FTC Disclosure: Understanding the Reported Financial Aid Results of Lampert Educational Resources LLC dba Afford.College and SOFA.College
Effective date: October 8, 2025
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
At Lampert Educational Resources LLC d/b/a Afford College and SOFA College, we take pride in the results our students achieve. We believe in transparency, and we want you to have a clear understanding of the financial aid figures we present in our marketing materials. This page explains what our numbers mean, how they are calculated, and what you should consider when evaluating them.
Our goal is to comply with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advertising guidelines, ensuring that our claims are truthful, not misleading, and supported by evidence.
1. Our Reported Financial Aid Data
The financial aid numbers we report, such as average savings and total awards, are based on data voluntarily submitted by users of our system to our partner, the College Funding Service Center. After receiving financial aid award letters from colleges and universities, some of our clients choose to share them with us, while others do not. The figures we publish are an aggregate of the "free money"—scholarships and grants—listed in those letters.
Key Points About Our Data:
- Self-Reported Data: The information is provided by a portion of our users who have chosen to share their results with us. It does not represent all users of our system.
- Based on Award Letters: The totals are derived from the actual financial aid award letters submitted to us from each college. Each award letter is counted separately. This means that a single student submitting three award letters from three different colleges will have all three awards included in our totals.
- "Free Money" Only: Our calculations include grants and scholarships that do not need to be repaid. Student loans and work-study programs are not included in these figures.
2. Summary of Recent Results
The following table summarizes financial aid awards reported to us over the past four full academic years (2022-2025). These figures form the basis of the average savings claims you might see in our advertising.
|
Category |
Four-Year Total Savings |
Number of Students |
Four-Year Average Savings per Student |
|
Public Colleges |
$29,515,626 |
856 |
$34,480 |
|
Private Colleges |
$87,682,384 |
812 |
$107,983 |
|
Combined |
$117,198,010 |
1,668 |
$70,262 |
3. Historical Award Data (2009-2025)
In addition to our four-year averages, we have been tracking self-reported financial aid awards since 2009. The table below displays the total dollar amount of grants and scholarships submitted by our users each year. This data results in a combined total of over $2.2 billion in reported awards since 2009.
|
Year |
Public School Awards |
Private School Awards |
|
2009 |
$9,549,751.00 |
$57,221,882.00 |
|
2010 |
$13,535,302.00 |
$74,333,235.00 |
|
2011 |
$16,222,620.00 |
$85,873,410.00 |
|
2012 |
$17,934,751.00 |
$93,600,073.00 |
|
2013 |
$20,245,244.00 |
$108,395,991.00 |
|
2014 |
$24,414,524.00 |
$124,405,291.00 |
|
2015 |
$27,064,590.00 |
$132,462,328.00 |
|
2016 |
$27,760,969.00 |
$130,751,970.00 |
|
2017 |
$27,719,402.00 |
$119,234,214.00 |
|
2018 |
$31,091,279.00 |
$122,307,101.00 |
|
2019 |
$30,870,583.00 |
$113,130,591.00 |
|
2020 |
$26,698,338.00 |
$113,934,285.00 |
|
2021 |
$33,141,113.00 |
$120,540,959.00 |
|
2022 |
$35,461,358.00 |
$113,624,451.00 |
|
2023 |
$33,935,152.00 |
$110,995,105.00 |
|
2024 |
$28,989,206.00 |
$90,476,436.00 |
|
2025 |
$29,515,626.00 |
$87,682,384.00 |
|
TOTALS |
$434,149,808.00 |
$1,798,969,706.00 |
|
Combined Total |
$2,233,119,514.00 |
|
4. Important Disclosures and What This Means for You
When you see a claim like, "Our system on average typically gets you these results," it is based on the data described above. It is an average of past results as reported by a segment of our users. It is not a guarantee of your individual results.
Here is what you should understand about these claims:
- These results are not guaranteed. The amount of financial aid a student receives depends on many factors, including their family's financial situation, their academic record, the colleges they apply to, and the availability of funds at those institutions. Your individual results will vary.
- The average is calculated from a specific dataset. The savings figures are based on 1,668 award letters submitted to us over the past four years. Although these results come from numerous submissions, they may not represent the typical outcome for all users of our system, as many users do not submit their award letters.
- Correlation, not causation. The students who submitted these award letters also used our system. While we believe our system offers valuable guidance, these results should not be taken as a guarantee that using our system will lead to a specific amount of financial aid.
We encourage you to use our system as a tool to help you navigate the financial aid process. We believe it can assist you in finding opportunities and making informed decisions. However, the ultimate responsibility for securing financial aid lies with you and the colleges with whom you work.
5. Short Disclosure Statements for Marketing Claims
Here are some options we use for shorter disclosure statements. We place an asterisk (*) next to the claim, which links to this full disclosure page.
a. Option 1 (Concise):
* Average savings are based on 1,668 financial aid award letters voluntarily submitted by our users over the past four years. Your individual results may differ. This does not guarantee future results.
b. Option 2 (More Detailed):
* This figure shows the average savings per award, based on 856 public and 812 private school award letters voluntarily submitted by our users from 2022 to 2025. Financial aid is not guaranteed, and individual results may vary. Many factors affect financial aid awards, so your experience may differ.
c. Option 3 (Direct and Simple):
* Based on self-reported user data from the past four years. This is an average, not a promise. Your results will vary depending on your individual circumstances.
d. Option 4 (For the $2.2 Billion+ Claim):
*Based on the cumulative total of grants and scholarships from 2009 to 2025, as voluntarily self-reported by a segment of our users. This represents a historical total and does not indicate current averages or guarantee any specific outcomes.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this FTC Disclosure: Understanding Our Reported Financial Aid Results, please contact us:
- By email: [email protected] and [email protected]
- By visiting this page on our website: [[ Contact Website Link ]]
- By phone number: 571-432-5671
- By mail: Peter Lampert, 2679 W Main Street Su 300 #904 Littleton, CO 80120
