If and where you go to college, and the financial decisions you make during and after that time, will impact the rest of your life.  Unfortunately, too many people get the advice to go the "best" school they can, and worry about the financial impact of lost work opportunities and student loan payments later on.

We realize that this advice has resulted in too many people giving up on following their dreams.  When you're working in a field with low pay and long hours, working an expensive student loan payment is impossible.  With our college counseling services, we help you to plan a path through higher studies with the goal of saving as much money and time as possible.

If you've already completed college but now find yourself in the position where you need help figuring out how to pay all of your bills every month while building your savings, then make use of our Financial Counseling Services.

College Counseling

During years of working as a Financial Counselor, our founder noticed that many of her clients' financial problems stemmed from a common source.  Too many young people have been encouraged to pursue college degrees that cost them too much in tuition and fees, and all too often led to poor employment prospects. The result was that many people had to spend years retaking classes and struggling to pay off college loans, which meant they had to delay major life milestones such as buying a home or even retirement.

Nearly all of these clients said the same things.

"I wish someone had explained to me what my odds really were of working in that field."

"I wish someone had told me to pick something more practical."

"If I knew then what I knew now, I could have saved myself thousands of dollars."

The problem wasn't necessarily that these people got bad advice, it was that no one was looking at the total picture.  

• High school counselors had hundreds of students to work with and often only cared about getting them into any college to make the school's statistics look good.  
• College counselors were often just overworked adjunct professors who didn't have time to meet with each student individually.  Many often didn't have the mental bandwidth to consider how something as simple as taking a single class out of order could cost a student an entire extra semester or year of tuition.
• Financial aid offices were motivated by the college administration's directive to just keep students' paying tuition.  Warning them about their total debt load or even their future monthly payments could encourage them to drop out.
• Employment counselors only work with students once they're degree complete.  That means a lot of students only find out their true career prospects after they've paid for a degree.

In short, no one is there to actually look at the entire college process.  No one was an expert in college admissions, planning, finance, and career counseling.

Until now.

At YDAS Consulting, we offer services for today's college student.  For a high school student, that might mean starting early and planning out Dual Enrollment courses that can save them a semester or two of college tuition.  At the same time, that student should be lining up their classes, grades, extracurriculars, and service hours to qualify for scholarships.  Once they've selected a college, they should be working with their counselor to ensure that they're taking the right courses so that they can graduate as quickly as possible.

Of course, we realize that life often has a way of throwing the best laid plans out the window.  That's why we're thrilled to work with adult students.  Whether you're returning to college after several years away, or if you want to go back to earn a different degree, we can help you develop a college plan that is affordable and that works around your current work and life schedule.

Financial Counseling