Getting into college should be sort of like buying a house: Compare listings and negotiate the best price, Paul Celuch said.
His company, College Assistance Plus, strives to cement the best deals on college tuition and the financial aid schools offer on behalf of students and parents.
“Colleges are willing to drop their prices because so much of it is gravy to begin with,” said Celuch?s son, Todd Celuch, who runs the Baltimore office with his wife, Sue. “There is so much financial aid in private loans to finance your college education, there is no pressure for college to keep their costs in check.”
While teaching financial planning courses, Celuch, a former IBM executive, noticed more young people struggling with college debt.
His consultants capitalize on universities? desire to attract students from all over the country and their willingness to compete with similar schools to fill seats.
Some college officials, including Sharon Hassan, a financial aid director for Goucher College in Towson said they wouldn?t negotiate with a company.
But CAPlus has parents mail the letters the company writes for them so schools don?t know consultants are involved.
Charging an average of $1,800 for their services to an estimated 500 families so far, CAPlus advisers make school recommendations after students identify their preferred majors, geographic locations and parents? income.
The more willing students are to move away from home and go to schools they haven?t heard of, the better the deals, Todd Celuch said.
One student from New York, for example, wanted to go Cornell University for engineering, but CAPlus suggested Case Western Reserve University because it offered $7,000 a year for tuition, room and board, compared with Cornell?s $44,000.
“Finding the right school can be a very emotional decision so we try to eliminate that to get the best price,” Sue Celuch said.
