10 Questions With Mike Velasco From Red Oak College Planning

Red Oak College Financial Planning New Jersey began as a part of owner Mike Velasco’s financial planning practice. After experiencing the college planning process firsthand with his children, Mike decided there needed to be safer, more effective ways to save for college, to help students successfully gain acceptance to their dream school and to minimize families’ out-of-pocket costs.

And thus, Red Oak College Planning was born.

Patch: Tell us about the Red Oak College Financial Planning beginnings.

Velasco: Red Oak College Financial Planning New Jersey was started as an additional service to my financial planning practice. I have three children, and when my oldest Haley was beginning the college process, we as a family were overwhelmed by the process and the complexity. I graduated from College with a degree in public accounting and I have prior work experience as a CPA, so I know my way around financial statements and tax returns.

I was absolutely amazed at the complexity of the college application and financial forms process. Additionally, I, at the time, like most folks with children had saved for college and was dismayed at the negative performance of my kid’s 529 plans in 2008 and 2009. After suffering huge losses in these plans, I felt strongly that there had to be more safer and effective ways to properly save for college, maximize financial aid and help my kid’s get accepted to the college’ s of their choice.

I researched the market, attended hours of formal training on college financial aid, educated myself about the process including using these same strategies for my kid’s. Effectively, my children became my lab experiments and fortunately for us as a family we were successful! Thus Red Oak College Financial Planning New Jersey was born in 2011.

Fast forward today, I have worked with hundreds of families in helping them plan for college more effectively, guiding these families every step of the way in the college application and financial aid process with the ultimate goal of having their children accepted into the college choice of the dreams at the lowest out-of pocket cost.

Patch: You have more than 30 years worth of experience in the financial services industry. What is the Mike Velasco story? Tell us about your background and experience.

Velasco: I have more than 30-plus years in the financial services industry. I graduated with a degree in Public Accounting and in 1985 I attained my CPA license in NY state (I am currently a non-practicing CPA license holder). I spent nearly five years combined working as a CPA for a Big Eight CPA firm and then a few years for an Investment bank in the finance area.

While working at the Investment bank, I decided to pursue a career in the investment field. I spent nearly 20-plus years working on Wall Street in various capacities on both the institutional and retail side of the investment business. I had an opportunity to learn so much about the industry and saw both the positives and negatives of it.

From that experience, I was able to define my core beliefs that my client’s interests came first and that I would do everything I could to help them achieve their goals. In 2004, I decide to put my own shingle out and start my career in financial services firm. My years in the financial services industry have taught me to always be striving to learn more, to be open minded and to continuously work hard to help my clients achieve their goals.

Patch: What can parents and students expect from a consultation?

Velasco: As part of my service, I offer families a free, one-hour consultation where I will share the latest strategies and steps that families can do to get the maximum amount of funding for their child’s education.

Based on my years of experience helping hundreds of families to get into their dream colleges at a price they can afford, I cover these important topics during this meeting: how to pick the colleges that will give you the most amount of money, steps you can take to triple your eligibility for financial and merit aid, how to send your kids to the school of their dreams without going broke, a common mistake you must know when applying for scholarship, how to create a financial plan that pays for college and protects your assets, what your expected family contribution is for financial aid purposes, how to send your child to a private college for less than a state one, how to find scholarships and grants you’ve never even heard of and how to legally lower your expected family contribution.

Prospective clients will learn all of the above plus how to position their family for maximum financial aid.

Patch: Red Oak College Financial Planning helps students and families “successfully navigate the college process.” How does it accomplish this?

Velasco: This is a very important part of what we do at Red Oak College Financial Planning New Jersey. We help families navigate the process by following strict timelines and making sure they complete every step on the college application journey. We also can help position students to be more appealing which in many cases can result in more merit aid in the form of academic scholarship.

I like to say that we “eliminate as much as possible the stress that the family/student have while undergoing this process.” By strictly following a game plan, my clients can sleep at night knowing that they have a plan and structure for applying, paying for and having the best chance for a successful college experience for their children.

Patch: What are some of the services that Red Oak College Financial Planning offers?

Velasco: We offer a comprehensive approach for families with children who will be attending college. The services we offer are full financial planning services to pay for college more efficiently and with less out-of-pocket costs.

We help families with individual/multi-student positioning, maximizing financial need/merit aid strategies, family/student timelines for all college deadlines. We assist in the completion of the financial FAFSA/CSS Profile aid forms and advise on student loan strategies.

Additionally, we will write professional appeals to help parents possibly increase their merit and need based initial financial aid offers. Lastly, we offer peace of mind for families so they can sleep at night knowing that they have completed every step in the college financial aid process on time and correctly.

Patch: What advice can you offer to parents with college-age children seeking financial aid for the first time?

Velasco: The advice I can offer is start planning for college now. Whether your children are young or high school age, you need to start immediately. For families with high school aged students it is important to that you complete every step on time and properly to maximize college financial aid. Lastly, this process is very intense and working with a professional can eliminate mistakes, eliminate stress and potentially result in more financial aid.

Patch: Tell us about some of the more common mistakes you’ve seen students and families make when initiating the financial aid process.

Velasco: This is a great question. I have seen many mistakes by families who have come to me after they started or completed the process. Mistakes such as incorrectly positioning their children into the wrong school resulting in poor performance or transferring (incurring more college time and costs), incorrectly filling out financial FAFSA/CSS profile forms resulting in overpaying for college, electing to go early decision without having the money to pay for college and letting the student accept offers without a proper plan in place. It is imperative to really understand this process or it could result in overpaying for college.

Patch: What can be done to lower an Expected Family Contribution (EFC)?

Velasco: Well, there is a lot that folks can do to lower EFC. Each situation though is totally different, as EFC is the dollar output calculated by the completion of the FAFSA/CSS Profile forms. There are multiple EFC formulas, but EFC is focused mainly on income of the parents/students, parental assets, student assets, family size, number of students in college and home equity. A consultation with us will help figure out your EFC and may result in the implementation of strategies to legally reposition the family to reduce their EFC.

Patch: How does Red Oak College Financial Planning contribute to the community?

Velasco: Red Oak College Financial Planning New Jersey offers free workshops in many different public libraries, community groups, sports clubs/associations and community centers. We welcome the opportunity to speak to the public and educate people on the college financial aid process. We believe that education is key in helping families in our communities pick the right colleges for their children academically, socially and the best financial fit as a family.

Patch: How does Red Oak College Financial Planning measure success?

Velasco: We measure success one family at a time. I take immense pride in that I like to treat my clients kids like they are mine. I want the very best for them in terms of academics, socially and financially. The gratification I get is when clients call me prior to May 1st and tell me that their child will be attending the college of their dreams and that they appreciate my guidance through the whole process.

Patch: How can Patch readers contact you or otherwise learn more about Red Oak College Financial Planning?

Velasco: Patch readers can call my office, email me via redoakcollegeplanning@gmail.com or visit my website to contact me. I also suggest that families visit and like my Facebook page , I put out many informational pieces on the college financial aid process.

Photo credit: Red Oak College Financial Planning