This article was published in the Orange County Register last weekend. It’s an amazing story of how a not-straight-A student with not-top test scores ended up getting college scholarships – over a million dollars worth.
This student and his family are similar to many of the students with whom we work: the student has good grades and test scores, and the family likely makes too much money to qualify for need-based financial aid. While this is frustrating to many families, in reality, need-based aid is truly intended for those who NEED it, those who literally could not afford to attend college without the help.
Josh’s approach (the student in the article) to finding the right college was very similar to how Magellan counselors approach this process: instead of being obsessed with “name” colleges, he looked for the educational environment that fit his learning style and his needs. And in the end, he found dozens of colleges that not only agreed that they would like to be his college “home” for the next four years, but that also provided the financial incentives, based on his grades and test scores, that would make their price tag comparable, or even lower than, his in-state public university options. According to the article, his guiding principles were “go with what fits” and “be authentic,” and to that, Magellan counselors would add, “be pragmatic.”
The happy result is that while Josh is deciding where his college home will be, his parents are breathing a sigh of relief that they will not have to drain their savings, borrow from their retirement or take out a second mortgage on their home to pay for their first of three children to attend college.
Josh’s college search process is a success story. Because we take a very similar approach, Magellan counselors have of our own success stories as well. In fact, our Class of 2017 clients are pondering nearly $6 million in scholarship offers – and we’re pretty sure that all of our clients haven’t shared all of their scholarship offers with us yet!
You see, getting college scholarships starts with the right approach and the right mindset. If you’re interested, this page details the services we provide. We have counselors in California, Texas, Illinois and Colorado, and we work with clients across the country by Zoom.
The best time to get started is spring of 10th grade, but families start working with us throughout the junior year and into the summer before senior year. The earlier you start, the better results we can get – and the less stressed out both you and your teenager will be!
Feel free to get in touch to learn more!