|
MINDING YOUR
|
| SCHOLARS
AND DOLLARS By Mike Ashley |
Are you starting to
sweat at the prospect of sending the rug rats off
to college? You should. The latest statistics from The College Board show four years at a private college averaging $90,000, with public schools averaging $41,000. And that's just tuition. |
 artwork by Michael Goodman |
To add
insult to injury, the Bureau of Labor and
Statistics says about 33 percent of college
graduates in the years 1992 through 2005 will
accept jobs that don't even require the ol'
sheepskin. Enter Tom Leahy, director of Richmond-based Campus Financial to hold parents' hands as they take the cold shower of financial reality. "We're a combination of a high school
guidance counselor's office and a college
financial-aid office," Leahy explains. Since
Campus Financial was established last summer, it
has helped place 60 students in colleges. |
| Leahy is a credit- and
asset-management specialist at his firm, Deckert
& Associates, which handles portfolios for
individuals and companies. About five years ago,
Leahy began dabbling in clients' college-planning
processes. He soon discovered there were no
comprehensive aid resources that could handle all
his clients' needs. So he decided to start one. "We help shop for the right college, educationally and financially," he says. "After an analysis of the family's financial situation, we develop strategies to effect their goals, and we market the students to, not only the admissions office, but also to the financial aid office." The whole process costs under $1,000. He and his assistant, Tim Grollimund, also plan to establish a not-for-profit organization that will offer the same services to low-income families. "Some people ask what my qualifications are in this work," Leahy says. "I point to the photo (of his four children) on my desk."
|
