The Smart College Shopper Cohort — College Funding Counselor

The Smart College Shopper Cohort

Send your kiddo to a great-fit college you can actually afford.

A numbers-first cohort for donut-hole parents — earning too much for need-based aid, still feeling every dollar of the sticker price. Ten months, done with you. I'll even fill out the financial aid forms myself.

By June 1 of senior year: a signed college decision, a four-year payment plan you can actually afford, and zero guesswork. So you retire on time — and your kid starts their career without a debt anchor.

Join the Cohort

Capped at 20 families · Runs August 1 – June 1 · 2-week money-back guarantee

Sound familiar?

Most families land in my inbox stuck in the same three spots.

"We're building a college list and we don't know two things — what our kid actually wants, or what we can actually afford."

"We make too much for aid, and our kid isn't a 4.0 valedictorian. So financial aid and merit money aren't for families like us. Why bother?"

"The award letters are in. Now what? We can't read them, can't compare them, don't know if we can negotiate, and we have no plan for the bill."

On spots two and three? Right, wrong. Let me show you why — and walk the whole path with you.

The Smart College Shopper Framework

A numbers-first path from where you are now to a decision you can afford.

Three steps. Each one solves one of the three spots above — in order, the way it should be done. Think of it like pre-qualifying for a mortgage before you go house-shopping. You learn your number first.

Step 1 · Solves spot #1

The Pre-Flight Check

Before you tour a single campus, know what you're working with.

Student Self-Assessment

Your College Number

SAI Estimate

Step 2 · Solves spot #2

The Generosity Map

Find the schools on the spectrum of generosity that pay — for your kid.

The Generosity Shortlist

The Four-Year Net Cost Projection

The Merit & Scholarship Profile

Step 3 · Solves spot #3

The Closing Playbook

Read the awards. Appeal for more. Pay smart.

The Award Letter Decoder

The Appeal Letter

The Four-Year Cash Flow Plan

What you get

Ten months of guidance — plus real work done for you.

This isn't a course you watch alone. It's a small cohort where I run the full framework alongside your family from August 1 to June 1 — and take the two most dreaded jobs off your plate entirely.

FAFSA & CSS Profile — done for you

I fill out the forms myself. The CSS Profile is a 1040 on steroids — you shouldn't have to wrestle it. When parents hear this, their shoulders drop. That's the moment.

Appeal letter service

When an award comes in light, we don't shrug. I help you write the appeal. One letter I wrote took a family's free money from $27,000 to $55,000.

Twice-monthly group office hours

About 20 live sessions across the ten months — bring your questions, hear other families' situations, and stay on track through every deadline.

Two private 1:1 strategy sessions

Your family's numbers are different from everyone else's. Two one-on-one sessions with me, scheduled at the milestone moments — form filing and award review — where personalized guidance matters most.

Included bonuses

A one-year premium MyCAP account

The #1-rated college planning software, so you can model real four-year net costs at every school on your list — not sticker prices. This is the school-by-school engine behind your Generosity Map.

Pay-in-full bonus — a third 1:1 session

The first 5 families who pay in full get a third private 1:1 strategy session with me. Same great work, one more seat at the table.

Is this the right fit for your family?

This is for you if…

You've got a rising senior (or a senior) heading into application and aid-form season this year.

You earn too much for need-based aid but still feel every bit of the sticker price.

You want your kid to start their career without a debt anchor — and you want to retire on time.

You'd rather have a guide who's done this than spend 40 hours wading through contradictory advice online.

Be honest — maybe not, if…

Your kid is years away from applying. This cohort is built around senior year — when the forms get filed and the awards come in. Come back when they're a rising senior.

A private four-year school is genuinely out of reach no matter how we shop it. If that's the case, we'll have that honest conversation on a call — I'm not going to take your money to tell you what you already fear.

You want to DIY the whole thing. Plenty of families do, and that's fine — I'll always tell you when something's within your reach. Most parents I work with just decide their time and their retirement are worth more than the wading.

Why me

I lived this problem before I sold the solution.

Gosh, I wish I'd learned this the easy way. I didn't. My wife and I have three kids — one in 2001, twins in 2004. We didn't plan on twins. FedEx problem.

Our financial planner had exactly one move: save more in the 529. That's not a strategy. The educational consultant we hired was wonderful on essays — but when I asked about the money, she waved her hands: "Oh, I don't get into that part." That gap is the whole reason this business exists.

So I went and learned it. Applied it to my own twins. Net savings: over $40,000 across four years. Then I started doing it for other families — 32 years in software before this taught me how to build a repeatable process and translate the complicated stuff into plain English.

I'm a fiduciary. No commissions, no hidden fees, no one selling you more 529 contributions. Your family is the only client I answer to.

Families who stopped flying blind.

Real results from real families. I can't promise a specific number — every family's math is different — but here's what the work looks like.

Carleton College award letter, before and after Michael's appeal — grant rose from $27,605 to $55,044

Same school, same family — before and after the appeal letter I helped write. Real letters, one change.

★★★★★

$27K → $55K

One appeal letter I wrote took a family's gift aid — free money — from $27,000 to $55,000.

★★★★★

$0 → $49,217

One change to how a family filled out their aid forms took them from zero gift aid to $49,217 — in year one alone.

★★★★★

"I just called Carleton. They verbally told me that they increased the Carleton grant from $27K to $55K! Andy and I are in disbelief at the moment so we are waiting to see it in writing."

— Kristy M.

★★★★★

"We appealed the offer and received an additional $6,323 in grant money — bringing the grant to almost $69,000 and leaving us with a net cost of a little over $21,000."

— Ron K.

★★★★★

"Just met with Michael — totally understands my family's situation in split households. Very easy to work with. 10 out of 10!"

— Michael C.

★★★★★

"We look forward to working with you again next year with both of our daughters."

— Dean F.

Join the cohort

One decision. Ten months of guidance.

À la carte, my Forms Package ($999) and Appeal Package ($1,999) alone run $2,998 — and the cohort includes both, plus your 1:1 sessions, 14 office hours, and a MyCAP premium account.

$2,997

paid in full · or 3 payments of $1,097

Join the Cohort — Pay in Full ($2,997)

First 5 pay-in-full families get a bonus third 1:1 session.

Join the Cohort — 3 Payments of $1,097

Capped at 20 families · Cohort begins August 1
Enrollment closes Saturday, July 18
One cohort a year — the next begins August 2027.

Not sure it's a fit? Book a quick call with me →

A real guarantee

Two weeks to make sure it's right.

If within the first two weeks of the cohort you decide it's not the right fit, let me know and I'll refund every dollar. No forms, no hoops. I'd rather you be sure.

Questions parents ask me.

"Our income is too high for aid. Isn't this a waste for us?"

Right, wrong. Need-based aid is one lever — merit money, generous schools, and a well-written appeal are others, and they don't care about your income the way you think. That's exactly who this cohort is built for.

"What grade should my kid be in?"

This cohort is built around senior year — it starts August 1 (right as the FAFSA prep window opens), files your forms in the fall, and lands on a signed decision by June 1. Ideally your kiddo is a rising senior or a senior now.

"Do you really fill out the financial aid forms?"

Yes — the FAFSA and the CSS Profile, done for you. It's the piece parents dread most, and it's where costly mistakes happen. I take it off your plate.

"We're a split household. Does that work?"

It does, and it's more common than you'd think. Separated and divorced parents managing shared costs add a layer of complexity — I've walked plenty of families through exactly that.

"How much will I actually save?"

I won't promise a number — anyone who does is selling you something. What I'll promise is the process: your two numbers up front, a shortlist of generous schools, forms done right, and an appeal when the math calls for it. That's how families here have moved the number by five figures.

A great-fit college you can actually afford.

You've got more options than anyone's told you. Twenty families, ten months, one clear path. Don't walk this path alone.

Join the Cohort

Capped at 20 families · Begins August 1 · Enrollment closes July 18

Wanna pay less for college?