— For High Income & Achieving Families
Most families
start with college.
Smart families
start with the future.
You've built wealth. You've raised a high-achiever. Now the college bill arrives and it feels like the system is designed to work against you. It doesn't have to be this way.
— The Problem
High-income families
are the ones most unprepared.
If your household earns over $150,000, the system tells you that you won't get aid — so most families don't plan. They just pay. And it costs them dearly.
They confuse need-based aid with merit aid
Need-based aid and merit scholarships are completely different systems. Most families never pursue merit money because they assume they don't qualify for anything.
$40K–$120K left on the table
They choose schools based on prestige, not strategy
The college your student wants and the college that will reward your student financially are often different schools. Strategic fit changes the financial outcome entirely.
The "dream school" trap
They start planning too late
Merit aid positioning, FAFSA strategy, and asset protection decisions must happen years before applications. By senior year, most of the levers are already locked but we can still help.
Planning starts in 9th grade
— Meet Your Strategist
The consultant who speaks every language of college planning.
I'm Stephanie Gibbs — a Certified College Planning Strategist, financial planner, high school counselor & dual enrollment counselor, NIL educator, and certified AI consultant. I'm also the CEO of College Planning Professionals and Sharkey Financial, serving high-net-worth families across Southern California and beyond
Most advisors know one lane — admissions or finance. I sit at the intersection of both, which means I see moves that specialists on either side miss. That intersection is where your family's money is.
— Free Education
A YouTube channel built
for families who refuse to overpay.
Every week I publish videos that show high-income families exactly how the merit aid system works, how to read and negotiate award letters, how to leverage dual enrollment,
and how NIL changes the game for student-athletes.
No fluff. No generic advice.
Just the strategy your financial advisor and school counselor probably don't know.
lMerit Aid Strategy
Six-figure aid for families who "make too much"
Award Letter Decoding
How to read, compare, and negotiate every offer
NIL Training
The overlap nobody else is covering on YouTube
AI-Powered Planning
Use of AI tools for the college planning process
Dual Enrollment Savings
Arrive at college with a semester or more — for free
New videos every week.
Subscribe so you don't miss the money.
Join families who are learning the strategies that high-income households aren't supposed to know about.
— My Signature System Solution
The FOCUS Framework
for college planning.
F
O
C
U
S
Future of Work
Choose a major and career path aligned with where the economy is heading — not where it's been.
Opportunities
Identify the scholarship, merit aid, and dual enrollment opportunities your student is best positioned to win.
College Strategy
Build a strategic school list where your student is a strong fit — academically, socially, and financially.
Upgrade Skills
Use dual enrollment, AP, and extracurriculars to strengthen your student's profile and reduce future tuition costs.
Smart Money
Strategically position your family's assets and income to maximize every dollar of potential financial aid.
— Families We've Helped
The results speak
for themselves.
We thought we made too much to get any aid. Stephanie showed us how to build a college list where our daughter received $68,000 in merit aid from her first-choice school. We had no idea this was possible.
College Planning Client · Class of 2025
The award letter negotiation alone paid for Stephanie's services five times over. She knew exactly what to say, when to call, and how to frame the appeal. Most families just accept the first offer.
CPP Client · $42K Additional Aid Secured
Our son is a recruited athlete and we had no idea how NIL would affect his financial aid or what questions to ask coaches. Stephanie walked us through every piece of it. A game changer.
Student-Athlete Family
NIL + College Planning Client
Work With Us
Your student's future is
worth a 30-minute strategy call.
© 2026 College Planning Professionals