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HOW WE WORK
OUR MISSION: To help families with the financial elephant of paying for college while protecting their current lifestyle and future retirement plans through unique college and tax planning strategies. To guide them through the college process as stress-free as possible.
Whether you want a college counselor to give your child more personalized attention to find the right college, a more tax efficient way to pay for college, or just a guide to help your family through the maze of the college process, we can help. We want to become your trusted college advisor, a partner as invested in your family’s future as you are.
Our approach is based on these core principles:
We believe that all children that attend college should and will graduate college. Given that the price of a college for just one student now ranges from $60,000 at a state college to over $200,000 for many private colleges and the cost rising 8% to 15% a year, college is a major investment for all families. Knowing the national average of the 4 yr. college graduation rate is only 24%, it is essential that we provide a plan to pay for college in a way that encourages your children to graduate.
We believe that all families should have a plan to pay for college without going broke. Regardless of income or assets, very few families can afford to spend an additional $50,000 to $200,000 in after-tax dollars. Spending this amount of money has a significant impact on a family's finances. Families are seeing their assets that they have worked their entire life to accumulate such as home equity, brokerage accounts, their business, etc. be depleted to pay for college.
Did you know that colleges will compete for your son or daughter? To get the best financial award letter from colleges, the family must be positioned together. Your child will need to be marketed to the right colleges and you will need to have your college financial plan in order.
Were above all, flexible – Different clients need different solutions. One size does not fit all. Although we have a service module that addresses a wide variety of issues, we approach each family with the same attitude: We design our college plans to get as much need and merit-based financial aid as possible to reduce the cost of college for all of your children.
Our Uniqueness, Your Advantage:
Clark College Funding is your financial and college guidance counselor!We excel at assisting families in finding and applying to colleges. But rarely do Guidance Counselors or College Counselors address how a family is going to pay for college! Clark College Funding fills that gap and provides the knowledge and expertise you need to better manage the effects the high cost of education can have on your financial plans and retirement strategies.
Clark College Funding is a fee-based planning consultancy similar to a CPA firm.
For example, a CPA files Federal 1040s and state taxes. We file Federal Free Applications for Federal Student Aid and State and Institutional Financial Aid Profiles. Likewise, CPAs provide guidance on how to reduce your personal or business taxes. We provide guidance on how to use the IRS tax code, retirement plans, and other financial tools to better manage the high cost of education.
No one else has expertise in this field - most traditional advisors (financial planner,
stockbroker, accountant, school counselor, etc…) do not have the specialty training and education, as well as planning tools, in the specialized field of college financial planning. Most traditional planners use college planning as a way to get you in the door to sell you other financial products or a financial plan. At CCF, we specialize only in college planning and we have the experience of working with many families throughout the Carolinas.
Did you know that in a lot of cases, 529 college savings plans will not be tax free when you withdraw the money to pay for college?! (You need to speak to an expert).
Now that you have a better idea about the result you can expect by working with us and our approach and philosophy of working with clients, next go to the Services/Programs page to learn about the specific services and programs we offer.
