Q 1: Is GoToCollegeFree! unique in its approach or is it just like other scholarship training programs?
Answer: Lots of Scholarship Training Programs are offered around the United States. But, yes, GoToCollegeFree! is quite unique in many respects as discussed below.
Q 2: Is GoToCollegeFree! promoted or backed by student loan financing groups like many other scholarship training programs?
Answer: No. Student loan financing is a big, profitable business. Many scholarship training programs advertise scholarships and provide a lecture but end with emphasis on unadvertised student loan financing. GoToCollegeFree! focuses on college scholarships, grants and no debt/low debt strategies. And because it’s explicit purpose is to avoid and minimize loans, GoToCollegeFree! reviews and emphasizes numerous loan avoidance strategies during training sessions. And “loan avoidance” is NOT the goal of Student Loan organizations.
Q 3: Why does GoToCollegeFree! utilize a 15 hour format instead of a one or two hour presentation like other scholarship training programs?
Answer: GoToCollegeFree! is a boot camp. It is a comprehensive training and motivation program. It is not just a scholarship lecture like most programs offered in the U.S. Most think of finding and winning “a scholarship” while GoToCollegeFree thinks about winning many scholarships. With a goal of winning tens of thousands of dollars, GoToCollegeFree! feels a boot camp format is superior…and so do students and parents who attend (see Testimony).
Q 4: Why does GoToCollegeFree! claim to be an ‘elite’ and ‘unique’ training program?
Answer: GoToCollegeFree! is offered on a limited basis–typically 5 or 6 times yearly–to small audiences of 20 to 40 families maximum. The program features a “business approach and mindset” through all sessions. The program is an actual boot camp with a comprehensive agenda unlike most others offered elsewhere. The Information: public, practical, culled, researched, compiled, organized, structured and taught from numerous sources, viewpoints/angles and experiences that work. Google around for yourself. You’ll find its Basic Training Program is quite different.
The primary trainer is also uniquely qualified. He self-financed his own college education through a doctorate level. He succeeded with two of his own children, raising over $200,000 dollars between them using methods taught. He personally won hundreds of thousands of dollars in competitive government grants for his own companies. The trainer’s career background is unusual including: educator, researcher, product developer, corporate executive/CEO, fund raiser and, yes, “cash-starved student back in the day.” He has intimate knowledge of finance and people selection processes and knows first-hand what it takes to convince others to “give you the money instead of to someone else.” He and his wife also homeschooled and public schooled their children (see Our Team). He is a passionate and motivational speaker who captures student (and parent) attention and imagination. Finally, GoToCollegeFree! relies on an Advisory Board of experienced professionals to guide programming and maintain integrity. Look for yourself. GoToCollegeFree! is different–and effective.
Q 5: How can I know if there are scholarships that I qualify for? And what if I am in a Running Start Program where I graduate from high school with one or two years of college credits? Am I ineligible for high school scholarships in this case?
Answer: GoToCollegeFree! is unaware of any student who did not qualify for scholarships offered in the U.S. pool which authorities feel may exceed a half million sources and over a million awards annually. It is truly amazing. Scholarships always specify winner criteria, including school grade (e.g., high school or college freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, etc). Graduating High School Seniors. A sizable chunk of scholarships simply require a “college bound graduating high school senior.” In such case, a Running Start Program student would qualify since s/he is still a high school senior not yet graduated–even if the high school senior will begin college as a Junior.
Incoming Freshman. If scholarship wording specifies “incoming college freshman” then the Running Start Student may still qualify if s/he has earned less than 45 credits (or if fewer than 45 credits will actually transfer) since this would make him/her an “Incoming Freshman.” However, if the Running Start student has earned 45 or more credits accepted by the college of choice, s/he would be entering college as a sophomore or junior and would therefore be ineligible for the “Incoming Freshman” award.
Incoming New Freshman. Finally, if the scholarship specifies “incoming NEW freshman” and the Running Start student has fewer than 45 college credits, this would be a good time to contact your college counselor and the scholarship source to inquire about candidacy and potential exceptions. Always call! Then…
No Worries – Always More Fish In The Pond. In the worst case of non-eligibility, the student must simply move on to the next scholarship. Remember…you must apply for many but you cannot expect to win them all. All GoToCollegeFree! trained students expect to “win some and lose some.” That’s how it works.
Q 6: Can I be sure that GoToCollegeFree! will work for my student?
Answer: No. GoToCollegeFree! teaches the student and parents what others are doing to win scholarships and grants. And then we add business persuasive concepts and strategies that give an additional boost and provide further competitive advantages to your student. GoToCollegeFree! cannot guarantee your student will win scholarships and grants. That will be his or her job to carry out their comprehensive Masterplan. If they carry it out as prescribed in this course, there is no reason that they should not be able to raise thousands of dollars in scholarships and grants. And THAT is the trick: Will the student-parent team carry out the plan? If you carry out the plan — and log it as prescribed, then yes, GoToCollegeFree! is confident that you will raise thousands of dollars (see the Money Back Guarantee). What you need is a plan, motivation, character and discipline to execute the plan. GoToCollegeFree! helps you build the plan and provides motivation. But YOU must provide the character and discipline. GoToCollegeFree! will show you exactly how it is done, but the student and parents must commit to the effort in order to reap the rewards. .
Q 7: Can I REALLY go to college free?
Answer: Yes—if you mean, “Can I arrange to have other people cover all of my college costs?” Yes. Thousands of students go to college free every year. Will you go for free? We don’t know. Will you go at a discount of 10, 20, 30, 50 or 80 percent off the retail price? We don’t know. At GoToCollegeFree! our job is to simply tell you how people make cost reductions happen—including going to college absolutely free. However, we must be clear that people who “go to college free” actually work hard to make that happen. Therefore, in that sense, nobody goes to college free. Like our moms and dads told us all, “Honey, there is no free lunch in this world.” You’ll have to learn the steps, make a plan, build a Platform For Requests” and then execute the plan—and, yes, that means work and we show you how.
Q 8: How does GoToCollegeFree! impact parent-student relationships?
Answer: We can’t say for sure at this point, but it stands to reason that when two or more are centered on a common high value goal, it tends to make for interdependence, mutual respect and healthy bonding–not to mention greater work results. When GoToCollegeFree! talks about teaming parents up with student(s) in a pre-arranged, pre-organized fashion around a topic of huge importance to all parties (college and it’s financing), most people can understand how a multi-year GoToCollegeFree! arrangement has the potential to bring families closer together in many respects. Lots of folks see it this way.
Q 9: Are there any roles that grandparents can play on the student’s financing team?
Answer: Absolutely. And we cover this topic also at the GoToCollegeFree! Basic Training Program. Again, GoToCollegeFree! grew out of the 2Plus6WilsonFAMILY group which emphasizes family relationships (see Our History under About section of this website) and so this aspect of grandparents and parent teaming naturally grew out of that. Are grandparents required to raise funding through scholarships and grants? No. Can they help? Yes, and we’ll show you some creative ways.
Q 10: What about student receptivity for this information? And student self-motivation vs using a team?
Answer: Students consistently rate the GoToCollegeFree! training highly. In part, this is probably because students critiqued the program since 2001 about what they like/don’t like. This critique (required by all attendees) is what makes the program better each year. Many parents report that when their student hears many principles (already taught at home) from an outside 3rd party authority, it often sinks in better and/or ‘takes flight’ because they have a home basis for concepts already in place (e.g., importance of character, discipline, schedules, organization, etc, etc). Plus, at GoToCollegeFree! students are taught in a manner where they can laugh (sometimes at themselves) and also privately internalize the information for themselves from yet another perspective–one that can affect their own pocketbook and college dreams.
Finally, while some students can self-motivate, the vast majority do not. And motivation is needed for the long haul. A properly structured team can overcome dry spells in pursuing the kind of effort necessary. And GoToCollegeFree! can inspire a motivational shift in a way others typically cannot.
Q 11: Can’t I just read books, surf the internet and watch Youtube clips to learn all about scholarships? Any disadvantages of doing this myself?
Answer: Sure. GoToCollegeFree has unique aspects to its programming. However, virtually all of its information was compiled from many dozens of published sources, people, world of marketing/selling, leadership training, fund raising methods, presentations, etc. …plus personal experience of what works and what doesn’t. GoToCollegeFree! will never claim to know everything there is to know on the topic (and if you find someone who makes such claim…run for the hills!). And yes, a person who has the time and skill can certainly do their own research and compile their own findings and information. A do-it-yourself reviewer must, however, plan to spend hundreds of hours in the effort to approach what is already sliced, diced and compiled for you in this program. You can also attend various financial aid and scholarship presentations in your own community to get more information (most high schools will offer such presentations). These basics presentations are almost always an hour or so in length and perhaps may sometimes even be delivered by a person who has actually personally done the work (although this is unusual). GoToCollegeFree! is different and is a “boot camp intensive” by comparison. Finally, for those inclined to conduct their own research, the GoToCollegeFree! program is probably still worth its low cost to help prevent unnecessary, time consuming trips down numerous bunny trails and dead ends.
Q 12: Are there scholarship scams out there? If so, how can I avoid them?
Answer: Yes. Lots of scholarship scams exist and some move all the way up to the edge of “scam-ness.” Here are some ways to spot them: (1) Check the better business bureau; (2) Read the website closely and see who and/or what is backing the program. Look for legitimate, credentialed and experienced trainers and for a phone number to contact; (3) Look for neutral third party recommendations that can validate the program offering; (4) Look at advertising to see if Student Loans are part of the program. If no mention is made of loans, call the organization and ask. If they admit that a significant Student Loan portion will be presented, a red or at least yellow flag should go up; (5) Remember, lots of student loan programs “disguise themselves” as “scholarship” programs to get you in the door where they will give a 60 to 90 minute lecture on scholarships, but then bring in the student loan program that was not advertised or only mentioned in passing. Often the REAL interest of these programs is the Student Loan portion. And if pressure to sign up for a loan is delivered at the end, this would be a great time to exit; (6) If a scholarship service offers to help you in the actual search process and promises to find you scholarships, be careful. If they ask for payment up front, run for the hills. If they ask for a percentage of the scholarship winnings or a separate payment that is a percentage of winnings, ask for at least several references and phone numbers–and be sure to contact them all before agreement; additionally, conduct your own scholarship search, even if you hire someone else to help, and do NOT compensate a company for scholarships that you find on your own; (7) If a service offers to help generate final scholarship applications, make sure no upfront fees are charged and that they will not be paid anything unless the scholarship application wins; (8) Consider steering clear of any and all scholarship search and application services, and just simply do it yourself to avoid later concerns, (9) Exit immediately if: asked for your social security number/bank account or credit card, promised a specific scholarship, told you won or are a finalist for a scholarship you didn’t apply for, or told you can’t get this info anywhere else.
Q 13: How does GoToCollegeFree! Keep its tuition low?
Answer: To date, there are no programs like GoToCollegeFree! available at such low pricing. Sponsors make it possible. Sponsors divide volunteer tasks into typical 1-3 hour chunks (i.e., “many hands make light work”). Depending on registration size, a half dozen or so people from among one or more sponsor organizations carry out pre-workshop preparations. “Day of” tasks involve: facility, sound & powerpoint tech set up, refreshments and clean up. “Advance” tasks may involve a PowerPoint announcement sent to sponsors, bulletin flyer, poster hanging, email broadcast, flyer distribution to local schools, churches, YMCA, and PTA clubs—all pre-designed by GTCF. Radio announcements/interviews and newspaper ads are optional. Without volunteers, GoToCollegeFree tuition would be in the thousand dollar ranges.
Q 14: What are the basic mechanics of putting on a GoToCollegeFree event?
Answer: A local event coordinator must champion GTCF program ideals. This person makes local contacts through pastors, school and/or other leaders in the community. A local small team is then established to carry out assigned tasks, typically 1 to 3 hours per job. From one to three facilities may choose to host the 15 hour/five session program on any or all of the three days (i.e., more community outreach exposure, more unity fostered!). The local coordinator stays in weekly contact with GTCF and serves as the Community-GTCF liaison. The coordinator custom-edits and routes pre-written powerpoints, broadcast email, flyer/poster pdfs, ads, etc. to volunteers and monitors/reports progress to GTCF and pastors and/or other outreach organizations as dates approach.
Q 15: When does a sponsor have to decide about its participation?
Answer: GTCF schedules only four to six events per year. The logistics of putting on an event require four months to plan and implement. Therefore, interested persons should contact GoToCollegeFree! as early as possible.