Lockwood College Prep

This “team” is fantastic! Helped us navigate the crazy process of choosing a college. Most importantly, listened to our daughter and her needs! This process is definitely not a “one size fits all”! Many thanks to Andy, Pearl and Marissa!

Andy and pearl and team handled all our questions with ease and knowledge that we were able to use in our direct dealings with schools. Pearl is a wizard at the financial form chaos and with Andy’s guidance we were able to get 14,000 more from one of our daughters targeted schools. They know this business thoroughly and we won’t hesitate to use them again or recommend them to friends who can use expert help.

Andy and pearl and team handled all our questions with ease and knowledge that we were able to use in our direct dealings with schools. Pearl is a wizard at the financial form chaos and with Andy’s guidance we were able to get 14,000 more from one of our daughters targeted schools. They know this business thoroughly and we won’t hesitate to use them again or recommend them to friends who can use expert help.

We absolutely love Lockwood College Prep. Andy and Pearl go way above what they need to do to help you. Without them we would’ve been lost in the process. Their expertise and perfect timing allowed us to stay on track and focused at all times. With their help my daughter was able to achieve unbelievably high scores on her AC T. (My daughter did not have to go back and retake to superscore.) I cannot say enough about how great their small classes are. We saved money by not having to repeat the classes or tests which also resulted in less stress for my daughter. I would absolutely without any reservation recommend Andy and Pearl for all your college needs. We were able to negotiate and save tens of thousands of dollars over four years which resulted in a 57% discount in the cost of attendance (including room and board). Without hesitation we will be using them for our younger daughter...

I appreciate their iconoclastic approach that bypasses conventional thinking and identifies the deeper opportunities available.

Andy took the time to speak to me by phone and really listen to what my fears were regarding applying for aid for my daughter- as being self employed and my daughters father being unavailable for FASA forms posed some roadblocks , although I felt I "was the only person in the world " dealing with this type of situation , he assured me I was not , and gave me some examples of other clients similarly they worked with in the past . I do not have a huge amount of time and really needed to work with people that knew how to get the job done efficiently , Pearl and Andy were experts in exactly how to handle my specifics and my daughter received a financial aid package I never in my wildest dreams thought would come to her . I found working directly with Pearl , things moved along quickly and she made it stress free , returning all emails , calls and knowing exactly what to do in...

Really informative! Learned details about financial aid and FAFSA, easy to listen to, answered all our questions so that we could understand. This process is daunting but this workshop definitely gave my wife and I a starting point.

Hi Andy and Pearl!

We wanted to thank you both for all your help with our son, James. Your expertise and advice kept us sane throughout the college application process and helped James land 9 scholarships and acceptance to some great schools!

We had such a great experience working with you for our older son. It was a no brainer working with you both a second time around.

You have assembled a great team to help prospective college students like ours, and we highly recommend Lockwood College Prep!

Thanks again,

John and Pauline Messina

Andy Lockwood saved us a lot of money. We followed the advice from his book and both my sons got large scholarships and max FAFSA. Buy his book, hire him! He is an expert!

When I first joined Lockwood College Prep I wanted why I was doing People told me I could do the FAFSA myself but as you get into it you realize that pearl knows all the ins and outs to help you get through it easier still wondering to myself why I paid all this money they just do the paperwork but when my daughter got acceptance letter from brown John Hopkins Amhearst University science and Boston University all of these goals being out of my price range without taking massive loans I reached out to Andy who gave me information and assistance and got my daughters first choice school at what I feel is a reasonable cost when she received her scholarships and awards now I know why I went to Andy and pearl and would recommend Lockwood College Prep to anybody I know No matter how much you feel you know they tend to know a little more and can direct you in the right direction to...

Andy and Pearl did both my daughter's fafsa paperwork and saved us money and headaches!

The whole college preparation/application process can be overwhelming. Thinking I knew everything I needed to know because I had been down this particular road before with my oldest, I was shaken into a harsh reality that I really knew nothing. My academically strong and extremely determined middle child, set her sights on a couple of schools with a 14% acceptance rate. I knew she had the grades to shoot for these schools so through the referral of a family friend, she quickly went to work with Marissa on a one on one basis. What an incredible experience. Marissa is amazing at what she does. Analyzing my daughter's baseline scores from both ACT and SAT, she quickly focused in on my daughter's weaknesses and helped her to play up her strengths. Her first SAT was incredible. Marissa worked with my daughter through two more SAT's and I believe she was able to pull the best possible score...

Referred by trusted friends, we reached out to Andy Lockwood for advice for our son. Andy was wonderful and engaging but more than that his years of experience was clearly evident. He didn’t sugar coat anything. He was a straight-shooter and it was refreshing after the phone calls with other college advisors. Andy suggested a face-to-face meeting to meet our son, who, in the 5th grade, was diagnosed with a learning disability. Although an excellent student, determined and bright, learning for him comes with challenges. Andy suggested that we set up a time to talk with Marissa. It was critical to us that that we connect our son to a professional who understood the way in which he learns best so that the ACT test wasn’t viewed by him as something he could achieve. At that meeting, Marissa briefly explained her approach but more importantly asked questions and listened....

***** FIVE STAR REVIEW!!

We would highly recommend Andy & Pearl. Great people, sharp and funny too. They don't put up with peoples (kids & parents) crap & excuses. I like that as well.

I am all about ROI return on investment, which is why I was willing to look at this opportunity after a friend HIGHLY recommended Lockwood Consulting. Of course, I was skeptical.

I am a real estate investor. I calculate CAP rates and look at ROI for multifamily rental properties as my profession. We own close to 100 rental properties (not bragging, just want you to know I understand about ROI).... so I know a great deal when I find one.

For us, this process is all about "bang for buck" and the return on our $$$$.

Through Andy and Pearl's guidance our daughter has been accepted into her top choice school. She also got...

We are now working with Andy for the second time after he provided tremendous assistance with my eldest daughter. He recommended several schools that had excellent programs in connection with my daughter's major and then we worked those schools against each other resulting in a full tuition merit scholarship (plus a few thousand extra towards room/board) - at a major national university! If you add up the merit awards she was offered over the four years of attendance, she hit the million dollar mark (from 11 schools). He truly proved that this whole college admissions game is a business and if you know how to play the game, the schools will pay more - especially the schools that compete against each other for students in certain programs. (Andy made sure we kept detailed records and copies of all merit award letters to use as leverage between schools and we learned that the various...

Great books and webinars. I am an Instant College Funding customers and the videos were a great help for a do-it-yourselfer.

I’ve learned so much about the whole USA college application process in the short time that I’ve been immersed - and, I mean immersed. It’s all I’m doing outside of work.

It has been a very steep learning curve, as I grew up and attended university in another country. Lockwood Prep was my first introduction. I think that I got very lucky coming across their services first. The operation and books are both earnest and brutally honest in their evaluation of the process (and, funny), which has been useful in eliminating wasted time researching some of the unusual advice that I’ve encountered. I purchased both books on Amazon, but one is part of your package when you retain their services. You will find the free podcasts very informative. They are not fluffy infomercials - you will come away with real pearls that can be readily applied.

Additionally, I’ve been...

I couldn't have explained it any better than how reviewer T.Sullivan described it in his/her satisfaction with Lockwood College Consulting. With all the information given by Andy, we were able to approach the whole college process with open mindedness and awareness. Hiring Andy Lockwood for his consulting advice, and his wife Pearl Lockwood for financial aid prep services was worth every penny. The whole college planning process was a lot easier with their expert guidance. They are the best in their league. Honestly, we are extremely satisfied with the results! They've proven that they know what they are talking about! We are so glad we found them!

Thanks to Andy's College Negotiations / Appeals Master Class, I was able to negotiate an additional $11K in scholarships from my son's top-choice college. The webinar and sample appeal letters were extremely helpful. Thanks!

Don't look any further. If you're reading this review you are obviously thinking about using Andy and Pearl, and I can't imagine finding a better resource for your child's college application process. In a nutshell, Andy's candid but personal approach will save you time while Pearl's expertise on the financial side will save you money. I personally leaned on them both as my son went through a couple of twists and turns i.e. turning down an early admit he accepted then changed his mind, last minute negotiations with the 'reach, or dream' school, etc. Accessible, honest and experienced in the process, their services all paid dividends to me much greater than the fee. And no, I'm not Andy or Pearl's uncle or relative. I found them searching on the internet a couple of years ago. My final comment would be to sign up as early as possible. If you haven't figured it out by now, your...

Managing the college application process can be overwhelming, not just for the student, but for the parents as well. Because it was our first child going to college, I didn't feel equipped to advise our son. Things have changed so much since I had gone to college, and no matter how many information sessions I attended at his school, I didn't feel like I had the knowledge base that was needed to help him navigate the process. Additionally, I really didn't want to spend my son's senior year hounding him about his applications, or questioning his choices. So we engaged with Lockwood College Prep and the whole experience was fantastic! My son was able to get prompt, honest, straightforward (and often humorous) feedback on his essays. Andy helped him focus on the right topics, and steered him to elevating the quality of his writing. And I was spared from the constant nagging that I knew...

I can't say enough (all good) about Andy and Pearl Lockwood. I've attended countless webinars, which have significantly reduced the stress caused by the crazy college process. I've read Andy's books and highly recommend ANYTHING he writes. Everything is well-written and helpful...and hilarious. Even his footnotes are funny. And emails, planned or unplanned, long or short, always interesting, helpful and.....funny. He makes a chaotic process a little more tolerable, and seriously livens up the subject matter. They've answered every question I've ever asked, and I'm so grateful for that. They're running a business, but it's clear they legitimately like helping people who need it, whether they're clients or not. -Pretty impressive to me. My son is a sophomore and it's getting closer to time to drill down on what consulting he/we may need. Although we are on opposite coasts, I would be...

Highly recommend! Andy's sense of humor brightens the heavy stress of college planning.

It is too soon for us to use their services, but I totally enjoy the Friday sessions and have found his books useful.

I have used Lockwood College Prep for 9 years now. When my oldest daughter was a Jr. in High School I used to sweat every time I heard the words "college tuition", until I was fortunate to go to a seminar held by Andy Lockwood. The seminar was not only very informative, but actually very funny as well. In all honesty from that point forward, once I learned what Andy and Pearl can do for me to help me pay the "college tuition" I was totally at ease. I can of course only speak for myself, but he has literally saved me well over $50,000 since I started using him.

So if you are about to send your kids to college I HIGHLY recommend speaking to Lockwood College Prep to see how they can help you like they helped me.

I'd like to say thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood and everyone else at Lockwood College Prep. I asked for their help this past summer as the whole college finance topic was pretty confusing. It turns out I waited too long to seek the Lockwood's help and I was told, by FAFSA, that my family was wealthy beyond measure (not even close). When it was apparent that we would not qualify for need based aid, again I waited too long, my family's focus then shifted to finding help for our daughter so she could make herself an "Incomparable Applicant". This past Monday she received her acceptance letter to one of the most competitive colleges in the country. The kid, despite being related to a dope like me, is bright, well rounded and motivated, but without the Lockwood group's help it would have been WAY more difficult for her to get in. My recommendation to everyone is to start asking...

Thank you Andy & Pearl for all the "stress" RELIEF you provided in our college process planning. Thanks to Pearl our financial documents were submitted in a timely fashion. Andy's amazing way of talking with us kept us on track in every aspect. This process could've been a nightmare. With Lockwood College Prep, it has been a pleasure. Receiving the acceptances to Colleges has been wonderful!

Awesome experience! Andy went above and beyond to help make the whole process easier for me, from essay help to financial aid papers to all around great advice.

Without the Lockwoods and their team, I would have been very confused filling out college applications, I would have struggled to perfect my college essays, and I wouldn't have had as high of a chance of getting into my dream school of University of Chicago. As a proud, registered student in UChicago's class of 2022, I would highly recommend Lockwood College Prep to anyone and everyone applying to college.

I am so grateful to Andy and Pearl! They helped me both get in and AFFORD my dream school. They were super accessible and comforting on the many occasions when I would freak out about some part of the college process. I highly recommend Lockwood College Prep!