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Looking back on the college planning process for our daughter, two items really made an impression on us. Starting her junior year in high school, we were unsure of the advantages of going to a smaller, private college as opposed to a larger reputable public university familiar with us such as UW-Madison and UM Minneapolis. After visiting schools as far away as Georgia, we realized that the private colleges have advantages such as smaller classes and greater focus on our daughter's interests that made them worth serious consideration. As we all know, one major drawback of a private college is the perceived cost of attendance. The schools our daughter was interested in attending, cost from $37,000 to $42,000 per year, which was out of our budget range. Our first award letter presented us with a final cost of $18,000, but it was still more than we could afford. Through the negotiating skills that we learned from American College Planners, we received an additional $4,000 per year in scholarship funds offered from the private college we had selected. This will amount to a total savings of $16,000 over four years that neither we as parents, nor our daughter, need to pay back. This made the school of our daughter's choice affordable. The cost is actually less than going to UM Minneapolis or UW-Madison! Thanks for your assistance!
~ Richard and Cindy, Middleton - WI
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