EAST GREENWICH, R.I. and SACRAMENTO, CA. – May 1, 2013 – Battling cancer doesn’t stop teens from going to college. But costly medical bills can make it difficult to afford college. The National GRACE Foundation (Growing, Recovering and Achieving College Education) and college cost-estimation expert Student Aid Services, Inc. are teaming up to help 200 pediatric cancer fighters find universities that fit their career goals and family bank account.
Starting May 1st, high school juniors working with GRACE may receive for free a personalized College Cost and Planning Report®,which compares an individual’s eligibility for institutional, state and federal financial aid and calculates a reliable estimate of their out-of-pocket costs, based on each student’s specific financial and academic circumstances. Each custom report is a graphical workbook that provides detailed, comparative information about 10 colleges of a student’s choice. Besides a personalized, side-by-side comparison of each school’s cost, Student Aid Services’ College Cost & Planning Report® profiles each college, providing often hard-to-find information that influences student choice, including graduation rates, retention rates, and the rate at which a college’s cost have increased.
“The College Cost & Planning Report is the perfect tool for families starting the college-admissions process because it gives them insight into their real cost and requirements at the colleges their student is interested in before they apply to schools,” said Anthony Gallonio, co-founder of the two-year-old National GRACE Foundation.
Unique Tool Compares Colleges’ Affordability
One out of every 300 U.S. children, an estimated 12,500 a year, will be diagnosed with cancer by their 20th birthday, according to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
“Pediatric cancer survival rates continue to increase, but medical care typically eats into a family’s budget,” said Gallonio. “This breakthrough college-planning tool can help identify affordable colleges that also meet a student’s academic needs.”
To participate, families may contact GRACE by calling 401-793-6337 or by sending an email to agallonio@graceamerica.org.
“We’re honored to help families, who are trying to deal with the difficulties of cancers and their treatments, find ways to pay for college by providing accurate financial aid and cost comparisons so they can make smart choices academically and financially,” said Matthew Summer, Student Aid Services’ vice president of business development.
The College Cost & Planning Report® demystifies costs, financial aid, and education loan payments after college as well as provides a personalized college-planning timeline, admissions criteria, and college demographics. It even calculates the distance from a student’s home and selected colleges.
About the National GRACE Foundation
The National GRACE (Growing, Recovering and Achieving College Education) Foundation was established in April 2011 by Anthony Gallonio and Michelle LaRiviere of Rhode Island to help pediatric cancer fighters to go to college. Named for their daughter Grace Gallonio, who was diagnosed with cancer as an infant, the foundation provides free college-counseling services including assistance with applications and applying for private scholarships as well as acting as a liaison to colleges for its students. In its first two years, the foundation served 300 high school students nationally and advocated for more than $100,000 in grants and scholarships for them. For assistance, please visit http://www.graceamerica.org/home.html or https://www.facebook.com/nationalgracefoundation.
About Student Aid Services, Inc.
Student Aid Services, Inc. is the leading provider of college-cost estimation and enrollment-enhancement services and technologies that help students and families understand how to plan and pay for college. Its custom, online calculators are used by nearly 700 campuses in the U.S. and Canada. Student Aid Services’ predictive technology offers prospective and current students accurate need, merit and military aid eligibility; net price; and out-of-pocket cost estimates that are reliable for education planning. Its StudentAid.com Web service provides the innovative College Cost & Planning Report® to prospective students. Student Aid Services is a private company with headquarters in Sacramento, CA, USA.
