Before anything else, let's get something useful in your hands: a personalized college planning roadmap for your student.

Our College Planning Roadmap walks you through the same kinds of questions we'd ask in a first meeting: your student's grade, interests, how they're doing in school, and what matters most to your family...and then hands you back a clear plan: what to focus on now, how to think about testing, and how to keep the whole thing affordable.

One bonus: once you've got your report, our tool will help you build a strategic list of colleges to consider. Simply ask it to do so at the end of your conversation.

1. Open the tool below.
2. Answer the questions honestly, quick gut answers are fine. It takes about 5–10 minutes.
3. Once you receive your report, ask for a list of best-fit schools for you to consider.

One thing to remember as you go: this is a starting point, not a verdict. Wherever your student is right now is fine. The whole point is to trade hope for a plan.