The Dean’s Desk · For Counselors, Schools & Districts
College financial aid expertise to support the work you do.
Help families understand college costs, evaluate financial fit, and make informed decisions throughout the admissions process.
Parent presentations. Counselor training. School partnerships. Personalized support for your families.
A partner in your work
Bring financial fit into the conversation.
Your work brings together a student’s interests, strengths, and goals. Understanding what a family can afford adds another layer, especially when financial aid questions require closer analysis.
I help families examine how their financial circumstances and each college’s policies may shape their options. Together, we can bring that information into the conversation while there’s still time to use it.
Ways to work together
Support for your families.
Expertise for your community.
Parent Presentations & Financial Aid Nights
Give families a shared foundation for understanding college financial aid and affordability.
Presentations can address need-based and merit aid, net price calculators, financial fit, FAFSA and CSS Profile preparation, or financial aid offers.
We’ll discuss your audience, where families are in the process, and the questions you want the session to address.
Discuss a Parent PresentationProfessional Development for Counselors
Practical training that connects financial aid knowledge to everyday college counseling.
Sessions can explore federal and institutional aid approaches, net price calculators, Common Data Sets, and merit research.
Help your team ask better questions, interpret available information, and recognize when a family’s situation needs individualized review.
Discuss Counselor TrainingSchool & District Partnerships
Bring college financial aid education into your school’s college planning program throughout the year.
Develop a coordinated series of parent workshops, counselor training, and practical resources around your community’s needs.
A partnership might begin with financial aid foundations and list planning, continue with application preparation, and return in spring for offer comparison and appeals.
Discuss a PartnershipFinancial Aid Strategy for Your Families
Connect a family with The Dean’s Desk for a focused consultation or a broader engagement.
- Income, assets, and financial complexity
- Financial fit of an existing college list
- FAFSA and CSS Profile preparation
- Offer review and appeal strategy
- Financial strategy across senior year
With the family’s permission, I can coordinate with you so the findings inform your ongoing counseling.
Explore Family Services Refer a FamilyProfessional perspective
What colleagues say
“Christina Lopez’s remarks to our senior parents at the opening of the school year were both insightful and deeply reassuring. Drawing on her extensive experience in college admissions and financial aid, she provided a thoughtful and balanced perspective on a process that often feels overwhelming to families.”
“I have had ample opportunities to see Christina talk with large groups and small ones, in settings structured or those requiring more off the cuff and candid responses. She has the uncanny ability and the boundless charisma to connect with any crowd. Christina continues to be one of the most talented speakers I know–she gets to the heart of the matter, she knows her stuff, and she is magnetic.”
“Her decades of experience working in the ever changing, highly selective admissions and financial aid field, combined with her commitment to helping students and families, and her sterling reputation as a highly regarded professional by educators, make Christina an invaluable advocate.”
“Christina was clear, engaging, and incredibly informative. My students especially valued hearing about supplemental essay strategy from an expert who has spent years on the admissions side of the desk. Her depth of experience reading and evaluating applications comes through immediately, and she has an engaging way to clearly translate that expertise into practical guidance students can actually remember.”
Meet Christina Lopez
An institutional perspective.
A practical partner.
I’m Christina Lopez, founder of The Dean’s Desk and former Dean of Enrollment Management at Barnard College.
My career at Barnard and NYU included admissions, financial aid, and enrollment leadership. That experience shapes how I help families understand the relationship between college admission, institutional priorities, and affordability.
I bring that perspective to your school community or counseling practice through clear teaching and individualized financial aid strategy.
More About ChristinaLet’s work together
What does your community need?
Whether you’re planning a financial aid night, looking for training for your team, or helping a family work through a complicated situation, let’s identify the right next step.
Get in Touch