BY CATHERINE TSAI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
EDGEWOOD -- Some people get paid to do other people's tax returns.
For $700, Patt Bailey helps students plan for college.
Since May, Ms. Bailey has been running a franchise of Ohio's The College Store from her home in Northern Kentucky. CEO Jim Noth opened the Ohio store in Bridgetown in 1994.
The store is actually a service that matches students with colleges according to a student's grades, test scores, activities, possible majors and other factors. The store then sends a letter with the student's photo to request information from each matching college. Students also get scholarship information, advice on negotiating tuition and a two-hour seminar to prepare for the ACT.
Ms. Bailey's Edgewood business is among a handful of franchises in California, Florida, Texas, Virginia and South Carolina.
But Ms. Bailey isn't just the president of her franchise. She, her son and her stepson were also customers of The College Store in Ohio.
She used the service to help the boys, seniors this fall, find colleges.
"I got so excited that someone could help me with the process," she said. "I thought, if these boys could earn one $1,000 scholarship, it would pay for itself."
Ms. Bailey said she also thought the service would save her the trouble of researching colleges alone.
"Just on those two factors, I was sold," she said.
Ms. Bailey's enthusiasm for the service soon led to her own franchise in Kentucky.
Beyond Ms. Bailey and The College Store, students can get help with the college search from high school counselors, from Web sites like College Board Online, or from books like The Scholarship Book at public libraries.
Despite having served 1,200 students, the store hasn't turned a profit for its owners so far, Mr. Noth said. But it has received no complaints, he said, though some parents call asking why their child didn't win more scholarships.
Other parents are satisfied.
Peggy Carovillano's son Brian, 18, used the service to choose the University of Cincinnati. Mrs. Carovillano said it was "well worth" its price.
"It saved a lot of the footwork that you would have to do," she said.
There's a way to use The College Store for free, too. Some businesses sponsor students by picking up the fee. In return, sponsors get a certificate of recognition and the "bragging rights" of sponsoring someone, Ms. Bailey said.
Representatives from the store also visit high schools in the fall to describe what they offer.
For more information, call Ms. Bailey at 344-8860.
