How we work

What’s it like to work with TCA?  On this page we’ll tell you the kind of results our families have reported and we’ll also give you a sense of our guiding beliefs, our approach to planning for college, and how we’re different than other professionals you may have talked to.

We want to become your trusted advisor, a partner as invested in your child’s future as you are. 

Expect Results

Are you confused, overwhelmed and don't know where to start? When you work with us you can expect a team of knowledgeable and professional people at your service to lead you through the college selection and financial aid maze.  The best college decisions require mastering a range of conflicting issues.  You need to make them work to your benefit.  We will help.

Do you wonder if your student is headed in the right direction? When you work with us you can expect well thought out, customized, sustainable solutions with measurable results for your family. A major factor behind college transfer and drop out rates is a lack of career planning and a failure to make college selection decisions based on career goals that are compatible with one’s talents, career relevant personal attributes and finances.

Are you alarmed at the high cost of a college education? Traditional financial and tax planning can conflict with the financial aid system.  By taking advantage of many appropriate strategies, you can expect recommendations to decrease your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) significantly, increase opportunities for financial aid, and minimize the total negative effect of college on your finances.  Just like a good advisor helps you with your investments and/or taxes, The College Authority helps you to get your student through the right school at the right price. 

Are you concerned about your family's ability to pay for college? Paying for college is your family’s next largest expense ever, second only to purchasing a home.  When you work with us we will recommend strategies to decrease total college costs, increase opportunities to get more financial aid, and develop a plan to pay the rest. 

Do you want your student to attend the right school at the right price? When you and your student make a commitment to work with our career center professionals and thoughtfully complete the assessments, you can expect recommendations for careers and colleges choices that match your student socially, academically and the family financially. We want to work with schools that best meet the needs of the student while giving the most financial aid. 

Guiding Beliefs and Values

College is expensive.  College tuition increases on average 7% annually and only 1 in 4 students are graduating on-time.  Both factors can raise college costs drastically and seriously impact your family’s bigger financial plan.  Taking the time to understand the process and taking control is key to reducing college costs.

The financial aid system is complex and confusing. 90% of financial aid requests are submitted with errors or inconsistencies causing delays and losses in financial aid awards.  With over $100 billion dollars available in aid every year and 20% of it in the colleges’ own coffers, knowing what colleges have it and how to get it is crucial to our process and to our families financial security. 

You can pay for college without going broke.  For all practical purposes, parents’ zeal to put their children through college at any price, paired with unrestrained borrowing to cover rising college costs, only accentuates the problem. Using a proprietary “student positioning” concept, families can maximize financial aid opportunities and save thousands in yearly tuition expenses.

Our Approach

We are open and honest with our clients – we tell it like it is. We don’t believe in wasting your time – or ours – on strategies that won’t get you and your student measurable, sustainable results. 

We create customized college plans with our clients.  Different families need different things.  One size does not fit all.  Although our families have one goal in mind—gradutaion from college—each one comes with a wide variety of issues.  We approach each family with the same attitude:  We design the college and financial plan to produce sustainable results with greatest opportunities for success.

Our Uniqueness

We could offer everything to everyone, but we don’t.  Our typical client process begins with a complimentary discussion to gain an understanding of each other and the services we offer.

Step 1 – Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – This is the minimum amount of money the federal government calculates you can afford to pay for college regardless of the location or cost of the school. It is also one of the few areas of college planning in which the family has some control of the outcome. 

Step 2 – Reduction of the EFC – By taking advantage of many appropriate strategies, we are able to assist our clients in reducing their EFC significantly.  A good accountant helps you with your taxes just as The College Authority helps you to get your student through the right school at the right price.

Step 3 – Colleges with the Highest Percentages of Grants/Endowments – Knowledge is important and powerful when selecting the correct school for a student.  We want to work with schools that best meet the needs of the student while giving the most financial aid.

Step 4 – Complete all College Financial Forms – An added service to our clients is the ability to complete all federal and institutional financial aid forms accurately and on time.

Step 5 – Negotiate – Understanding the financial aid formulas and being able to obtain the best offer from each college. 

Step 6 – Paying for College – Most colleges will give some type of financial aid.  The challenge families still have in paying their EFC and other discretionary expenses.  The College Authority, will help you develop a plan to get as much financial aid as possible and figure out how to pay for the rest.

One of a kind – one-on-one service

Our unique approach responds to your family’s needs

Call To Action

Now that you have a better idea about the results you can expect by working with us and our approach and philosophy of working with clients, next go to the Our Services page to learn about the specific services and programs we offer.