Peter Ratzan is the owner of College Funding Specialists. The firm, based in Weston, helps families with the challenges of applying to college by offering student guidance, standardized test preparation, financial planning, and assistance in navigating the complex financial aid process. Peter is a former high school social studies teacher at Ransom Everglades School in Miami, his alma mater. He also served for three years as a guidance counselor to 12th grade students at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, helping to prepare students for the transition to college. He recently served as Chair on the Miami-Dade County Advisory Board for the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, and remains an active member. Peter also volunteers his time with Take Stock in Children, a mentoring program for at-risk youth.
Prior to founding College Funding Specialists, Peter worked for 12 years in corporate America, including 9 years at Motorola. During these years Peter noticed first hand the challenges faced by the “forgotten middle class” in paying the ever-rising costs of college.
Peter co-authored Never Pay Retail for College, a guide book filled with tips and strategies on controlling college costs.
Peter holds a BA from Tufts University, and an MBA and MA (International Affairs) from The George Washington University. He lives in Weston with his wife and two children. Peter loves to play tennis on Saturdays and cheer for the Miami Dolphins on Sundays.
Matt Womack are discussing. 
Matt Womack 4:58 pm on March 27, 2012 Permalink |
Hello Pete,
Looking for an expert opinion on an obsevation that my wife and I have on college acceptances and families who have Florida Prepaid accounts. We have seen a consistent pattern among young adults trying to get into state colleges and being denied acceptance. Across three dozen or so families, we have polled students (and parents) and collected GPA, ACT and PSAT scores and have seen no rhyme or reason as to why some students get accepted to state colleges and some do not. It is evident that universities have the right to accept or deny a student base on many factors which by itself is very inconsistent. But in our local study, we have seen one consistent reason why students have been denied. Students with Florida Prepaid have been denied when their GPAs and test scores exceeded those of their peers who were accepted to the same universities. Lastly, its hard to not to believe with the state of the prepaid fund and the escalating costs of college tutition, that families who have incomes above middle class and have prepaid plans, are not discriminated against in some way. These institutions simply cannot deal with the loss of revenue by honoring the program 100% of the time for qualifying students. This is a point of frustration for many of us here who thought we had planned well in advance for our childrens future and are now finding our college options very limited. Would like to hear your thoughts and whether you believe there might be grounds for further discussion/investigation.
collegepete 12:21 pm on March 28, 2012 Permalink |
My initial, knee jerk reaction to this was that it’s simple conspiracy theory, and there’s not much to it. However, after thinking it through there may be some merit to the argument. Many parents are concerned about whether FL Prepaid reduces the chances of a student’s admission to a FL university. On the surface, the school shouldn’t care whether the student has FL Prepaid or not, because they should still be receiving the same amount of money per credit, whether it’s the family paying the school directly or whether it’s the FL Prepaid Plan paying on behalf of the family. It’s still the same amount per credit, right? That was my initial reaction. However, because of the ‘tuition differential’ that FL Prepaid now charges for new families who purchase the plan after 2007 (I believe that’s the date), those with existing plans who are grandfathered in are actually paying a reduced amount for tuition. If (and this is a big IF) FL Prepaid is making up the difference and paying the school out of its own funds, then the college shouldn’t care whether the family has FL Prepaid or not, because they are receiving the same amount per credit, whatever that per credit fee is. However, if FL Prepaid is not making up the difference, and the school is in the hole by the differential amount, then there could be some merit to this conspiracy theory. Schools do consider Net Tuition Revenue per Student. When state universities accept students from out of state, this tends to increase the Net Tuition Revenue per Student. In recent years, when FL universities were granted permission to increase tuition 15% per year (beyond the annual 8% authorized by the Legislature), it has put increased pressure on the FL Prepaid program to stay in business. Now, with some schools like UF and FSU requesting permission to hike tuition as much as 30% per year, there will be undue pressure on the entire FL Prepaid system to the point where its founder, Stanley Tate, has expressed fears that it will doom a program that cannot sustain a two-tiered tuition system.
My recommendation is to consider BOTH in state public universities as well as out of state colleges and universities, including private schools. Most colleges and universities around the nation will accept funds from the FL Prepaid Plan (news to many FL families who think that their plan is only accepted by FL schools). College acceptance has become increasingly competitive at both state and private universities. This trend is likely to continue.