You're saying my financial advisor can help me plan for college?

http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/youre-saying-my-financial-advisor-can-help-me-plan-for-college-672

That's right. If you currently have a trusted advisor who helps with your family's investing, estate planning and retirement needs you might want to start including them in college planning discussions as well. Investment News recently published an article on how advisors are beginning to take on a new role as an objective third party in the college planning process. Most parents and grandparents already know that they can open a 529 plan through an advisor, but what they may not realize is that advisors are also helping to make college attainable in other ways.

According to Fidelity, around 28 percent of parents would like help determining their child's major and 22 percent said that their advisor is already helping. Just like the other investment advice they provide, advisors want to make sure their clients get the best return on their investment when it comes to paying for college. That means helping families determine the most appropriate school choice for the student based on tuition cost, choice of major and expected starting salary. Instead of trying to find ways to pay massive college bills, today's parents are more concerned with ensuring their children avoid graduating with unmanageable amounts of debt.

Advisors are also becoming actively involved in trying to bring down the sticker price of college. Some are able to help find scholarship sources, and others may assist with deciphering a school's financial aid award package. Another popular strategy is to send the student to a community college for the first two years to reduce their total tuition and room and board costs. Financial advisors also suggest including children in the family's college planning discussions, and many parents agree. In fact, according to Fidelity, 85 percent of families surveyed felt their children should help pay for college.

If you're not currently working with an advisor, you can explore some of the tools available on Savingforcollege.com on your own to help with your planning process. Start with the Federal School Code Lookup Tool to determine whether your school is eligible for 529 purposes, and estimate your future college costs with the World's Simplest College Cost Calculator. Visit the scholarship section for a list of featured awards that are currently available, and check out the handy Financial Aid Calculator to help you get a better idea of what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) may be. If you're interested in a 529 college savings plan, tune in to the College Savings Month podcast series to learn how to get started. Compare features and benefits of different plans and use the State Tax Calculator helps determine whether the state tax benefits offered by your home state's 529 college savings plan outweigh better performance of an out-of-state plan.