Build college lists
like the HERO you are!

For professionals using List HERO, this platform is to connect to one another and strengthen our community resources. We invite you to explore the resources, watch the videos, and contribute to the Discussion.

You’re invited to share the new Cost HERO budget calculator with your families for free! Try it yourself. We do not store the data or contact your customers.

Upcoming Webinars:

For professionals who support the transition from high school to higher education using List HERO, this platform is to connect to one another and strengthen our community resources.

You’re invited to share the new Cost HERO budget Calculator with your families – for free! Try it yourself. We do not store the data or contact your customers.

Evaluate students with the metrics used by colleges
Determine student’s competitive position
Explore data for over 1000 US colleges
Built for IECs and school counselors

Your student’s list should reflect their best academic fit and the family’s financial goals. This occurs where they sit in the top 25% of the accepted student candidate pool.

Our software has a phenomenal record of industry-recognized metrics that demonstrate student success: acceptance, retention, and 4-year completion.

Our Students' Stats:

compared to 68%  national averages*
Acceptance: 68 %
compared to 61%  national averages*
Retention: 61 %
compared to  63%  national averages*
4-Year Completion: 63 %

*IPEDS, National Center for Education statistics.

These statistics are based on 35 years of use and over 10,000 families served by Co-Founder Todd Fothergill, the architect of this software. Todd recognized in the early 1990s the rising cost of college and the willingness of parents and their students to take on excessive debt. It also was also becoming more common for enrollment management to play a bigger role in both determining which students are accepted, but and who receives the most merit award. This software is built upon the understanding that colleges continue to award this practice of awarding the best merit awards, regardless of need-based aid eligibility, to the top quartile of students in the candidate pool, regardless of need-based aid eligibility. 

Our Mission

We empower students, families, and the advisors who support them with the knowledge and tools they need to identify colleges that fit the student’s profile and the family’s budget. By streamlining and automating common aspects of the college admissions process, we are able to provide an affordable solution for more families seeking college guidance.

The benefit of our 50+ years of collective expertise makes our program and process a substantial value. We believe more students should have access to the expert knowledge previously available only to those who could afford expensive college coaching.

Cathy Copeland Titus

Co-Founder and
Admission Specialist
Email Cathy

Todd Fothergill

Co-Founder and
College Funding Expert
Email Todd

Would you like to know more?

Schedule a demo session with our expert.

Cost HERO Best Practices

Cost HERO is for early planners and for late stage budgeters. Early Planners are able to develop a college budget well in advance of incurring college costs. Late Stagers—those who already know what they need to pay—use the tool to model various ways to pay for college.

Either way, Cost HERO is one of very few tools that help you see four years of college costs, and how they get paid, in a single application.

What You’ll Need to Use Cost HERO Effectively

Using Cost HERO must be in a single session as we do not save your data. Please gather the following information before you begin using the Cost HERO calculator:

  • Parent(s) bank, investment account and 529 account statements
  • Student bank, investment account and 529 account statements
  • Grandparent or other bank, investment account and 529 account statements
  • Parent(s) most recent pay stubs
  • Monthly mortgage costs (principal, interest, taxes, insurance)
  • Total auto loan or lease payments
  • Total education loan payments
  • Total credit card payments if you carry a balance, if you pay your card in fulleach month, this does not apply to you
  • Total payment(s) for any other consumer loans
  • Current monthly amount you contribute to college savings
  • Private school tuition
  • Estimate of what it costs to have a teen in your household

Since Cost Hero does not save your data, you’ll need a plan to save your work.

We recommend that you use the “Print All” command (lower left portion of your screen) when you finish a scenario. This will provide a pdf of your work that can be saved on your computer.

You may also go back and adjust any data inputs, create another scenario and save that one, too. Once you leave the tool, all your data is cleared from the system.

If you would like to have a pdf of your work sent by email, provide your name and email address when prompted and use the Submit feature.

We hope you find this free tool useful!

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