The Western New York Chapter of the AMEDF welcomes you.

Please look at the list of workshops and programs available to help you and your student better prepare for the college challenge,   Along with these workshops, our trained advisors are conveniently located throughout Western New York in order to best service you.  Please see a list of their names at the bottom of this page.  Feel free to contact our chapter by email or phone with any questions or comments you may have.  We look forward to making your transition to college as smooth as possible. 

  Workshops

Everything You Need to Better Prepare for College, a free workshop for parents of high school students. This program provides a comprehensive overview of the entire college preparation process from freshman to senior year in high school, including financial strategies that may save thousands off of even the most expensive colleges. Includes a calculation of the Expected Family Contribution, evaluation of a student’s admissions profile, and a review of thousands of colleges, all provided for free as a community benefit program entirely funded with community contributions. AGENDA

Reference materials for this workshop can be accessed by clicking here.

  Scholars Program™

The Scholars Program™ is a comprehensive, extended guidance program for college preparation. The flagship of AMEDF programs, the Scholars Program™ is designed to help parents better prepare their high school student for the college challenge.

All Scholars Program™ participants receive

• A student MyRoad™ account
  College Board’s college and career planning website.
  
• A Scholars Program™ Instructor
  Up to three hours of individual conference time with your AMEDF certified advisor, plus an orientation conference.
  
• Career Selection and College Choices group conference
  Designed to help you and your student determine suitable career options, integrate with guidance, evaluate aid eligibility, filter appropriate college choices, research college profiles, determine admissions fit, and prepare a step-by-step plan for college.  A thorough overview of MyRoad™, your online research tool, is included in this session.
  
• College Aid & Financial Re-Engineering group conference
  This conference will help you eliminate inefficiencies in your finances in order to better afford college expenses.  This session will address issues like restructuring your finances for college, analyzing your budget, reallocating assets in order to avoid aid penalties, comparing loan options, utilizing tax credits and tax incentives for college, and coordinating your assets for college and future needs.

Find out more information regarding the Scholars Program™ by reading our brochure online: Scholars Program™ brochure:

To enroll, complete and return our Scholars Program™ Enrollment form today!

ALREADY ENROLLED?  See Group Conference dates here.

  Individual Counseling and Help for the Recently Unemployed

Special Winter 2009 Subsidies for Counseling Sessions are Now Available in WNY!

The American Education Foundation has obtained special funding for additional one-on-one college counseling sessions in WNY.  This special funding is in response to the current economic crisis that has made paying college costs much harder for many families, especially for households affected by job loss.   Funding has been committed for an 8 week period from February 2 through March 30, 2009. Sorry, this program is not yet not available to families in the Northern NJ or Charlotte NC chapter areas.

Families with high school students can reserve up to 5 hours of private counseling sessions under this special subsidy and requests will be granted on a reservation basis.  Preference will be granted to families with current high school juniors (graduating class of 2010), seniors (graduating class of 2009) and college students who have participated in one or more AMEDF programs.  Requests for subsidized counseling will be granted until all of the funding is exhausted.  Subsidies for counseling sessions are available at 70%, 85%, and 100% levels based on family income and employment status.  Workshops are 100% subsidized and free to the public. 

Funding is also being made available for a new workshop entitled, "College Costs and the Dislocated Worker" to help unemployed and under-employed parents utilize new aid provisions for college. This session is free to the public, but seating is limited.  In addition to the currently scheduled session, future sessions may be offered based on need.  Check for program dates in the WNY Workshop Dates section of this page.

More information about both of these programs.