As a leader in the field of educational services, My College Planning is dedicated to helping families meet their need for college financial planning.  My College Planning recognizes the need for specialty solutions, necessary to master the “art of paying for college”.  Making the best college decisions requires having the best professional advice.  My College Planning brings together the services of: career guidance, financial aid professionals, tax planning specialists, and financial planning experts.              

        Committing to college is one of the most significant decisions that you and your child will make together. Selecting the "right" school for your son or daughter is a critical component to his or her life's success. Paying for college can be difficult. In fact, it can become the largest financial challenge you confront as a family. Financial aid planning is complex and often misunderstood. Furthermore, if not properly planned, the cost of college can have a devastating impact on your ability to retire.

Going to college has become more than just a dream parents have for their children. It is the foundation for their economic prosperity and future income capability. With the price tag of education rising, many parents worry that they cannot afford to provide their children with the best education. Parents face a serious financial decision.  My College Planning offers the services of the specialists who understand, not only the components of the college equation, but also how each part affects the whole.

We understand that financial information is readily available and easily accessible.  Therefore, we provide customized solutions based on your family’s individual needs. My College Planning is dedicated to providing effective planning to create viable alternatives to the college-funding problem. Often the biggest mistake your family can make in college funding is neglecting to plan ahead. Financial aid is based on the tax year prior to admission. This is a crucial time for proactive planning. The second mistake is not properly investigating the options. Don’t blindly accept that you will not qualify for financial aid or believe that there are no alternatives for your situation. The third mistake is thinking that “sticker price” will prohibit you from sending your children to the college or university of their choice. In some cases, a more expensive school can be less costly after financial aid is determined.

We also understand that not all situations can offer positive solutions. In the vast majority of cases, we can help our clients make the “more expensive” college an affordable option and provide a step-by-step action plan. This included cash flow analysis, which not only solves the immediate college funding problem, also places the family in a much stronger position to meet future retirement goals. 

          My College Planning teaches you how to prepare for the burden of college tuition, withstand the brunt of it during the enrollment years, and protect your valuable retirement resources for the future. We invite you to meet with our specially trained financial advisors. Our advisors have the latest and most accurate information about admission officers’ criteria for acceptance, and will explain little understood facts about how admissions decisions are made, and will present strategies to make your student more attractive to the desired schools. Additionally, our advisors focus on the pitfalls and benefits of various funding solutions and advocate the creation of a solid financial plan. You become a proactive participant in the process. During private consultations, My College Planning customizes a plan that is designed to stimulate your cash flow and provide savings potential.

For a complete brochure of who we are and more about our services request a brochure in the contact us form: Take me there

Michael P. Zoli, CCPS

phone: 315.256.5600 email: mpzoli@mycollegeplanning.com

Michael Zoli is a Certified College Planning Specialist. He is also certified instructor with the American Education Foundation and a member of NYSFAAA the NYS Financial Aid Administrators Association.

He specializes in helping families pay for college. His strategies have helped families save tens of thousands of dollars in education costs. His specializes in easy to understand cost saving strategies and planning that produce bottom line results. He is a master of the financial aid system and has a great working knowledge of the educational tax benefits. He also helps counsel students with career planning and college selection.

Michael Zoli is a financial planner and investment advisor representative. He holds the general securities and investment advisory licenses as well as insurance licenses.

He earned his B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with concentration in Business Administration and Computer Design from Clarkson University.  He served as Vice President of Torrington Industries Inc. for over 10 years where he developed and oversaw all key operations.  He created My College Planning to provide the public with a service that would help them to afford the escalating cost of college.

John J. Ruman, CCPS

phone: 315.440.0068 email: jjruman@mycollegeplanning.com

John Ruman is a Certified College Planning Specialist.He specializes in financial modeling, cash flow and loan processing. He maximizeseligibility formerit and need-based financial aid and has additional expertise in grants and scholarships. John has a great working knowledge of financial instruments for education and how they affect aid.  He also helps counsel students with career planning and college selection.

Hinda Mandell:

Hinda Mandell has helped many high-school students prepare for college as an academic support specialist with Boston Education World. Through this work, Ms. Mandell coached students on their writing skills for the college admissions essay, as well as the SAT/ACT written exam. She customized extensive vocabulary review and taught students writing skills that built on their work in the classroom.

Ms. Mandell is the former editor of the Jewish Advocate newspaper in Boston, where she directed a staff of reporters and oversaw the editorial content for the weekly publication. Most recently, Ms. Mandell covered news for the Boston Globe as a correspondent. Additionally, she has reported from Dublin, Beijing, Las Vegas and Berlin, and her work has also appeared in Boston Magazine, Boston Parents' Paper, Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Report and the Forward.

As a teenager who struggled with testing anxiety, Ms. Mandell is now driven to help teens gain the confidence necessary to realize their potential.

She earned a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Brandeis University, and an M.A. in the same subject from Harvard University. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Media Studies at Syracuse University.