Parents of Teens:
You want to help but don't know where to start.
The College Bound Foundations Course is a blueprint for guiding (NOT doing all the work yourself) your teen through the college admissions process.
Guidance and Guardrails...YOUR role while you help your teen own the process with less stress and less danger of making life-changing financial decisions.
Even if neither of you have any idea where to start or how to manage the complex college admissions process, this alternative to spending thousands of dollars on a college counselor will guide you through the important conversations, a robust search process, including KEY metrics, and tested tips for covering the costs of college.
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Greatly reduce the stress and overwhelm of the College Admissions Process.
Don't know where to start? Don't know how to help? Overwhelmed by all the details? (VERY) Concerned about the costs of college and possible debt? YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
You are an engaged parent. You want to help your teen through the college admissions process but have no idea where to start or how to help.
Worse, though you've always felt like you have a great relationship with your kid, it's become more difficult to find time to have meaningful conversations, particularly about what's next after high school.
You feel overwhelmed by the thought of all of the details and timelines of applying for college, and you are keenly aware that the stakes are enormous- to the tune of $100k+ enormous.
There are dozens, heck, hundreds of college admissions process resources out there and you don't know which are reliable and useful, and which are rabbit holes.
And, though you want to help, you don't want to do all the work, or even most, yourself. You know your teen needs to take initiative and make smart decisions along the way with your guidance.
You simply don't have a strategy to manage the process, let alone logical steps to take.
Introducing
The College Bound Foundations Course
for Parents and Teens
The College Bound Foundations Course is an online course designed to help parents and teens establish a baseline level of knowledge, expectations, roles and responsibilities, and guardrails for the college admissions process. The course is versatile in that it can provide enormous value for a parent to go through the course, then discuss and provide course resources to their teen, or for a parent and teen to view the course together. Course lessons are centered around the three pillars of a strong college admissions process- Conversations, Creating the College List, and Covering the Costs- and lead to an application list of great fit schools. Great fit means academically, culturally, AND financially. Not focused on "elite" or "dream" schools, but instead on colleges where your teen can graduate from in 3-5 years with little to no college debt, and a job in their chosen field*. And the best part is that by going through this process together, with ownership laying with the teen, your relationship will naturally and necessarily shift to one built on mutual respect and trust.
Lower the stress levels AND the nagging!!
Summary of Course Content
1
Module 1: Don't Skip This Part!
Two simple but important lessons including an overview of key concepts and mindsets for a successful college admissions process, and information and tips for navigating the College Bound Foundations course.
2
Module 2: Build the Foundation
This module is all about establishing a strong foundation for the college admissions process, including an overview of the five parts of the process, a deep dive into the first pillar of a great process (Conversations), getting organized, and starting the search for great fit colleges.
3
Module 3: Find Great Fit Colleges
The four lessons in this module are all about Pillar #2- The Search- finding colleges that fit your criteria, understanding what admissions reps are looking for, and creating a terrific high school experience that leads to strong applications. One lesson, Key Metrics and Resources, contains a series of 11 short video demos of useful college admissions process websites.
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Module 4: Cover the Costs
Cover the Costs is in part about financial aid, but also so much more. This module includes guidance for maximizing financial aid, including scholarships tips and sources, understanding hidden costs, and additional ideas for paying for college without incurring a huge debt burden.
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Module 5: What's Next?
So you've finished the course...now what? Use the One Page Plan provided to outline next steps that fit YOUR family. The final two lessons contain duplicates of all course resources and all bonus resources.
Bonus!
These FOUR bonuses are included in
College Bound Foundations
In addition to more than 20 downloadable resources included within the course lessons, these bonus resources tackle other aspects of the college admissions process or simply help you guide your teen to greater independence for what's next after high school.
Life Skills for Teens
When your child hits high school you will start to think, even stress, about "What HAVEN'T I taught my kid?". This guide provides four areas of life skills: Financial Basics and Money Management, Home and Car Care, Self Care, and Soft Skills, to help parents guide their kids to independence in a thoughtful, intentional way.
College Essay Guide and Assessments
Three resources to help your teen create a solid, thoughtful personal statement, a requirement for the Common App and often in individual college applications, too. No pressure, but it's often the single most important part of a college application, so it's critical for your teen to put their best foot forward.
Plan Your College Visit Guides
Visiting a college campus is very important for a teen (with a parent) to gather information on their top choice schools. Can they see themselves on this campus? What are the facilities really like? These two resources, including tips, a checklist, and best questions to ask, will help make the most out of each college campus visit.
Appealing a Financial Aid Award
What do you do if your situation changes, you realize something on your financial aid form was not accurate, or you are hoping for a more generous financial aid package from your teen's top choice college? This two page resource will provide guidance on content and format for appealing (not negotiating) a financial aid award.
About The Course Teacher, Margie Binder
Margie is the founder of Uncommon College Guide, dedicated to helping parents guide their kids through the college admissions process with her hard won wisdom, timely information, and inspiration.
Margie has a Masters Degree in Clinical Teaching and is a former Navy helicopter pilot and classroom teacher, along with her favorite job: Mom to three terrific young adults. She helped all three kids successfully navigate the college admissions process in the past six years; two are now gainfully employed college graduates with no student debt, while her youngest is a college sophomore at the U.S. Naval Academy, so she will also graduate with no student debt.
Even if you don't purchase this course, please avoid these mistakes...
Like my co-worker, Greg...
A caring and engaged family man, a conversation with him several years ago led to my digging deep into the college admissions process and ultimately creating this course. His three kids either owed or anticipated owing between $50-80k of college debt upon graduation. EACH.
Or a friend, Mishelle...
Like so many parents, Mishelle's philosophy about college admissions was "my kid will figure it out". But when the kid "figured it out", the family then struggled to figure out how to pay for that "dream" school. My heart sank when I received a call from Mishelle asking where to find the best parent loans. Avoid parent loans if at all possible.
Or a family member, Lisa...
Lisa and her husband are in their early 60's and recently finally paid off the parent loans they took out to support their oldest child attending a college 15 years ago. One that their daughter did NOT graduate from.
I have changed the names and identifying details of these parents, but the stories are true, and unfortunately not isolated incidents. Trusting your teen to make good decisions is one thing, and a good thing. But we wouldn't send a teenager off to buy a house, or even a new car, by themselves, so don't disengage during this critical time. Don't hover or micromanage either. Find the balance. That balance is the strength of The College Bound Foundations Course.
Why this course is so valuable...
You could spend $2-3,000 or more for a college admissions counselor to hand hold you and your teen through the process. Most of us don't have that kind of money. AND, I've learned through shepherding my own three kids through the process in the past 6 years that we can do this with guidance, resources, strategies, and commitment. I firmly believe that in almost all cases parents are in the best position to guide their teens through the college admissions process, and this course will share the blueprint for doing just that.
So, you won't spend thousands, or even $1,000 on this course.
For all of the guidance offered in College Bound Foundations...
- The video lessons- 13 + 11 short video walk throughs of college admissions websites
- Downloadable resources (23)
- Bonus resources (7)
The biggest benefit is in knowing where and how to start, how to help your teen create a list of great fit colleges, and what to strategize and prioritize EARLY and throughout the process to cover the costs.
In other words, eliminating the overwhelm and greatly reducing the stress of the college admission process, and doing so while building a respectful, trusting relationship with your budding young adult.
What's all of that worth?
Well, I think it's priceless. :) *
In dollars, the cost of College Bound Foundations is only one payment of $297.
Good deal? I think so...
This is the course I wish I had when I dove into the college admissions vortex for the first time about 8 years ago. I'd call it a death spiral but I don't want to scare you!
I definitely did not do everything perfectly with my oldest, or even my third, but with that youngest kid currently a college sophomore and with her two gainfully employed college graduate siblings, neither with college debt, there is a lot of hard won wisdom in this course.
Please check out the FAQs and other details on this page, and when you're ready, hit one of the ENROLL buttons to start your journey.
I can't wait to hear your success stories in the weeks and months to come!
The College Bound Foundations Course
for Parents and Teens
All for one low price!
$297
Learn to effectively guide your teen AND set guardrails while supporting their ownership. Win-Win!
14 Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee or Your Money Back
College Bound Foundations is the course I wish I had when I started guiding my three kids through the college admissions process, and I am confident you will receive far more value than the cost of the course. HOWEVER, if the course and materials do not meet or exceed your expectations simply request a full refund at uncommoncollegeguide@gmail.com within 14 days of purchase.
FAQ
If you are a parent consumed with so-called "elite" schools, this course is probably not for you. Nothing wrong with applying to the Ivies or other well-known high achieving schools, as long as you're not measuring your child's success by whether they get into one (or more). My philosophy is that there are dozens of great fit schools for every college-bound teen, and success should be measured more about the relationships and experiences your teen acquires, and conversely, with the amount of debt accrued.
Absolutely! You have lifetime access to the course, including all the resources, as well as any updated versions of The College Bound Foundations Course.
Yes! There are pros and cons to multiple logins, but if you and your family decide on separate logins please reach out to uncommoncollegeguide@gmail.com. I may ask you a few questions or to fill out a quick form, but will get you set up with an additional login as soon as possible. The back-up contact is margie@uncommoncollegeguide.com...at times automated systems/platforms "burp" on gmail addresses, as convenient as they are.
My recommendation for the latter is no later than fall of your teen's junior year of high school, though this course and otherwise preparing for the process can be started in 9th or 10th grade. Or if you have multiple kids close in age as I did (8th, 7th, and 5th grades when I began researching), I recommend the course for a parent to get "the lay of the land" as your oldest hits 7th or 8th grade. But NOT to start putting pressure on your kids or creating a checklisted life for them during high school. The benefit with lifetime access to the course is that you will very likely pay the lowest price for the course by purchasing sooner rather than later.
No worries! You have a 14-Day (from date of purchase) Money Back Guarantee. I am confident you will find great value in the course and its resources, but if you are unhappy or dissatisfied with your purchase, just email uncommoncollegeguide@gmail.com (or margie@uncommoncollegeguide.com) within 14 days of purchase and I will refund your full cost. Please allow up to 30 days for your refund.
College Bound Foundations is meant to be versatile, but first and foremost the course is for the parent. I believe there is great benefit in going through the course WITH your teen, and much of the course materials (videos and downloadables) are designed to speak to your teen and to support them owning the process. But I trust YOU, the parent, to know what's best for you, your teen, and your family. So if you go through the course, then incorporate the learning and resources into guiding your teen to the desired outcome (great fit college), that works. If you watch the course together and commit to completing the action items (most are for the teen), that is even better in my opinion. What the course is not designed for is for the parent to purchase then just hand it over to the kid with a "good luck" pat on the back. Kind of defeats the purpose of parent as guide, chief cheerleader and supporter, and the one to set the guardrails. You got this!
A personal note...
I am deeply committed to the mindset that the TEEN can and should lead their own college admissions process, and in almost all cases, the PARENT is the most appropriate and best guide.
In that spirit, The College Bound Foundations Course will help parents and their teens establish a strong foundation for working through the college admissions process as a TEAM, even if neither of you know where to start and are overwhelmed at the prospect.
Start with The College Bound Foundations Course and I am confident you will manage the college admissions process with much less stress, greater sanity, and better short and long term results.
Margie
*DISCLAIMER: Please note that I can not and am not guaranteeing results or any specific financial gain by going through this course and utilizing its resources. While I am confident you and your teen will achieve results much greater than the cost of the course, your results depend on your individual actions and circumstances.
Useful Links
Important Information
Contact
855 Village Center Drive #341, North Oaks, MN, 55127
margie@uncommoncollegeguide.com
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