Equipping college admissions and financial professionals with the knowledge to facilitate smart choices about higher education with college counselor Julie Spak. What are five things you will learn in this episode? What exactly is the National College Affordability Group (NCAG)? What is the history and mission of NCAG? What kind of professionals join NCAG? When is the NCAG National Conference, and what does that event entail? What should someone curious about NCAG know about it? ABOUT NATIONAL COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY GROUP The National College Affordability Group is a non-profit organization run by and for its members. NCAG provides education relevant to college admissions, financial aid and other subject matter appropriate for professionals working as financial planners and college admissions advisors.  NCAG fulfills a unique role among its sister organizations in that NCAG focuses on both college accessibility and affordability. With membership well-represented from both admissions counselors and financial professionals of all descriptions, NCAG provides a forum for conversation and collaboration. It is a tenet of NCAG that those working primarily (or exclusively) as IECs, and those working primarily (or exclusively) as in various financial services professions (CPA, CFP, CLU, RIA, etc.) must have a basic knowledge of both sides of college education (i.e. admissions and financial aid). NCAG uniquely offers timely and pertinent education to, and conversation among the full spectrum of professionals. Furthermore, NCAG alone welcomes those just launching their professional practice. NCAG offers a foundational course (Certified College Advisor), interaction with seasoned professional and informal mentoring to assist those new to the field of college planning to establish themselves with the highest standards of practice, as well as practical education. NCAG was the vanguard organization for providing education with live webinars led by subject-matter experts. NCAG webinars are recorded and made available to all of its members. NCAG seeks and exploits opportunities to advocate for an affordable and scholastically meritorious college education for students. NCAG welcomes opportunities to collaborate with sister organizations that advocate for similar objectives. NCAG is committed to integrity and transparency in college planning and counseling.  Specifically, we reject any subterfuge to sell financial products in the name of college planning, admissions counseling and financial aid assistance. NCAG urges its members to embrace unimpeachable ethical standards that always put the best interests of students and families first. To learn more, please ncagonline.org. ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you’re interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.