meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
ChooseFI

460 | Preparing for the Cost of College | Brian Eufinger

ChooseFI

Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media

Financialindependence, Investing, Firemovement, Passiveincome, Frugalliving, Personalfinancepodcast, Daveramsey, Careers, Business, Earlyretirement, Habits

4.85K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2023

⏱️ 62 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode: financial aid, college planning, standardized tests, tests optional, need meeting, and preparation.

This week we are re-joined by Brian Eufinger to discuss ways to best prepare your children for college admissions, navigating the new changes to FAFSA and the CSS profile, and how you can maximize when prepping for your child’s higher education. While college prep can be stressful for students, from maintaining their GPA to taking multiple standardized tests, it can be just as stressful for parents to figure out financial aid and how to best set up their child for success before and after graduation. However, knowing the factors to consider early on and having the knowledge in advance can make this process far less daunting! While stressful as it may be, remember that there are many different resources available to you and your child that give you the knowledge that may alleviate the pressures that come with college prep and financial aid!

Brian Eufinger:

Timestamps:

  • 1:06 - Introduction
  • 4:53 - The Impact of Merit Aid
  • 11:49 - When, Where, and How to Think About Standardized Tests
  • 18:33 - The Intersection of The School, Price, Opportunity, and Comfort
  • 25:20 - Standardized Tests and The Reality of Preparation
  • 31:08 - Tests (Not) Optional
  • 37:32 - Governmental Forms and Financial Aid
  • 46:43 - The Variance of Need Meeting and Aid Changes
  • 51:13 - Preparation and Knowledge With College Planning
  • 55:23 - Non-Academic Path to Savings
  • 58:14 - Conclusion

Resources Mentioned In Today’s Episode:

More Helpful Links and FI Resources:

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello and welcome to choose a fight today on the show we have a good friend

0:03.3

Brian Neufinger back he was last year in episode 154 and before that in

0:09.1

episode 114 and he is truly a college expert on all things college, hacking the FAFSA,

0:17.1

demystifying college scholarships, talking through PSAT, National Merit

0:21.4

scholarship, these are all the things that he's talked about previously,

0:24.6

but ultimately his message is preparation and knowledge.

0:28.7

What can you do years ahead of time to prepare?

0:31.6

What do you need to know about Meridade, about the

0:33.8

FAFSA, about the CSS profile? There are all of these things that a lot of us

0:38.4

with children can do to prepare and I know personally this is top of mind because my older daughter is a

0:45.0

10th grader now and I actually just attended one of Brian's info sessions and it

0:49.1

blew my mind it was remarkable how much information he had,

0:52.8

and I knew I had to get him back on.

0:54.2

So this is really one you don't want to miss.

0:56.6

Welcome to Choose Up-Fi. Brian, my friend, thank you so much for coming back on. I really appreciate it. It's great to see you.

1:09.6

Yeah, thank you for having me. Happy to be here.

1:12.0

Yeah, it should be fun.

1:13.1

So I did not mention at the top,

1:15.2

and we'll certainly talk about this,

1:16.5

but you are the co-founder of Edison Prep,

1:19.5

which ultimately, I think provides SAT and ACT tutoring.

1:23.4

You're in the Atlanta, Georgia area, but now post COVID era,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Brad Barrett | Choose FI Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.