Save $20,000–$100,000+

on College Through

Early Planning and

Financial Positioning

Most families only focus on admissions. Learn how strategic college planning and financial positioning can help reduce college costs—even if your income is too high for traditional financial aid.

Get the Free 4-Year High School Game Plan

Designed for parents of 9th–11th grade students

✅ 13+ Years Experience
✅ 500+ Families Helped
✅ College Funding Optimization Strategy™

⭐One family almost crossed Yale off their list because they assumed it was unaffordable. With proper planning, their daughter attended Yale for roughly the same cost as a California State University.

Welcome Families!

Welcome to Digital College Planner, your essential resource for stress-free college preparation. As an experienced college planner and parent, I understand the challenges of navigating the admissions and the college funding process. My mission is to empower busy parents like you to guide your high school freshman or sophomore towards college success, saving time and energy. Our proven strategies, digital courses, and personalized resources simplify the journey, ensuring your child stands out and thrives. Ready to start planning?

What we offer

Prefer to Learn

At Your Own Pace?

Digital Course & Products

Learn at your own pace with practical tools and step-by-step guidance designed to help your family navigate college admissions and reduce college costs with confidence.

Perfect for parents who want to:

✓ Save money on college through smarter planning

✓ Understand admissions and

financial aid

✓ Build a strategic college list

✓ Maximize grants and scholarships

✓ Stay organized from 9th–12th grade

✓ Make confident college decisions

✓ Learn from an experienced college funding strategist—without the cost of ongoing one-on-one consulting

Start Planning Today

Need More Personalized Help?

Our digital courses and planner are designed for families who want to confidently navigate college admissions and funding on their own.

If you'd like expert guidance tailored to your family's situation, we're here to help.

Many of our one-on-one clients include:

✓ Business owners

✓ Higher-income families seeking to maximize financial aid

✓ Divorced or single parents

✓ Families with multiple children in college

✓ Applying to selective private colleges

We can help with:

✓ Choosing the right colleges & majors

✓ Building a strategic college list

✓ Financial positioning to maximize aid

✓ FAFSA & CSS Profile preparation & review

✓ Personalized college funding strategies

✓ Ongoing one-on-one support

Not sure if one-on-one planning is right for your family?

Schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation to discuss your situation and see whether personalized planning is the right fit.

Schedule a consultation

Meet Your College Planning Consultant - Lea Cruz

Coaching from experience professionally and personally!

Imagine this: you’re in a room full of parents whose children are in their junior and senior years. A frequent comment you’d hear is, “We wished we would've started sooner.” This realization hits hard when they face the complexity of college admissions and college funding—missed opportunities, neglected steps, and a rush to catch up because they thought they had more time. I’ve heard it countless times in my 13 years specializing in college preparation. This scenario is precisely what I aim to prevent for you.

The personal story here isn’t just about my experience as a college planner—it’s also about my journey as a parent. Early planning with my own child didn’t just make the college application process seamless; it allowed my child the opportunity to explore interests, build a compelling academic resume, and confidently apply to his dream schools. I am passionate about helping other families replicate this strategy, ensuring that they’re not caught off-guard

by admissions competitiveness.

"I am so pleased that I was able to work with Lea as we prepared for my daughter to select and go to college. I definitely needed the support, guidance and assistance and that is what I received; actually, I am still depending on it!

She could not be happier with her college choice, it was exactly what she wanted; rigorous curriculum with a supportive community in a beautiful setting-and I’m so happy that after the grants and scholarships we received through proper strategizing that I’m able to send her there."

- Evelyn A.

I am very happy with the service provided for financial college planning by Excel. Lea is very knowledgeable and thorough. She absolutely knows a lot about the difficulties of college planning. I would highly recommend her. She is also a pleasure to communicate with. She goes the extra mile too. The college planning process is so complex so any help is worth it. This is your kids future so why leave it in fates hands. So happy I made a proactive decision and called Lea.

-Kendrea R

My family has worked with Ms. Cruz, since 2014, when our twins were still in high school and we were trying to navigate the whole college application and financial planning process. Ms. Cruz helped every step of the way and four years later, we also used her services for our youngest son. Ms. Cruz is very knowledgeable and caring. She listened to our needs and really personalized her services to meet our family's needs. Even today, I can reach out to her and know that she will respond in a timely fashion and answer all of my financial questions. I highly recommend Lea and her team!

-Rosie G

Excel College Planning lead by Lea has been critically helpful. She and her team are professional and personable taking the daunting tasks away from the process. My wife and I highly recommend rendering their service. We have three children and rendering their service was a must. We have one more child to go and we know we will be in good hands with Lea and her team!

George & Tiffany