College Expense Planning
It’s no secret that college requires money. However, the actual expenses can vary widely from one institution to another. For college-bound students and their families, it can be stressful trying to determine how much higher education is going to cost, and how to pay for it without accumulating an untenable amount of debt.
The “sticker price” for college tuition, fees, room and board, and related charges can be shocking. That’s why HelloCollege offers college expense planning services to help students and their parents understand and navigate potential costs.
Planning for College Costs Can Reduce Stress
When you choose HelloCollege to help with the college budgeting process, we will work closely with you to create a custom plan for your expenses. Your dedicated financial counselor will ask for information about your family’s specific situation in order to determine the best opportunities for your future. If there are any potential funding gaps, it does not mean that college is not an option—but it does make sense to talk about possible routes that you may not have considered.
The HelloCollege process involves discussions about students’ goals and dreams and the realities of higher education. Then we talk about student budgeting; explore need-based grants and other financial aid; consider the likelihood of obtaining merit-based assistance (and how to increase the odds of success in that area); and share information about possible sources of external scholarships. There are many private scholarships available to college students, but knowing which to apply for is not necessarily intuitive. When you work with HelloCollege, we take the guesswork out of college student expenses.
Let HelloCollege Help
HelloCollege is proud of its success helping students plan for their futures in higher education, including college budgeting. Our results speak for themselves: Of the more than 1,200 students with whom HelloCollege has worked, a staggering 96% have received scholarship aid, compared to the national average of 37%.
Beyond scholarship aid, we put college financial and budgeting information at your fingertips and provide a trusted guide to help you understand that information. To learn more about planning for college costs, contact us today!
We’re passionate about your college success
Kevin Krebs
Founder and Managing Director
Inspired by his parents, Kevin’s journey from a first-gen, diverse, low-income background to Northwestern University shaped him. After experiencing challenges, including student loan debt, he founded HelloCollege and has spent the last 30 years helping students successfully navigate college admissions.
Allison Dahleen
VP of Client Services
As an MSA holder, Allison brings a wealth of experience supporting students in higher education. As the respected Service Leader at HelloCollege, she leads her team in expertly navigating admissions and academic advising, empowering students to achieve their goals with confidence and success.
Amanda Yoder
Director of Counseling
Amanda leads our counseling team with over 10 years of high school counseling experience. She holds a Master's in Education with a counseling concentration and graduate certificates in Military & Family Education and Administration & Supervision (Educational Leadership).
Kimberly Shipman
Lead College Counselor
Kim brings over 10 years of experience in college counseling, including 7 years as a high school college counselor. With a background in career services at universities including Rice and Duke, she has supported students in earning admission to institutions such as Rice, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, University of Michigan, and Boston University.
Don Keller
College Counselor
Don brings 27 years of experience in college admissions and counseling, including 10 years as a licensed high school counselor and 8 years as an admissions reader for UC Berkeley, Northeastern, and the QuestBridge Scholars program. Throughout his career, Don has guided more than 1,000 students through the application process, supporting acceptances to institutions like Brown, Dartmouth, UChicago, Northwestern and UT Austin.
Raymond Gonzales
College Counselor
Raymond brings 11 years of experience guiding students to Ivy and elite college acceptances from Brown, Duke, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and UCLA. A first-generation college graduate with master’s degrees from Harvard, UPenn, and USC, Raymond specializes in BS/MD programs, liberal arts colleges, and nursing students. He also serves on the Common App Advisory Council to shape best practices in college admissions.
Miracle Husband
College Counselor
Miracle brings 16 years of experience guiding students through college admissions, including 6 years as a high school counselor and 3 years in admissions at UC Berkeley. She has helped students gain acceptance to elite schools such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Notre Dame, UNC-Chapel Hill, Michigan, UCLA, and USC.
Leslie Riccio
College Counselor
Leslie brings 20 years of college counseling experience, including 15 years as a licensed high school counselor She has helped students earn admission to highly selective universities, such as Harvard, Brown, MIT, UVA, and Notre Dame, while specializing in athletic recruiting and East Coast admissions.
Brigid Johnson
College Counselor
Brigid brings 15 years of admissions consulting experience, including years leading her own admissions consulting firm. She has guided students to institutions such as Tufts and Carleton College and specializes in highly selective and East Coast admissions, as well as supporting first-generation students.
Anson Tong
College Counselor
Anson is an expert college admissions counselor with 13 years of experience at top college admissions consulting firms. He specializes in Ivy League and highly selective college admissions and has guided hundreds of students to top-tier colleges, like Princeton, Columbia, and UPenn, maintaining a 95% acceptance rate.
Adam Salazar
College Counselor & Essay Coach
Adam brings 8 years of industry experience working directly in university admissions and student advising. He has served as an Admissions Advisor, Admissions Committee Reader, Graduate Advisor, and financial aid specialist at the University of Central Florida, giving him an insider’s perspective on how applications are evaluated.
Claire Kirchoff
College Counselor
Claire is a licensed high school counselor and Fullbright Scholar with 10 years of experience guiding students through highly selective and Ivy League college admissions. She has served as a counselor across public, private, and boarding school settings, supporting acceptances to institutions such as Harvard, Cornell, Vanderbilt, and Emory.
Are you ready to say HelloCollege and goodbye stress?
