HG Capital Advisors

College Funding FAQ’s

What is College Funding? -- College funding is the process of evaluating your student’s educational goals, your financial goals, and then aligning them in order to get your student to and through college in a comfortable manner.

My child hasn’t decided on what they are going to do or where they’re going to go so why bother. Isn’t it too early? -- A recent poll showed that 75% of parents have no plan to pay for college what so ever. We believe this thinking is the reason why. You should never wait until your student decides. Our goal is to get you as ready as possible regardless of what they decide. When they finally do, you will have a well-balanced plan that can be executed in quick fashion.

Can’t the colleges help me with college funding? -- The colleges provide limited assistance in this area. In many cases you will not receive assistance regarding financial aid until the end of the senior year of high school. That may consist of helping you fill out forms and then maybe a discussion on loans by a local banker.  From a college funding standpoint, taking on loans are not bad.  However, you must know how to reduce the amount you actually need to borrow.  When taking on loans the number one question you must ask yourself is this.  If I go into debt, how do my student and I get out?  The plan must be in place prior to completing the FAFSA.

Why would I need a College Funding Consultant? -- Contrary to popular belief, completing the FAFSA is not the only way to get financial aid for college. You will need a College Funding Consultant to guide you through the complexities of the system and to help you make decisions that keep paying for college under control and in line with other financial goals.

Can’t I do this on my own? -- Like doing your taxes, if you have the time, the background, and the know-how, you can learn part of the process and do some of the work on your own. However, there are still so many areas of the process where our expertise can get you more money for college than you normally would by just filling out the forms and hoping for the best, which is what many Hawaii parents are doing these days. This process is not all about filling out forms, which anyone can do. Hawaii parents need to know that there are errors and inconsistencies over 74% of their forms. This is not an area to take a gamble.

Who can benefit most from college funding services? -- Our services have made the biggest impact on Hawaii families that are in the so called “middle class” situation. These Hawaii parents face a financial crunch every time and in many cases, the EFC calculation will tell them that they don’t qualify for aid to their respective mainland college.

Is it worth it? -- Yes. Especially if you are like many of our Hawaii clients who don’t have the time to figure out the process and are not willing to gamble $40,000 or more away in money that they could’ve received. Time, effort, and resources must be invested in order to put together a solid game plan.

What about companies who offer free help or advice? -- Many of these companies limit their support to areas of financial aid only. They offer no real strategies that will save you money on the cost of college and if you do go into debt for education, they have no plan to help you get out.