College Aid Pro Review: Compare College Costs

What Is College Aid Pro?

Massachusetts-based College Aid Pro is a college financial planning company. It was founded in 2017, with its software launching in October 2018. The company's original offering focused on helping financial advisors guide families through college funding decisions, but families can now use its software directly or hire its experts for more dedicated support. 

What Does It Offer?

College Aid Pro offers self-service planning, expert support, and educational resources. It's one of our favorite tools for helping families find colleges they can actually afford to attend.

Here's a closer look at its key features: 

MyCap Premium

MyCAP Premium is College Aid Pro’s paid subscription for families who want to plan for college. It includes personalized college cost estimates, scholarship search tools, financial aid guides, workshops, and group Q&A sessions with experts, and costs $4.99/month. 

MyCAP covers over 2,000 colleges and focuses on the net cost, or the amount you would pay after grants and scholarships. 

You can filter schools by admissions preferences, location, and affordability. It also has a private scholarship database and tools to help you estimate your aid eligibility, compare award letters, and plan how you will pay the remaining cost. 

Premium’s Affordability & Selectivity Grid helps you identify schools that fit your budget and your student’s admissions prospects. It also includes FAFSA and CSS Profile guides, recorded workshops, and live expert Q&A sessions every two weeks.

While it's great to have all these tools in one place, keep in mind that College Aid Pro cannot guarantee any cost estimates or aid offers. 

Full Service - Wake Me When Its Over

College Aid Pro's full-service offering, aptly named "Wake Me When It's Over," provides users with personalized help for financial aid and/or admissions. Packages range from $3,499 to $6,499, and à la carte pricing is also available for individual services. Services include financial aid forms, deadline tracking, award reviews, and appeals. You can also get admissions support for school selection, application strategy, and essay coaching through College Aid Pro's partnership with The Princeton Review. 

The financial aid package includes a "Beat-Our-Fee Guarantee." Conditions apply (you must complete the required steps and follow the company's recommendations), but College Aid Pros promises to save you more money than you pay in fees, or it's free. Also, "savings" can include improved financial options, and College Aid Pros will decide how to resolve a shortfall. 

Are There Any Fees?

MyCAP offers a free tier, but it's limited to three schools. Premium costs $4.99 per month, but you can cancel anytime. The full-service packages break down as follows: 

In addition to the packages, you can purchase the following individual services:

• Financial aid strategy: $299 
• Admissions strategy: $349 
• Essay and application reviews: $499
• FAFSA and CSS Profile preparation: $1,499
• Appeals and bill planning: $1,999 

How Does College Aid Pro Compare?

College Aid Pro, ScholarshipOwl, and Bold.org all help families find ways to reduce their college costs, but they offer different services. 

College Aid Pro focuses primarily on school-specific affordability and financial aid planning. ScholarshipOwl focuses on scholarship matching and application management. And Bold.org is 100% free and features scholarships offered exclusively through its platform. 

If finding outside scholarships is your main goal, I would consider ScholarshipOwl or Bold.org over College Aid Pro. However, College Aid Pro makes more sense if you want to compare the costs of specific colleges. 

How Do I Open An Account?

You can get started for free through the link on the College Aid Pro website, which will take you to the MyCAP registration page. You don't need to enter your credit card details for the free tier, and you can explore cost projections for three schools. For personalized estimates, you'll need to provide information about your student's and family's finances. You can upgrade to Premium ($4.99 monthly) for greater access to the College Aid Pro platform, or book a free consultation to discuss a full-service package. 

Is It Safe And Secure?

College Aid Pro is a well-established business; however, you may need to share sensitive information to get the most out of the platform. According to the company's privacy policy, it collects financial details such as your income, assets, and potentially tax returns, depending on the service you sign up for. Before you sign up for a full-service package, I recommend reviewing its data practices and asking a representative for their process on securely exchanging documents. 

How Do I Contact College Aid Pro?

If you have questions, you can submit them through a contact form on College Aid Pro's website. You can also book a free planning consultation to discuss your family's needs. I couldn't find an option for telephone or email support on its website. 

Is It Worth It?

College Aid Pro lets you compare estimated net costs at virtually every college in the U.S. on a single platform. It's a unique offering that can really help you start building a college list. And if that's your main goal, the MyCAP Premium plan is very reasonable, at $4.99 per month.

Its biggest drawback is the high cost of its personalized services. While similar platforms are also expensive, you should consider whether you will get value from the service before you sign up. I would start with the free plan, consider a subscription if you want to expand your research beyond a few colleges, and only buy a service package once you know exactly what kind of help you need. 

Finally, if you're simply looking for a platform to search for scholarships, I would start elsewhere, including our list of the 10 Best Scholarship Search Websites. 

Check out College Aid Pro here >>