I didn't get the memo.

I'm English. We moved to America years ago. It took me longer than it should have to realise how much a four-year US degree actually costs, and how different the system is from the one I grew up with.

When the maths finally landed, I started researching. Every scholarship database, every financial aid forum, every “how to pay for college” article I could find.

What I noticed: families who can afford a private counsellor learn which schools offer automatic merit aid, which states have tuition reciprocity agreements, how to appeal financial aid packages, and which deadlines actually matter. Everyone else gets “fill out the FAFSA and hope for the best.”

The information exists. The opportunities exist. Most families just don't know where to look.

So I built KidToCollege to put it in one place.

Every auto-merit grid. Every scholarship. Every in-state tuition route. Every financial aid appeal template. Free to use, for any family who wants it.

It's built by a parent working through this himself, not an admissions industry insider with something to sell.

- Kester Hodgson, Texas dad and founder