Need info on circle of neighbors college funding reps?

Question

Need info on circle of neighbors college funding reps?

Answer 1

to "Guest2348" ... Securing college merit scholarships funding is not a typical "Do It Yourself" activity just like corporate tax accounting. Sure you could try to do it yourself, but the results may be dismal at best. I have been in the field since 2006 and now 5 years later I still am amazed at the cofusion between Merit Scholarships and Other Scholarships.

Additionally, Circle of Neighbors does not send "Pitchman". They encourage volunteers who are familiar with college funding and Financial professionals are all trained in college funding, but not Merit Scholarship searches. If the volunteer pitches his financial services over the merit scholarship search service that Circle of Neighbors provides, then that is an isolated instance and not the norm.

Answer 2

Circle of Neighbors, is a community based service organization, they are  working through consultants in every community to provide potential and useful  information about how to acquire the funding students need to attend the college of their choice. This organization provides consultation services to the college bound students, on how to attain maximum financial assistance.

Answer 3

Guest19055005 posted a link to BBB. It is a link for another company. That is why they cannot figure out what others are talking about.

Answer 4

I just interviewed with an offshoot of the company (in Atlanta) yesterday. Something called College Consultants of The Gulf Coast. I was excited, now I'm a little hesitant.  

Anyway, contrary to both statements concerning the Better Business Bureau, I found this: http://www.bbb.org/tucson/business-reviews/work-at-home-cos/circle-of-friends-in-tucson-az-25023

It's not an F. It's not a B. There is no rating.

Answer 5

Our family has tried to figure this out and make a desicion about this company. The had someone contact us who offered us this service for 1000.00 as a fee to help our kids get into college and also search for endowment money from schools. The person who came to us said they get paid 100.00 but it is non-taxable because it is a non-profit. We have not decided to sign papers because we can not get more information on this company.

Answer 6

I clicked in the link from the alleged "F" rating and it shows they have a B- rating.  I am not sure why someone keeps copying and pasting inaccurate accusations all over but I would recommend making sure you speak with someone who actually knows how they work.

Answer 7

My experience with Circle of Neighbors has been positive.  They are a non-profit community services organization - and no, the resources that they provide are not resources generally available to the public (at least not for free).  Let's face it - we have become a do-it-yourself society.  Yes, you can plan for college finances yourself - you can also write your own will, do your own taxes, and even self prescribe medication from websites in China.   When considering the cost of higher education, I chose to leave it to the professionals to show me the way - not worth the hassle and potential expense of doing it myself.

Answer 8

The Circle of Neighbors received an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau.

See for yourself:

http://www.bbb.org/tucson/business-reviews/financial-aid-organizations/circle-of-neighbors-in-tucson-az-6000708

Answer 9

You are off a quite a bit with your answer above.  The Circle of Neighbors is a community services organizations that recruits financial services people as volunteers as it is an important skill set  to have in the completing the college planning process.  They do however have many volunteers who are former teachers, home makers, CPAs etc. that introduce the program throughout their own communities.

Students are personally coached on the entire college process including  career exploration ,  college selection,  how to apply, assistance with financial aid forms, how to negotiate award letters and more.

They are NOT a scholarship search organization and do not simply provide you lists of scholarships.  They help families and their students negotiate through the difficult process of getting into college.  If you want to do your homework and see what kind of awards their students get just google circle of neighbor in google’s video section of youtube and you will find real examples.