Stephanie Harkey Gibbs, Certified College Planning Strategist (CCPS)
Stephanie Harkey, CCPS, is a nationally recognized college financial strategist with over 45 years of combined high school, independent counseling, and financial planning experience.
She specializes in the financial side of college planning, helping families understand FAFSA/CSS Profile, the financial aid process, and the true cost of college before making decisions.
College Planning Professionals was created to help families obtain money to pay for college.
To date, she has helped 16,822 students realize their dream of attending college and receive over 33 million dollars in financial aid.
My Story
I was much like you, hopeless in finding solutions to help students pay for college because my training to become a counselor did not prepare me to help families with financial aid concerns.
So I would spend countless hours consoling students and parents after their financial aid award letters arrived in April. I observed first-hand parents discover they could not afford to send their child to their top-choice college. Saddened and frustrated by these experiences, I took it upon myself to learn more about the financial aid system and get additional training about how this process worked.
I became the financial aid expert on my high school campus. Soon hundreds of families were coming to me for advice. They were saving thousands in college costs with the strategies I provided. More importantly, their students were going to college because it was affordable!!
Over the years, I developed specialized knowledge and a strategic approach to help my students pay college costs at top universities. I had to share my process with as many families as I could – thus, College Planning Professionals was born.
My primary focus is on the financial side of college planning — helping families understand costs, financial aid, pay college expenses efficiently, and how to make smart decisions before committing.
Our Focus
Choosing a college is one of the biggest financial decisions a family will ever make.
Yet most families are expected to figure it out with limited guidance and a lot of conflicting information.
College planning is often treated like an admissions problem.
In reality, it’s a retirement one.
We specialize in helping families:
✔ Understand how financial aid really works.
✔ Navigate FAFSA/CSS Profile accurately and strategically
✔ Evaluate the true cost of college
✔ Pay college expenses more efficiently
✔ Make decisions that make sense long-term
Our work centers on clarity—not pressure, assumptions, or last-minute scrambling.
Why This Matters
Every year, families make college decisions without fully understanding:
what they’ll actually pay,
how aid is calculated,
or how one mistake can impact eligibility.
By the time acceptance letters arrive, many financial decisions are already locked in.
We believe families deserve better information before that point—so choices are made with intention, not stress.
Our approach is:
✔ Personalized – every family’s situation is different
✔ Strategic – focused on planning ahead, not reacting
✔ Supportive – clear guidance without pressure
Experience You Can Trust
College Planning Professionals was built on decades of experience in education, counseling, and financial guidance.
That background allows us to:
✔ Explain complex financial concepts in plain language
✔ Anticipate common financial mistakes before they happen
✔ Guide families through financial decisions with care and accuracy
We don’t overwhelm families with jargon. We help them understand what matters most.