Please join us for a FREE Educational College Financial Planning Workshop that will focus on High School Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors. We’ll discuss the FAFSA form and all the other information you need to understand in order to Maximize the amount of Financial Aid you are eligible to receive! Even if your family is not eligible for need-based aid, we will cover the Best Strategies on how to Pay for College on the most Tax- efficient Basis—without it putting a strain on the rest of your finances. In this workshop, you will learn: •How to increase your Tax deductions and Tax credits •How to pick Colleges that give the Best Financial Aid Packages. •How to send your child to an Expensive Private University for less than a State School. •Which assets are taken into consideration when the U.S. Department of Education calculates your Family Contribution. •How to Pay for College in a failing economy without relying on 529 plans, expensive private student loans or raiding your retirement accounts. •How to get ahead by developing a customized plan to meet all the College costs you will incur as a Family. •How to lower your “out-of-pocket” costs and get the Maximum amount of Money from each School.

Boca Raton, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/21/2009 -- Despite daily, gloomy stories about public university budget cuts and the student loan crisis, a local authority on college funding shows parents how to save tens of thousands of dollars off college costs, even if they’ve been told that they make too much money for financial aid.

“One of the most pervasive myths is that parents making six-figure incomes should not bother applying for financial aid,” says J. Jay Greene, MBA, of College Planning PhD, Inc. in Boca Raton. “Unfortunately, about 53% of eligible families never even bother applying for financial aid! And there’s a ton of aid to be had – about $137 Billion. And much of that is grants and scholarships - free money that never has to be paid back!”

Another surprise – it can be cheaper to attend an “expensive,” prestigious, private college compared to the “cheaper,” local public university. “The reason is that the private schools have more money to give by way of their endowments. We show this to parents on a daily basis,” said Greene, MBA. “Given what’s happening in Florida's universities, out of state private colleges are becoming an increasingly attractive option for parents concerned about giving their children the best education possible. The trick is to understand which colleges award the best aid packages, how to position your finances to receive the maximum amount of aid you’re eligible for and how to get into these colleges!”

*Greene, MBA will be the guest speaker on these and other college planning “inside secrets” this month in the Boca Raton:

More details and an updated workshop schedule are available at: http://collegeplanningphd.com

*Families of college-bound freshmen, sophomores and juniors should pre-register on the website or by calling 561-208-5552 ext 4. Pre-registration is mandatory as the workshops are frequently overbooked.