Coaches Corner

Stay up to date with news, thoughts, and strategies related to the college application and selection process.

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Welcome to College Prep Coach

College Prep Coach has been working with students nationwide for over 15 years. Our model is simple, our process is straightforward, and our end goal is as basic as basic can be.

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Welcome to College Prep Coach

College Prep Coach has been working with students nationwide for over 15 years.  Our model is simple, our process is straightforward, and our end goal is as basic as basic can be.

  • The Model: starting in 6th grade and continuing all the way through college, it is imperative that you understand the game you are playing and what is being both asked and expected of you.
  • The Process: put together a game plan which is the most advantageous for you to accomplish your collegiate academic and personal goals.
  • The End Goal: the day after graduating from college, you have a plan and are ready to execute it.

College is not the end all, rather, it is simply the beginning.  As a matter of fact, more than ever before since College Prep Coach was created, society is starting to see that a four-year college may not be the best choice for everyone.  This question may be the starting point of the family conversation regarding college.  If the decision is to pursue a four-year degree, you are in the right place.  We have helped many students and their families use college as the launch pad for their first job, their career, and their professional lives, and we do it with an almost obsessive goal of graduating with as little debt (preferably none) as possible.

Our program is simple and it works.

Welcome to College Prep Coach.

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Our Philosophy

The college application and admissions process may be confusing and at times overbearing to many. It also leads to an enormous amount of stress because we all want the best for our children...

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Our Philosophy

The college application and admissions process may be confusing and at times overbearing to many. It also leads to an enormous amount of stress because we all want the best for our children and through this process it is often difficult to stay focused on exactly what that is. This is where College Prep Coach helps. We slow down and clarify the process for both the students and their families so that everyone understands the “why” and “when” of the application process. We do this by envisioning and working towards the most important day of this entire process, the day after college graduation. By working backwards from this day, the understanding and reasoning behind the decisions being made in choosing and entering college become much clearer. I hesitate to say crystal clear because things change every year during this four-year period, but we try to factor that into our decisions today. A model or process which does not factor for change is one which will surely break, so we plan for change. Even with change, the end goal is the same: your student will understand exactly why they applied to colleges they did, they will understand why they chose their starting major, they will have a four-year plan, they will execute this four-year plan, and they will have direction and purpose the day after graduation. Our goal is to help students and families achieve this.

Dual Importance of Scholarships

Always being one to view both sides of the coin, scholarships are both generous and informative. On one side, the obvious side, merit-based scholarships provide funds which do not need to be repaid...

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Dual Importance of Scholarships

Always being one to view both sides of the coin, scholarships are both generous and informative. On one side, the obvious side, merit-based scholarships provide funds which do not need to be repaid, and I am sure we can all agree this is a good thing. On the flipside, however, they also can be viewed like a signing bonus in professional sports and ultimately help you make the best decision as to which school to attend. When you receive a scholarship from a school, what the school is really saying is that as a student, we think you will be a terrific fit here, therefore very successful, and we want you to join our community. Viewing them solely as a financial offer is often shortsighted.

Regarding the financial side, College Prep Coach works to maximize college scholarships opportunities for students and their families. The stratospheric cost of college makes it nearly unattainable to most families without a discussion of massive amounts of debt, and unless you are one of the very lucky ones, graduating with massive debt is a no-win situation. Our goal, as will be repeated many times throughout this site, is to work with families to identify the schools where their students will “best fit-in”, those which have the courses and majors in which their students are interested, and those willing to offer the most amount of scholarship funds. Again, scholarships are not all about the money. Granted, the money is nice, but so is a college saying, “We want you, we think you’ll fit well with our community, here’s a signing bonus, come join us.” By working with the family to choose a “Best Fit” school (academically, socially, etc.), and then receiving a scholarship from that school, we believe it is a great sign that your student is set up well for success.

A Clean Slate, a.k.a. The Whiteboard

I have used this analogy for many years, and though not all students get it, their parents do. The transition from high school to college is the last time your student...

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A Clean Slate, a.k.a. The Whiteboard

I have used this analogy for many years, and though not all students get it, their parents do. The transition from high school to college is the last time your student will have the ability to walk up to their “personal whiteboard” and wipe it completely clean. Once in college, people will not ask about your high school grades, they will not ask about your standardized test scores, they will not ask whether or not you went to prom. Everything you have done to date disappears into the background. It is your last chance in life for a completely fresh start. The true power or this is unfathomable and I wish more high school students could fully grasp this but remembering when I was 17- and 18-years-old, they don't, and there is no fault in this. However, as parents and Coaches, we get them to grasp it just enough, they will understand how exciting this process and time can be. College Prep Coach addresses the college application process with this in mind. As the process unfolds, there are no stupid questions or ideas, there are only options, and we explore as many of them as possible until the students envision the cleaning if “the whiteboard” and starting anew.

CPC’s All-In Goal

CPC’s goal is to ensure that the day after your student graduates from college, be it a four-year undergrad program, or possibly a joint five-year program, they will know exactly what they are doing...

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CPC’s All-In Goal

CPC’s goal is to ensure that the day after your student graduates from college, be it a four-year undergrad program, or possibly a joint five-year program, they will know exactly what they are doing. Be it employment from an internship they held during school, or simply a stated goal and a plan to achieve that goal, they will have direction and start moving that way. Having kids ourselves, one of our larger fears is that they graduate from college and get out of bed the next day with no goal, no direction, and ask themselves the following question, “What do I do now?” The main problem with this is the day they graduate the junior class directly behind them has just become seniors and they are now eyeing the jobs to which they are applying; their competition has just doubled overnight. They must graduate with a goal and direction, and most importantly, get moving. By having chosen the correct college and providing them an environment in which they chose the correct major for them, their next step is to hit the ground running the day after graduation. If we can help accomplish that, that is the absolute best thing we can do and that is our goal. 

CPC’s Prime Program: 11-7-5

The basis of our Prime Program is having the student apply to eleven colleges, get accepted to seven, and get financial offers from five. With this as our target, we end up giving the family options...

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CPC’s Prime Program: 11-7-5

The basis of our Prime Program is having the student apply to eleven colleges, get accepted to seven, and get financial offers from five. With this as our target, we end up giving the family options. Some of these options may include assuming some debt, some may not. Other options may include getting a student job on campus, others may not. The one thing that all the options will have in common is that your student will know exactly why they applied to each university, you’ll know that university offers an educational path in which your student is interested, and all have the ability to launch your student into a successful life. When it comes time to choosing this path, the family must put all acceptances into the middle of the table and decide at that time, which is best for the family, not just for the student.

Debt Limits Options.

In addition to having direction upon graduation, College Prep Coach would like to see students graduate with as little debt as possible. Debt can very simply be described as something which “limits your options”...

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Debt Limits Options.

In addition to having direction upon graduation, College Prep Coach would like to see students graduate with as little debt as possible. Debt can very simply be described as something which “limits your options”. If you have debt hanging over your head, you have allowed a decision of the past to possibly alter decisions of today. For example, upon graduation, you may be offered the perfect job and you want it more than anything, but it doesn’t pay enough in the first two years to cover living expenses and the repayment of school debt, so you pass on that job for another. You may have passed on a job that would launch you into your ideal world due to a financial decision you made four years ago. That is the downfall of debt, and in trying to find the best fit college for you and your students, we pay close attention to the total Cost of Attendance (COA), which will include scholarships, on-campus employment, etc. (Search COA of any school and you’ll see your estimated all in cost.)

Ideally, your student will graduate from college with no debt, zero. For most of us, this could be quite difficult, so without going into a diatribe as to why debt is bad, let’s simply state that at times it is necessary, but must be managed; translated, this means don’t let it get away from you. This is not always as easy as it sounds because so few of our students have been introduced to basic household finance in high school. Why this topic is no longer taught in high school will be the topic of one of our rants in the Blog section, but most of us feel this is a massive hole in our education process, so for now we’ll leave it as follows…, zero debt – great, small amount of debt – good, large, unmanageable amount of debt – bad.

There are many paths you and your student may take to receive the education, the degree, and the opportunities without burdening yourselves with a string of unmanageable future payments. College Prep Coach can help you achieve this.