Guiding students and families through the college planning process has been life’s passion for Sharon McLaughlin, owner of McLaughlin Education Consulting. Ms. McLaughlin has over twenty years of experience as a college administrator in student enrollment management, specifically in admissions and financial aid. She holds a M. Ed in Adult Education is a member of several state financial aid associations (MASFAA, EASFAA & NYSFAAA) and is a National Institute of Certified College Planners (NICCP) certified college planner. For the past six years she has drawn on her expertise from her work at private and public colleges in New England to offer private college planning consulting to those wishing to attend college and graduate school. Recently, she began offering assistance to international students who are interested in attending US colleges.
McLaughlin Education Consulting offers structured services in admissions counseling, as well as, financial aid counseling. Through private, confidential counseling, Ms. McLaughlin works with students and parents to clarify/indentify academic and career goals. Then colleges are identified that meet those goals. Interview coaching, tutoring and test prep are also available. “The college admissions process can be overwhelming for parents and students alike, especially, in the last few years with increased competition for admissions to private colleges and the growing controversy about admissions testing. Now more colleges are ‘test optional’ and many students don’t know whether to take the SAT, ACT, both or neither. I’ll work with families to determine which test to take based on the student’s strengths and the colleges that have been identified and work out a strategy for taking the tests ”, explains Ms. McLaughlin. Admission counseling also requires keeping the family on track with the process and timeline: campus visit preparation, creating/narrowing a list of colleges, test and application deadlines.
Financing college costs is an increasing concern for clients, according to Ms. McLaughlin, in light of the rising cost of college and the down turn in the economy. “College and university endowments are down, and state budgets have effected funding for financial aid, so families question how to afford college”, she explains. McLaughlin Education Consulting provides a number of financial aid counseling services. Ms. McLaughlin will assess the family’s eligibility for financial aid, develop an education financial plan and strategies for controlling college costs, in addition to assisting with completing the FAFSA and College Profile. Early college financial planning is also available for parents with children in elementary and middle school.
Increasingly, I have families contact me with specific situations that don’t neatly fit into structured counseling services and have had trouble finding a college planner to work with them. I’ll tailor my services to address the situation. For example, I recently had a parent from RI who had a child from a previous marriage and wanted college planning advice. He was working with his financial planner to invest some assets, but wanted to know how various options would impact financial aid and his ability to assist with college expenses. His financial planner did not understand the financial aid process, so I performed an analysis of the effect of each investment option on the parent’s contribution to the college expenses. He was able to share that data with the financial planner and finalize his investment strategy”, adds Ms. McLaughlin.
Providing in depth, individualized college planning counseling to guide families through the college admissions process, head for college and attain their goals is the core mission for Ms. McLaughlin.
For more information about McLaughlin Education Consulting check out her website http://www.headforcollege.com. College planning information is available on her blog http://head4college-ne.blogspot.com .
