“The only thing trickier than applying to college is paying for it. That’s why “Never Pay Retail for College” is so valuable. It takes readers through strategies they won’t find elsewhere to reduce the burden of paying the pipers at America’s colleges and universities. This book will pay for itself, many times over, and should be on the hard drive of any parents with college-bound kids.”
– Matt Rees, Editor, FT Newsmine – a Financial Times publication, former Speechwriter for the Executive Office of the President, The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury, Writer for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist and The Washington Post.
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Families are faced with two very challenging hurdles as the first decade of the 21st Century nears a close: Where they can gain perspective and education on how to retire in the style they desire, and how to give their children the best chance they to survive their own generation’s financial challenges. It starts with a solid education. This book, by clearly defining the challenges and presenting some of the opportunities for those families, starts them on the road to addressing the latter challenge. By doing so, it may just help them move closer to achieving the former as well.
– Robert Isbitts, Author of “Wall Street Bull and How to Bear It”, Chief Investment Officer, Emerald Asset Advisors and Worth Magazine’s Top 100 Wealth Advisors
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Hey Andy...
The darn book was so good that I found myself reading every page!
Wow! I never knew what you have proposed in the book, I have a daughter that is a junior in high school.
I’ve been too busy trying to provide for her to save anything for college! This book was so eye awakening!!!!
Thanks
Tracy Welch
Math Instructor
Fayetteville (NC) Technical Community College
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Dear College Pete,
As a U.S. citizen Dad who is presently stuck out in the far reaches of China, I want to thank you for emailing the link to your FAFSA loopholes webinar. It was most helpful, as have all you emails.
Again, xiexieni to both you and Andy from China. You have both been terrific guides through the finaid minefield.
Neil R. Parnes
Somewhere in China
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I got to College Planning Advisors through a friend of mine who suggested they could help me find some aid to pay for my son’s college. Truly, I wasn’t expecting much, and here’s what happened:
I met Peter Ratzan who explained I could get at least 20,000 in help for next’s year tuition. It was early December 2009 and Peter suggested that although there was hardly any possibility of getting aid for this year, we should apply for it anyhow.
“Mmmm” – I though. Being a marketing expert myself I thought it could be a tactic to get me in the door, but something told me I could trust him... Thanks God I did!
Just before Christmas we were granted for this year (2009-2010) 24,000$ in grants and an additional 7,000$ in loans, which meant my son’s second semester was taken care of and we got a partial reimbursement for the first!!!
Immediately I emailed Peter saying I couldn’t thank him enough and that I would be more than happy to recommend them in any forum I go to. So thanks again, College Planning Advisors for being such a great and important help to my family!!!
Mariana Ferrari Quijano
Miami, Florida
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Like all parts of personal finance paying for college is becoming increasingly complex. Colleges are businesses that go through ups and downs like any other business. With endowments from private schools posting record breaking declines and 48 out of 50 states currently confronting budget deficits the costs for both private and public colleges are like to keep going up at a rate faster than inflation.
Every parent regardless of income level should be going after financial aid and Never Pay Retail For College is exactly the tool to help people learn the strategic ins and outs of every aspect of planning, applying and negotiating for college aid. There are 70 factors that go into determining aid packages, can you even name four? Never Pay Retail For College also debunks numerous myths about college like private school potentially being cheaper than public schools. Maybe you don’t know how that can be but the authors of Never Pay Retail For College do.
– Roger Nussbaum, Chief Investment Officer, Your Source Financial, Phoenix, Arizona, frequent commentator on CNBC – Asia, publisher of RandomRoger.com.
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Dear Mr. Lockwood
I am writing this letter to recommend College Planning Specialists of Florida to any parent that has a son or daughter approaching college. We received guidance for career choices, college selection and obtained financial aid advice from College Planning Specialists.
The financial aid award we received was much greater than we had envisioned.
Mr. Lockwood is knowledgeable, professional and very accommodating to work with.
Please consult with him
Very truly yours,
Douglas P. Johnson
Attorney–at–law
Davie, Florida
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Dear Andy and Pete
From the minute I walked in your door for the first time, I felt an enormous weight had been lifted off me. You are both an amazing team of knowledgeable professionals.
Thank you for all that you have done to help me and my precious girls.
Warmly,
Beth Freeman
Weston, Florida
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Hello Andy,
How are you doing? I have some good news!!! The Office of Financial aid finally revised Farley’s fafsa and financial aid pakage and gave us more money. I went from receiving 4,600 to receiving 13,730 and they also sent 4,000 back to my sallie mae loan. I’m so happy!! Thank you soo much!!!
Filberta LeTang
Miami, Florida
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Hi Peter and Andy
It has been a couple of years since we attended your first meeting at the YMCA. As you can imagine, we were pretty skeptical at first, but what did we have to lose anyway?
It proved to be the best decision we made lately!
Though the amount of money we paid you was pretty significant it proved to be the right investment. It paid itself off in very first year!
Important for us is your personal touch – the service. We still have a long walk with our girls in college and are certain that we’ve made the right choice in hiring you.
Thanks again Peter and Andy
Vivian and Avi Goshen
Weston, Florida
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“I’m not terrified of paying for college anymore!”
– Sandra Bohorquez, Weston
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“Your information was much better than what they told us at our high school! That was one big (unprintable) waste of time! You guys should get in there – you’d be mobbed!”
– Parent Who Would Rather Remain Anonymous (until all of her children graduate).
Davie, Florida
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“I told them ‘I don’t want to play games with my money or get some extra bill in the future.’ They promised I would get back five times what I invested for the service. They were true to their word.”
– Debbie and Terry Cooney, Davie
(Received college planning advice for their two sons, Shane and Shaun. Terry also appeared (voluntarily!) on our St. Patrick’s Day radio show as a leprechaun!)
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You gave me hope that maybe this time around I’ll get financial assistance.
– Shirley Dykes, Plantation, Florida
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“Your information is just what we needed. I can't even get my guidance counselor to call me back - I’ve tried four times!”
– Coral Springs, Florida Mom
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Dear College Pete and Andy:
We wanted to express our thanks and gratitude for your professional guidance in the college financial planning process. We first met with you at one of your seminars when Lauren was in the beginning of 10th grade. While initially it seemed perhaps to be a bit premature to plan for college three years in advance, it became clear that in fact that was the perfect time to start planning. You never made any guarantees other than that if we followed your strategies we would put ourselves in the best possible position to be eligible for financial assistance.
We had saved some money for college and had participated in the Florida Prepaid Plan, however we knew that if Lauren chose to go to a private university those funds would be grossly inadequate. Over the course of the next two and one half years we met with you from time to time to map out and plan the best strategy, so when the time came to apply for financial aid, we would be ready.
It became clear that Lauren wanted to go to a private school and in fact her top choice was Vanderbilt University. A prestigious school with a lofty sticker price ($58,000+). The good news was that Vanderbilt stated that they will meet 100% of the demonstrated need. With that in mind, and with your financial strategies in hand, we felt confident that Lauren would be eligible for a significant financial aid award. We felt so confident of this that we allowed Lauren to apply to Vanderbilt early decision. It should be noted that Pete mentioned more than once, that applying early decision might be statistically favorable in terms of admission, but could reduce our ability to negotiate financial aid if our initial award was low. (Smells like a disclaimer from College Pete).
Lauren received a letter from Vanderbilt approximately one month ago. The good news for her was that she was accepted for admission. This wonderful news was tempered by the fact that Vanderbilt's initial award for financial aid was approximately $9,000. Although $9,000 is nice, it clearly was significantly less than what we were expecting. Over the next week, I followed Pete's advice on how to approach Vanderbilt's financial aid office and immediately contacted them to receive clarification on what the basis of the "low" award was. It became clear that Vanderbilt misconstrued some information on our tax return, and Pete, my accountant, and I worked closely together to further explain the tax situation. Ultimately, through perseverance and continued support from Pete the initial award was increased from $9,000.00 to $39,000. We are thrilled as parents as is our daughter, Lauren.
We would highly recommend your professional service to any family who is considering sending their child to a private university.
David and Lisa Reiser
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Dear Andy and Pete:
“Now that the college admissions process is over, our daughter has graduated from high school and we are getting ready to take her to college later this summer, it’s time to recognize the extraordinary job you have done for us. At this time last year, we were very concerned about the prospect of out of state tuition. Our dream of sending her to the best school and not just the one we could afford seemed very distant. To complicate matters, our daughter was vacillating on her major, the location of the school and its size – she had many doubts and we had few answers.
However, from the very beginning of the process, you encouraged us to remain positive about her prospects and as soon as you started working, she became more focused on the best fit rather than what she had heard from school advisors or friends. In a way, she was eliminating options and honing in on what she really was looking for in a school. At the same time, we reviewed our financial situation and you encouraged us to be positive about the out of state options.
Her long and incongruent “wish list” quickly evolved into ten schools – three in state and seven out with a balance of a few “back ups”, the core choices and one stretch school. She was confident and focused as she plunged into the applications. With your guidance, she wrote some terrific essays and completed all ten on time. While all of this was going on you magically expedited the FAFSA and other financial paperwork to all the schools taking that burden and administrative nightmare off our shoulders.
The proof of your program was she was accepted at seven Top 100 schools four of which were out of state, waitlisted at two out of states and was only declined at the “stretch” school, Georgetown. As it turned out, the first school to reply was the one she finally chose but that was only decided once we had all the offers in hand. Every single school made very generous scholarship offers and we ended up choosing at Top 30 school that offered 95% of the total cost of attendance, 70% of which was free money!
We look forward to the next 4 years and our next child knowing that we have the College Planners on our team. Thanks again, Andy and Pete – it has been a pleasure working with you.”
Regards,
Tom Browne
Weston, Fl.
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Dear Neighbor –
There’s a big roadblock preventing 53% of motivated would-be students from enrolling in college…
A little thing called “money!”
Remember the first time you decided to get your degree? Little did you realize what the total costs would be.
Have you looked at how expensive tuition is today? Even for online degrees, the total costs can run into the tens of thousands!
But you can’t let that get in your way… nothing should stop you from making make this investment in yourself.
Because even if you’ve applied and been turned down for financial aid, I’ll show you how to get more money.
Are you shifting just a little bit uneasily in your chair right now? It’s OK if you’re skeptical – I will prove it to you without the slightest hint of a risk to you.
Before I get into the details, here’s a summary of our generous offer – take 90 days… three full months – to review our new book, The “Never Pay Retail for College” Financial Aid Maximization System without any strings attached. See what it can do for you.
If you agree that it will save you potentially thousands of dollars in grants, scholarships and other financial aid, great.
If not, you’ll have every last penny refunded to you without any hassle whatsoever. No fine print, no “weasel” clauses.
A College Degree = More Opportunity, More Money
and a Better Life
In today’s challenging times, a degree is a “must” to compete for the best jobs with the most security! You’re going up against the most educated, most international competition ever in the history of the world!
What’s more, if you have a college degree, you’ll make a ton more money than without it. The US Census estimates that the lifetime earnings of a person with a college degree are $1.1Millon more than someone armed with only a high school degree!
Some common reasons motivating people to earn their degrees include:
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To get a better job from a great company, earning more money and with more security
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Embark on a career you love and find gratifying, instead having just a “job”
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Freedom from the daily grind! Tell your current boss to go “stuff it!"
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The ability to provide for your family’s bare necessities
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Being able to indulge occasionally in life’s luxuries, like a meal at a nice restaurant or a gift for your loved one, without sweating whether you can afford It
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Feeling good about yourself for accomplishing what you’ve always wanted
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Show those who doubted your commitment that you really have what it takes to be successful
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Enjoy the status and prestige of being a positive example, a role model, for others who may be considering getting their degrees too but never took action… unlike you!
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Maybe you’re getting your degree because you’re in a rut – you’ve always felt like you can “be” more than you are… and it’s about time you finally did something about it! Whatever the reason,
Your education may be more within reach than you think!
Fact: Billions of Dollars of Federal Grants and Financial
Aid Are Left On The Table Each Year
There are literally Billions (yes, “Billions” with a “B! ”) of dollars of unclaimed federal financial aid available to you, right now, as you sit reading this! Hard to believe, isn’t it?
One study estimated that 53% of all eligible families never even bother to apply for financial aid! This is the biggest mistake you can make – not applying! (Source: The College Board)
Why?
Because the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is one mother of a form to fill out! (I was going to use a more colorful word but my wife warned me not to.)
Our own Secretary of Education publicly said “You basically need a PhD to figure that thing out!” And he’s a Harvard graduate!
Have you glanced at the directions for the FAFSA? They read like some sick NASA scientist’s joke, they’re so overly complicated. That’s why tens thousands of deserving students throw in the towel each year and never file!
OK, it’s a really hard form – what’s the big deal if
I make a mistake?
Don’t be fooled. A tiny, seemingly harmless error can cost you thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars! Per year! Here’s what I mean.
A few months before I wrote you this letter, a woman came to see me at my office. Her name was Bertha LeTang, and her son was already enrolled in the University of Miami. Bertha is a single mother and a nurse. She’s originally from Haiti.
Bertha came to me because she had not received enough financial aid for her son’s freshman year and wanted to make sure she could send him back to college his sophomore year.
After looking at her previous year’s FAFSA for about three minutes, I spotted a key mistake she had made – she listed assets that the FAFSA’s instructions indicate you shouldn’t.
This error looked small, but its importance was huuuuge! And a very common one I see all the time, since the form’s instructions are so convoluted.
I pointed it out to her, nicely of course.
I then calculated how much that mistake had cost her in “lost” financial aid and showed her the figure. Bertha’s shoulders slumped and her eyes welled up with tears. She seemed to age 10 years right before my eyes.
Feeling terrible, I then suggested that we try to re-write history and appeal last year’s financial aid award. I told her it was a long-shot, but I figured, why not try?
About six weeks passed and I had almost forgotten about her. Then I received this email:
Hello Andy,
How are you doing? I have some good news!!! The Office of Financial aid finally revised Farley’s fafsa and financial aid pakage and gave us more money. I went from receiving 4,600 to receiving 13,730 and they also sent 4,000 back to my sallie mae loan. I’m so happy!! Thank you soo much!!!
Filberta LeTang
Miami, Florida
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A $13,130 swing! Not bad – I hope next year will be even better!
I could list dozens more examples off the top of my head, like the Coral Springs man who received an offer of $4,100. We appealed. The result: an increased award of $22,000! This took all of five weeks.
Or the architect who took one bit of advice from my partner, “College Pete” Ratzan, and “made” an extra $19,000 in financial aid from her daughter’s dream college. This from an off-hand comment made by College Pete.
I could list mistake after mistake committed by attorneys, CPA’s and other professionals who handle complicated paperwork for a living, but managed to screw up their own FAFSAs.
What was their common error? Venturing outside their field of expertise.
But that’s far from the entire story. Even less “fatal” mistakes can result in a crushing loss of money you deserve. For instance, if you mix up a social security number, that could very easily cause processing delays of four to six weeks– and most financial aid is first come, first served! When your corrected application comes up for re-review, all of the grants and scholarships might be long gone!
But instead of bragging about our results or warning you about mistakes, please review the testimonials on this page to see for yourself what actual clients, just like you, have said about us.
Let’s focus on how to fix your problem – funding your education – so you get the money you deserve!
Yes! You Can Pry Desperately-Needed Money Out
of the Stingy Hands of Financial Aid Officers…Even if They’ve Turned You Down!
Very few people understand the closely-guarded “secrets” of how the financial aid process really works. College Pete and I get paid handsomely (more than $3,000) to consult parents how to increase their financial aid awards. We command these fees because we know the “rules of the game” and we get results that provide a healthy return on investment.
Now you have access the same information without it costing you anywhere near what our clients pay us!
All-New Step-by-Step Guide Reveals How to Profit
From Closely-Guarded Financial Aid “Loopholes,” Avoid
Costly “Landmines”… that Could Rob You of
Thousands of Dollars You Deserve – Guaranteed!
“College Pete” and I put together a step-by-step, A-Z guide on exactly how the Federal Financial Aid system works, and how you can get the funds you deserve to pursue your education.
It’s called the Never Pay Retail for College Financial Aid Maximization System. Don’t worry, it isn’t a hard to understand, dry as dust textbook. Neither is it advertising hype.
It’s a collection of valuable facts, tips and strategies we employ every day for our clients. Now you can use the same methods immediately to obtain more grants, scholarships and other financial aid than you thought was possible.
The same tactics being used by others – no smarter and, in some cases with higher incomes and assets than you – to qualify for shocking amounts of financial aid.
Here are some – not all – of the topics we cover:
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The Seven Biggest Myths About Financial Aid
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The Five Biggest Financial Aid Mistakes To Avoid Like the Swine Flu
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How to Multiply Your Chances for Grants and Scholarships
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Why Some Colleges Give More Loans Than Free Money
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The Magic Word You MUST Use if You Were “Stiffed” By the Financial Aid Office
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The One Word You Should NEVER Use if You Don’t Receive Enough Financial Aid
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How to Reduce or Flat-out Eliminate the “Prison” of High Fee, High Rate Student Debt… That Invariably Leads to Credit Problems That Could Haunt You for Years
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The Strange Reason You’re Penalized More for Some Assets Than Others
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The Three Critical, “Bet the Farm” Questions You Must Ask of Every School Before You Even Think of Applying for Aid!
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The Even Stranger Reason You’re Not Penalized At ALL for Certain Other Assets!
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The Actual, “Double Secret” Formula Used to Calculate Your EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) on the FAFSA
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How to Legally and Ethically Lower Your EFC
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The Financial Aid “Advantage" Enjoyed by Divorced Families
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How Even Millionaires Can Save $30,000 Off The Cost of College
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Why A State University Can Cost More Than a So-Called “Expensive" Private College
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How the Advice of Most CPA’s or Money Managers Can “Cost” You Thousands!
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Why Your Guidance Counselor Is Not the Right Source of Information For You
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Why You Can’t Trust Advice from The Financial Aid Office
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More! |
Here are proven, straight-forward, plain English techniques to maximize the amount of financial aid you’ll receive. On page after page you’ll want to shout “Why hasn’t anyone ever told me this?”
How can you be sure that you’ll love Never Pay Retail for College? Obviously, you can’t.
That’s why we’re offering a no-risk, iron-clad guarantee that I know you’ll be pleased with.
Our book is 100% guaranteed! After you download the Never Pay Retail manual and bonuses (I’ll get to them!) you can take 90 days – that’s three long, full months – to review it.
Print it out and stick it in a three ring binder. Read it cover to cover. Take notes and highlight the text if you like. Then, make your decision – you are the sole judge and jury.
If you agree that this is the most valuable resource on college funding that you could every own, then don’t do a thing.
But what if you don’t agree?
If you’re not absolutely delighted for any reason at all, just notify us and you will receive a prompt and courteous refund. And you can keep the book and bonus webinar as our gift, no strings attached!
We’re the ones taking the risk. Could anything be fairer than that?
We are planning on selling our book for $77, but we’re conducting a marketing test and offering it for the first 100 customers at only $37 – a $50 savings! After we hit 100, the price goes up.
Here’s a Valuable Bonus Worth $97
I’ve also included something else that is candidly meant to sweeten the deal even more for you.
As our way of saying “thanks” for being one of the first 100 and giving our manual a look, College Pete and I decided to throw in a bonus recording of a webinar we called “How NOT to Screw Up Your FAFSA. ” (The FAFSA is used by every college in America to determine how much, to the penny, you’ll receive in financial aid.)
We sell the webinar for $97, but it’s free for you if you order your No-Risk trial copy of Never Pay Retail for College today.
The FAFSA – Once Hard, Now Easy!
Our webinar is chock full of helpful facts and strategies that we pack into a little more than an hour. You will watch College Pete and I fill out an actual FAFSA and point out, on the screen and in the commentary, the exact places where you can “screw up” your FAFSA and lose thousands of dollars, and how to avoid these traps!
Be prepared to take volumes of notes and watch the video two or three times at least, it’s that full of information! Your hand may cramp up but the pain will go away. What will last, however, is the savings you’ll enjoy on your college costs.
The Webinar alone is worth several hundred dollars if you pay attention, take good notes and do exactly as we say! We sell it for $97, but the value is literally thousands of dollars. We’ll throw it in as a free, unadvertised bonus if you’re one of the first 100 to order.
Here’s One More Bonus to Make Sure You Succeed!
Here’s an additional bonus for the first 100 to order – a free, 15 minute consultation with either College Pete or me. We charge $350 per hour, so this is worth $87.50 in real cash to you.
In addition, we’ll give you access to our private email addresses, reserved exclusively for our clients.
Why are we offering this? Because I personally hate it when I order something, then can’t get anyone on the phone if I have questions.
We won’t leave you high and dry, although the information we’re providing you is extremely complete.
Nope – we’re encouraging you to pick up the phone or email us to pick our brains on any part of the process. We’re doing this to ensure you get money you deserve.
And this may surprise you – you’ll speak to either me or “College Pete,” not some nameless, faceless, barely-understandable person working in a cubicle on another continent. (Don’t you hate that?)
Let’s review your opportunity:
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Our clients pay us more than of $3,000 for the same advice that you can get for about what you’d spend on a date at the movies – a tiny $37 (if you’re part of the first 100)!
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You have a ridiculously generous amount of time – three long months! – to review the product. We’re so confident that you’ll absolutely love it that we are comfortable giving you this guarantee. If you request your money back, you’ll receive a “no-hassles” refund
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You’ll receive a recorded webinar, How NOT to Screw Up the FAFSA, worth $97, absolutely free as a bonus if you’re one of the first 100!
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We’ll speak to you on the phone just to make sure you know exactly where to start and so you don’t feel like you’re left “high and dry! ” $87.50 value.
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You can keep the Never Pay Retail system and “How NOT to Screw Up Your FAFSA” webinar even if you request a refund!
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The value of all this information is at least $3,184.50,
but your no-risk trial order comes to a paltry $37.
Talk about an offer you can’t refuse!
Here’s what to do. Click on the trial order button and fill out the short, secure form. The moment we receive it we will automatically shoot you over to a protected site where you can download the materials and access the free bonus webinar.
Read This Only If You’ve Decided Not to Order
There could be dozens of reasons why you’ve decided to take a pass. And a whole bunch could have nothing to do with me.
Assuming you’re hesitant because you’re wondering if the time is right for you, let me leave you with two quotes.
“Only the educated are free” – Epictetus
“Procrastination is the grave where opportunity is buried. ” – Unknown.
Those quotes sum up my final point perfectly. Education is the key to your success, more money, more freedom and a better life, but if you don’t take any action, you’ll never change anything.
You now have the knowledge of what you must do. But education without implementation is useless.
So please don’t wait. Don’t delay. If success – real success – seems like it’s been out of reach forever… if satisfaction and happiness – the deepest kind of happiness that comes only from a feeling of accomplishment – seems to elude you… if you know, within you, that there is more – much more just around the next corner, then seize the moment! And order this book now.
I urge you to take action today before you bury this opportunity forever.
Sincerely,
P.S. I’m not sure how much we’ll raise the price after we hit 100, but we will probably charge at least $57 ($20 more than you can get it for today) or go all the way up to $77. So even though it’s not in our best interests to tell you this, you really should complete your no-risk order now and lock in your savings!
Sound good? But be sure to do it today – there’s no risk whatsoever!
P.P.S. As I was polishing off this letter, we received the following email from a client who had received a poor financial aid award package – about $9,000 – from a really expensive, prestigious college a few weeks ago. Then “College Pete” went to work on negotiating it (I’m withholding the client’s full name because we haven’t gotten a chance to get their permission yet… but I just had to show this to you!):
Peter;
I spoke with my new friend from Vandy Financial Aid. Although this is not final, i.e. they must still review the FAFSA, the new award is $36,425.00 in grant eligibility, and $2200.00 in work study. Obviously tremendous news that will allow us to sleep a bit easier. Thank you for your guidance and assistance. We are most appreciative! Talk to you on Monday.
Lisa and David, Cooper City, Florida
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Andrew Lockwood, J.D.
College Planning Specialists of Florida
1825 Main Street
Weston, Florida 33326
954.659.1234
www.FinancialAidBuzz.com
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