Our Services0

Programs for Education (PFE) is one member of a select team of experienced experts in the field of college selection, admissions counseling and financial planning.  It is one of the most comprehensive college planning services in the country. Call to arrange for a FREE  “get acquainted”  consultation via a conference call or in a regional office.
1 (978) 820-1295

PFE’s comprehensive service supplements as well as augments what the high school guidance office strives to provide. In fact, communication with that office as well as other professionals a family may have, such as a CPA or financial advisor is encouraged.

PFE families select customized services ranging from in depth personal student assessments, career exploration, college selection, funding strategies, essays and more, including:

1. Academic Preparation and Review ~ Colleges will examine all four years of a high school transcript. Early evaluation of courses offered and courses taken is vital to college preparation. Simply meeting minimum graduation requirements will not be enough to gain admission to a selective college. PFE will review high school transcripts and evaluate course selection and make any necessary recommendations.
2. Evaluation of College Majors and Career Planning ~ Clients save money by identifying the student’s personality characteristics, interests, abilities, and how they relate to different majors and related career options. College offers a broad learning experience but the effective personality assessments based on the lifetime study of human populations on six continents by Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, will help shape a student’s academic focus. We match the colleges to the student’s academic, natural strengths, personal criteria and probable fields of concentration. This greatly minimizes the chance of changing majors…or colleges.
3. College Visits and Application Preparation ~ It is an ongoing effort to visit colleges and whittle a list down from 15 to 20 to 6 to 12 colleges. Many competitive colleges expect essays with particular themes. Expert essay and application advising is provided to ensure that the final product is purely the student’s work but done to the best of his or her ability. A sure-fire method for getting great teacher recommendations is also applied. In addition, full service students will be provided with a personal College Planning Handbook that covers every step of the process for both student and parents.
4. College Financial Aid Planning ~ Colleges determine financial need by using both Federal and Institutional Methodology formulas. These calculations are based upon income and assets and the result is called the Expected Family Contribution or EFC. We will review financial aid procedures and policies along with the family’s financial preparation and where applicable and practical, makes suggestions to lower college costs. In fact, we offer a program that many families are taking advantage of to pay for college from cash flow alone  (see last paragraph at that link) without borrowing from home equity or elsewhere. In addition, families can see an estimate of the true bottom line costs of a college one sometimes two years ahead of time. Thousands of dollars can often be saved with this step alone! It is the intent of the PFE team to see that the college the student ultimately selects is just what he or she wants. The parents will have a true understanding of the ultimate bottom line cost of each college.

Throughout the process, PFE clients have unlimited telephone access. Depending upon when the family engages the firm’s services, it could be over several years. Most of the work by the college counseling advisory team is done leading up to entry into college, but can continue through the college years as annual review of the student’s progress is important to PFE, not to mention parents.