CW College Planner Case Study - CollegePlannerPro

CW College Planner Delivering its Services with CollegePlannerPro

Susan Wise and Julie Carbonell were looking for a way to merge current technology and their wealth of college consulting knowledge to support students with what has become the confusing and cumbersome process of college admission. CollegePlannerPro was just the tool they needed to launch CW College Planner.

Susan Wise & Julie Carbonell of CW College Planner share their success story in using CollegePlannerPro for their business

Seeking a Platform for Smarter Planning

After many years working in education and helping their own children navigate the college admission process, Susan Wise and Julie Carbonell identified a gap in the market. “We wanted to find a way to assist the more self-directed student, or experienced family, by bringing them a user-friendly framework along with the necessary guidance, curriculum and support they may need to facilitate their process.”

Julie and Susan were shocked with the lack of software resources available for families and consultants alike. Without CollegePlannerPro to manage the college research and admission process for their students, they were forced to rely on multiple resources and cumbersome spreadsheets that were complex and ultimately inefficient.

When evaluating software options, seamless integration of materials and ease of use for their students were some of the most important factors they looked for. Secondly, it was important on their end to be able to reach as many students as possible and allow ease of access to the platform and curriculum. After finding CollegePlannerPro and spending just 6 months’ time writing their college planning curriculum and setting up their CollegePlannerPro account to effectively delivery their services, CW College Planner was up and running.

CollegePlannerPro was instrumental in our business plan because we felt like it provided all the tools and resources that we needed to support a student and their family in their college planning process. Merging our college planning curriculum with CollegePlannerPro’s many features has allowed us to meet the needs of families who want to be more or less self-directed in the process.

Susan Wise and Julie Carbonell, CW College Planner

Creating a Blueprint for Success

Julie and Susan are able to take on a multitude of students at all different phases of the college admission process because of how they are set up in CollegePlannerPro. “We have created a framework using CollegePlannerPro that allows us to maximize the tools offered (checklists, multiple student files, broadcast emails, collegiate research, college notes, etc.) while creating an extensive college planning curriculum.” Because they spent the time building their process into CollegePlannerPro, they now have a cost-effective way to seamlessly deliver their services without wasting time with each new student they sign on.

CW College Planner's Favorite Features

CW College Planner relies on CollegePlannerPro’s many features to help seamlessly deliver their services. This is what they had to say about some of their favorites.

Checklist Templates

“The checklist template feature is really critical in terms of not only increasing our efficiency working with students but also ensuring that we’ve not missed any steps in the process.”

Broadcast Messages

“One of the things we love about the broadcast email feature is we’re able to queue up an email in advance.”

Conversation Module

“Students are encouraged to utilize the Conversation Module to communicate and raise questions as needed.”

College Data

“We love that CollegePlannerPro uses the Fiske Guide as one of their research components. The students in our area are very familiar with the Fiske Guide and are comfortable using it to research colleges.”

Files and Folders

“We utilize the customized folder feature to upload all of our documents in an easy to use and streamlined fashion for students. We then guide them to those documents as needed.”

Multi-Student To-Dos

“The Multi-Student To-Do feature is also fabulous. As we look at what a student should be doing on a certain date and time during their senior year, we have all of those multi-student to dos already in queue.”

A Parent's Point-of-View

Prior to launching CW College Planner, Susan hired an independent college consultant to work with her son, who is now a senior in college. The consultant Susan hired used CollegePlannerPro in her own practice. This provided Susan with a unique look at how students and parents rely on CollegePlannerPro during the college admission process. As a parent, Susan found the college profiles, data, and research capabilities some of the most helpful. She also felt as though the platform provided much needed transparency for the parent during the entire process.

“You can actually go on and see what your child’s been doing, and kind of keep track of what’s happening. I think it’s beneficial to the IEC to have those parents involved even if they’re just quietly watching from the background. You can see really all that’s going on, and it makes the experience just that much more valuable.”

Watch the clip to hear more about Susan’s experience with CollegePlannerPro as a parent.

CW College Planner's Recommendation

We would recommend CollegePlannerPro to other IECs in a heartbeat. It makes the college planning process simpler for the consultant to manage a variety of clients because there are so many features built in. You can easily track and see a dashboard of your different clients. You can pull reports in a very simple fashion to see where everybody’s at, where they’re applying, and what they’re doing. I would recommend it to the IEC because it will make you more efficient and effective in the work you do. It’s also a tremendous service for the IEC to offer their families. As either the student or the parent, it gives you access to such a wealth of knowledge. For parents, it offers you the peace of mind for knowing where your student is at in the process.

CollegePlannerPro is so easy to use, as a business and for the student, and will streamline the college planning process for students in way that makes sense for all involved.
If we meet to show a potential client our services, they love the features and demonstration we are able to provide. We have also enjoyed seeing how different students utilize the program.
Our experience with the CollegePlannerPro support team has been excellent on all levels.

A CollegePlannerPro Case Study: CW College Planner