low cost “insurance policy” that middle school and high school parents can use to make sure that their kids NEVER miss out on anything that could have repercussions a few short years later!

Because, from 9th grade on, every choice of class you take, the hours you spend volunteering, the clubs you join and special outside-of-school projects you undertake all have DIRECT repercussions on your child’s odds of getting into their Dream School!

When you say “Yes” to this special membership offer, you’ll receive the following valuable benefits:

LIVE Monthly Workshop/Q&A,  “What you should be doing, NOW.”

You will NEVER blow a deadline or miss an opportunity that you’ll regret later on, months or years later.

Pearl and I constantly hear how parents and kids missed out on registering for the ACT, SAT, SAT Subject Tests, college tours, and on and on and on.

When you join our Inner Circle, this won't happen to you. Ever.

Each month. (more frequently over the summer) you’ll get REALISTIC, REAL-LIFE, PRACTICAL advice on what specifically you and your college-bound child should be doing.  

I say “Real Life” because it’s based on our almost two-decade experience of advising kids to gain admission to the most elite colleges in the country - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford - community colleges and everything in between!

And, these workshops are interactive, which is a fancy way of saying you can get your personal questions answered each month. Topics include:

• Financial aid strategies
• Financial aid deadlines
• Coursework
• Extracurricular activities
• “Best fit” colleges
• College essay writing
• Visiting colleges
• Choosing majors
• Interview tips
• Scholarships
• Motivating teens
• Study skills
• Test prep strategies
• Recruiting
• Tips for business owners
• Tips for divorced/separated families
• And a LOT more - this list is merely the tip of the iceberg!

This monthly event is the CORE of the Inner Circle membership. You will look forward to this valuable hour each month, because, each and every month, you’ll discover what you should be doing NOW, what’s WORKING now, and you’ll be able to get extra personal coaching, live!

The point of each workshop is to give you at least ONE thing you can do immediately to give your and your family a leg up on the college admissions and financial aid/scholarships process, based on our case studies and in-the-trenches experience.

PLUS, you will also receive…

The College Planning Edge Newsletter

Each month, we''ll send you our client newsletter, The College Planning Edge, which is short, easy-to-read, and chock full of valuable information, in depth, timely features and, occasionally, a joke (OK, more than just occasionally), designed to help you and your family successfully navigate the college admissions and scholarships/financial aid journey, with the least amount of stress and confusion possible!

This hard copy newsletter will not only reinforce the previous live Q&A call, but also keep your upcoming dates and deadlines to register for the ACT or SAT, file your financial aid forms and other key milestones that, if you blow them, could have severe repercussions.

In case you missed it, this is a paper and ink newsletter, delivered to your door each month...NOT another email that will sit, gathering dust in your inbox for months, along with the other 3,000 college emails you’ve been meaning to read.

Secret Tool That Predicts Chances of Admission with 90% Accuracy

Here’s a dirty little secret guidance counselors will never tell you - they have NO idea where your kid will get in.  That’s because they use Naviance and other antiquated tools that give a false sense of your true odds of admission.

Inner Circle members will receive a one-year subscription to proprietary “College Guru” software, designed by a 30-year veteran of the admissions committee of Princeton University, and back-tested to be 90% accurate.  

This privately available software helps our clients avoid “Admissions Armageddon,” by creating strategic and balanced lists.  It compares your child against EVERY other admitted student at each college, world-wide across 20-25 categories, whereas Naviance considers kids from your high school only, and just two factors. 

Oh, and our "secret" software also helps predict chances of financial aid and scholarships.

This tool alone is worth thousands,  but it’s free when you become an Inner Circle member before deadline!

DISCOUNTED Admission to Our "Incomparable Applicant" Summer Application and Essay Bootcamps

Our cardinal rule is that our clients and members come first. So when we run our annual “Incomparable Applicant Summer Essays and Applications” boot camps, you’ll get the deepest available discount, because we both want you there to help you get ‘er done!

More accurately, you can dump your kid on us at 9am, pick ‘em up at 2 with their essay drafted.  (Or equivalent if we're still social distancing.) No screaming or threatening required!

25% Off "Scholarship" for Financial Aid Forms Preparation

Accurate, strategic and timely FAFSA and other forms prep can make the difference between comfortably affording your child's "Dream School," versus having to sheepishly confide, "sorry, I just can't swing it."

As an Inner Circle member, you'll get the biggest discount we've ever offered, or ever will (must be a member in good standing for a minimum of five months)

Complimentary "Look Over My Shoulder" Personalized Review

I don’t do free face-to-face meetings with non-clients any more, but if you join our Inner Circle before deadline, I've got something almost as good:

After you've entered your child's information in our system and given me a chance to review it and other info I may ask you about, I will help you analyze chances of admission, financial aid and scholarships vis a vis:

• Your child’s grades, course level and standardized test scores, if known
• Your child’s extracurricular activities
• Your preliminary college list
• Your financial aid profile
• Your merit scholarship profile

And give you my best advice on how to proceed, including

• College list suggestions
• Financial aid and scholarships-related tips
• Extracurricular, summer and other activities to help your child stand out
• More

This bonus is available for the first 12 to enroll. I can’t offer this to everybody due to time and bandwidth constraints.

OK, OK - I Get It! What Small Fortune Will it Cost Me to Join?

So when I looked back at what I put together, I admit that I thought, “Jiminy Cricket!  I bet I could get $497 per month for something like this, look at the value!”

But I’m not going to ask for anything close to that.

Or half ($248.50/month).

Or half of a half! :)

Instead, if you enroll today, you can get in for only $97 per month, which is almost a joke -- at my expense!

Seriously, you can “steal” the same exact advice I give my private coaching clients, who happily fork over four and five-figure retainers, for a fraction of the price.

Wondering why the cost is so low? It’s a simple reason:  Pearl and I know that our private consulting services are out of reach for many families, we wanted to offer something for less.

Plus, unlike those annoying phone and gym contracts, you can cancel anytime, without penalty or weird termination clauses!

In other words, I can’t sweeten this deal any more for you - it’s the ultimate no-brainer.

Double-seriously, you probably spend more at Starbs each month!  I know that half-caffe-no-whip 700 calorie mocha-choka dessert drink tastes great, but, once it’s gone, it’s gone, baby.

Compare that to if you were to get just ONE actionable tip the the entire year from the Lockwood Inner Circle.  Of course our goal is to give you several such gems each month, but you get the point - Starbucks is an expense, but our Membership is an investment - that pays!  Over and over!

Alright, I’ve made my case. If you can’t see enough value to dip your toe in the water by now, I don’t want to waste any more of your time.  

But, naturally, if you see how valuable this membership is, don’t delay - this promotional pricing is temporary. Jump in today!