How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Commerce Park, Suite 200 Beachwood, OH

Transcription

1 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Commerce Park, Suite 200 Beachwood, OH

2 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Welcome to the College Planning Network! This guide has been created to help your family learn how to take advantage of our comprehensive college services, successfully navigate the college admission and financial aid process, and show you how to proactively manage your partnership with the College Planning Network through your CPN portal. Table of Contents 1)Logging In and Navigating Your CPN Portal 2)Welcome/Onboarding 3)Student Mentoring 4)Financial Aid 5)Contact Us

3 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Your Family s CPN Portal Creating Your Student s Login To create your child s login for CPN first enter the following link: The following screen will appear: Next, you will click on the Member Login link, which will take you to the login screen.

4 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Click on the First Time Users Click Here link, which will take you to the page to set up your username and password. Fill in the fields as they pertain to the student and choose a username and password. Check the box to accept the terms and conditions. Then, click Login. Now, enter the username and password you have selected to access your CPN Portal!

5 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Navigating your CPN Portal Your Dashboard Once you have logged in to your CPN Portal, you will see your CPN dashboard. Along the top of your toolbar, there are four tabs. The first is your My CPN tab, which is the central place for you to view and navigate all key college planning checklist items. Your task lists are individualized to your student s year of graduation, and it is organized by categories so you know exactly what tasks are due and on what date. We also use a color-coding system to help you understand, at a glance, what areas have been completed and what areas may still need some attention. They key is available at all times to explain what each color means. The next tab is your Resources tab. You will find a vast collection of documents and videos that will assist you through the admissions and financial aid process. We strongly advise for you to peruse this section frequently. Your Student Interview tab will contain the summary and write-up of the student s private session with one of our accredited counselors. There are more details about the Student Mentoring Session on page 6). Your Services tab will provide you with the list of services you should be taking advantage of, including, but not limited to, the Student Interview, Career Cruising, and the SET for College Solution 4+4 Roadmap. There are more details about the Roadmap on page 8).

6 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Welcome/Onboarding The Welcome/Onboarding section will show you two tasks: 1) The date your membership with CPN was activated 2) The date the Welcome Video was sent. The Welcome Video will be sent in an to your family. The video will provide a visual tour of key information and activities to help get your family familiarized with our company and the comprehensive services available to you. It is very beneficial to watch the video in its entirety to get a first glance of your CPN portal. Both of these items are marked complete by our office when the tasks are finished.

7 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Student Mentoring The Student Mentoring Section on your CPN portal will provide you with the following items pertaining to Admissions: Schedule Student Mentoring Session (Student Interview) The Student Mentoring Session, also known as the Student Interview, will allow the student to participate in a one-on-one counseling session with one of our National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC). The counselor will evaluate the student s interests, extracurricular activities, leadership roles, test scores and more to determine which schools would be the best fit. If you are a senior, it is a good idea to have your ACT/SAT scores available for your session as well. After the session is completed, the family will receive a written report along with a summary of the interview and recommendations for the student. To schedule your Student Mentoring Session, please contact our Scheduling Department toll-free at (option 1) or scheduling@collegeplanningnet.com There are additional resources to assist you in understanding your Student Mentoring Session located under your Resources tab. Look for the RightFit Student Mentor Roadmap. Complete Career Cruising Program We advise that you complete the Career Cruising assessments before your Student Mentoring Session. This way, the counselor can view the results prior to your session, and have a better idea of what to discuss with the student. On the Career Cruising website, the student can take assessments pertaining to majors and careers, search for colleges and jobs, create their interactive educational profile, and so much more!

8 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Career Cruising Login Credentials When your student is enrolled with CPN we set them up with their Career Cruising username and password. These login credentials are always available to you at the bottom Student Mentoring section, as well as the link to the Career Cruising website.

9 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Additional Student Services Resources Under the Resources tab, there are many additional documents and videos to guide you through the college admission process. The SET for College & Beyond Roadmap details exactly what needs to be done by the parents, student, advisor and CPN service center. It is a good idea to print out your Roadmap or keep it handy so that you can always refer to it for further guidance as to the best time to engage in other key activities. The Roadmap will help you keep on track of what you should be doing and when, as well as how you can access certain services and when you should be taking advantage of them.

10 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Financial Aid The Financial Aid Section on your CPN portal will not be available until the student is a senior in high school. This section will require the following items pertaining to Financial Aid: Authorization Forms Sign PIN Authorization Form - The FAFSA PIN Authorization Form is required in order for CPN to apply for and use your Federal Personal Identification Number (PIN) for the FAFSA. A PIN must be established for the student and one parent. The PINs serve as your electronic signatures on the FAFSA submission. You will have the option to either select a requested 4-digit PIN or have CPN apply for an automatically generated number. Your PINs will always be available to you on your CPN portal under the Financial Aid section Obtain PIN Once you have completed the PIN Authorization Form, the service center at CPN will apply for your PINs. When we receive a confirmation that the PIN has been successfully established, we will mark the Obtain PIN task.

11 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Complete and Sign College Board Information and Authorization Many private colleges and universities require an additional financial aid application called the CSS Profile to determine the student s eligibility for institutional aid. This application looks deeper into the family s financial situation because schools which require the CSS Profile generally have more money to offer students through endowments and alumni funds, so they want to ensure the students who receive the aid are justified. To complete this form, you will be required to enter the student s College Board username and password which they would have set up when they registered to take the SATs. You will also be required to enter credit card information because there is an additional charge from College Board when we submit the CSS Profile. The fee is a $9 registration fee and an additional $16 per school the CSS Profile is submitted to. This charge is not incorporated into any of the fees through CPN as it is charged directly to College Board. If a student decides not to apply to a school which requires the CSS Profile, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible so we do not submit the Profile and charge your credit card unnecessarily. School Selections Add School List You are required to enter the list of schools in which the student is looking to apply, or has already applied to. This is the list we will use to track deadlines for the FAFSA and CSS Profile. When you enter the schools on your CPN portal, you will be required to choose which type of application status you are applying (Regular Decision, Early Action, or Early Decision). Please see below for descriptions of each type: Regular Decision Most Regular Decision admissions applications are due between January 15th and February 1st. Under Regular Decision, the financial aid applications are generally due sometime in February or March and award offers go out sometime in March-April. Early Decision (ED) Early Decision plans are BINDING. A student who is accepted as an ED applicant must attend the college. The student must also withdraw all other applications if accepted to a school under ED. Students who apply ED will usually have earlier deadlines for both admission and financial aid applications (as early as October). Students who apply ED will receive an admission decision earlier (usually in December) and will also receive an early read for their financial aid award. Students can only apply to ONE college under Early Decision; all other applications must be Regular Decision. If financial aid is an important factor in your decision, we do not advise the student apply ED as we cannot negotiate any award offers under an ED plan. Early Action (EA) Early actions plans are NOT binding. Students who apply EA can receive an admission decision early (usually January/February). Students who apply EA can have earlier financial aid deadlines too. Students can apply to more than one school under Early Action. In order to prevent missing a financial aid deadline, once the student has finalized their school list they will not be able to make remove or add any schools from their portal. If any changes need to be made to the list after it has been finalized, please contact CPN to process the changes easily for you.

12 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Financial Aid Information Complete Student Information The Student Information electronic data form contains the personal information for the student and their parent(s) or guardian(s). This information must be absolutely correct on the FAFSA and CSS Profile, so we have created the Student Information form for the family to double check that all dates of birth, social security numbers, spelling of names, and contact information is accurate. Please feel free to correct any incorrect information on this form before you hit the Save and Finalize button. Family Information The Family Information electronic data form consists of the family s demographic information. Here, you will enter the student s status in school, parent marital status and number in household. This section must be completed prior to the financial data forms because the answers will set up the remaining forms. For example, if the parents are divorced, the remaining information will only ask for one parent s financial information. Family Financial Information The Family Financial Information electronic data form will require the student and parent tax information, as well as any asset information. This form, combined with the Family Information and Student Information sections will give us the information we will need to submit the FAFSA. If the current year s taxes are not completed at the time you are completing the form, it is acceptable to use estimates at that time. Profile Information If the student has entered schools which require the CSS Profile, this additional electronic data form will need to be completed as well. This form contains all of the additional family and family financial information required for the CSS Profile. The Profile data form will require you to enter previous tax-year information, estimated current tax-year information as well as future tax-year information. You will also be required to enter family expenses, home information, and detailed information about all individuals in the household. All four of the listed data forms must be completed in order for CPN to submit the CSS Profile. Financial Aid Forms The final category in the Financial Aid section is the Financial Aid Forms. This section will be completed by CPN once we have submitted the required applications on your behalf. As you can see in the example below, we will be submitting the FAFSA as well as the CSS Profile for this student:

13 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience Additional Financial Aid Resources Under the Resources tab, there are many additional documents and videos to guide you through the financial aid process. There are step-by-step tutorials available to walk you through each question on the electronic data forms: FAFSA Data Form Tutorial CSS Profile Tutorial There is also a tutorial to walk you through adding your school list. To access this document, click on the Add School List Tutorial. To assist you with the decision of which loans to take and for detailed information about private loan options, the College Loan Manual provides an in-depth look at many federal and private loan options available to you down the road. One of the additional services CPN offers your family is assisting you with notifying schools of any extraordinary circumstances that may affect your ability to contribute to the student s higher education or negotiating award offers you have already received. Please view our Special Circumstances Form to provide us with detailed information about your individual situation.

14 How to Maximize Your CPN Experience The CPN Service Center is always an or phone call away! Toll Free: Financial Aid Center: Option 2 financialaid@collegeplanningnet.com Student Services Department: Option 4 studentservices@collegeplanningnet.com Scheduling Department: Option 1 scheduling@collegeplanningnet.com General Fax: (216)