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Sending a child to college is the biggest expense a family faces outside of buying a home. And yet most don't begin thinking about it until the student's senior year of high school the academic and financial equivalent of the 11th hour. "We see lots of families in a panic mode," says Charles Wareham, a financial consultant who gives three-dozen presentations a year on paying for college. "And almost every one of them says, 'We wish we'd known this stuff earlier.'"
Wareham will give his one-hour presentation on May 26 at First Bank of Stamford, and June 2 at the Fairfield Library.
"It's an intense, information-packed hour," Wareham says. "We cover how the college financial system works, where and how to apply for aid, what are the additional ways to pay for college: loans, grants, scholarships, work study and so forth. But the main focus is figuring out how a family can most efficiently pay the college bill. The parental outlay is going to be a surprise, it's bigger than they expected, and if it's not done right a family can bankrupt their retirement sending someone to college.
"A lot of people have over-saved for retirement and under-saved for college," he says. "They remember how the financial system was 25 years ago, when they were in school and you could take out student loans to pay for school. One of the myths I have to dispel is that there are most loans are not student loans anymore they're in the parents' names."
Wareham, who's been a financial consultant since 1992, stumbled into education planning but now finds it's one of the more unique services provided by his firm, Wareham and Associates. "It's not our primary function nor is it a big profit center, but it's a great way to meet people, and in the big picture, help them with one of life's biggest financial challenges."
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