The College Solutions Blog

February 1, 2010

This week I’m sharing ACT and SAT prep strategies to boost your teenager’s SAT and ACT scores. In case you missed them, I’m linking to my first two SAT tips and then you’ll find my newest one which answers the question of whether you should guess on the SAT. SAT Test Strategy No. 1: Improve Your SAT or ACT Scores:...

January 31, 2010

6 Reasons to File the FAFSA Should you file the FAFSA? Here’s my answer for just about everybody, including myself: Absolutely yes. I admit it’s not fun to complete the FAFSA, which I am going to do today. If it’s any consolation, the FAFSA is easier to fill out than the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, which I am also tackling today....

January 28, 2010

Do you want your teenager to ace the SAT test or improve on a previous SAT score? Or maybe you just want to know if you can survive bad SAT results? Or maybe you’re concerned about ACT test scores. Here’s good news: There are successful SAT and ACT test strategies that students can use to improve their scores or limit...

January 27, 2010

I want to follow up on yesterday’s post that explained why saving for college almost never hurts a family’s chances for student aid. Yesterday I shared a chart that illustrates how colleges allow families to shelter a large chunk of their savings from FAFSA financial aid calculations. You can see the FAFSA chart by clicking on this link: 2 Biggest...

January 26, 2010

Are you worried that saving for college will ruin your chances for financial aid? Relax. Parents who save for college are almost never penalized in student financial aid considerations. In fact, only about 4% of families who complete financial aid forms are penalized for their savings. Here are the two biggest reasons why saving money shouldn’t hurt your financial aid...

January 24, 2010

Now’s the time to start thinking about summer programs for high school students. The number of summer school programs and camps for teens can be daunting, but there are two resources that can make the search manageable. Enrichment Alley On this site you’ll find a great database of summer programs for teenagers that you can search using criteria that’s important...

January 22, 2010

If you haven’t seen the campy You Tube musical called “Why I Chose Yale, you might want to check it out. I imagine that watching it will only increase the anxiety of any parent or high school student who thinks Yale (or some other Ivy League school) is the only higher-ed trophy worth bagging. If you feel that way, or...

January 20, 2010

When deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT test, keep this in mind: the ACT AND SAT require different kinds of skills. Some teens can significantly increase their scores just by picking the right standardized test to take.  Here are reasons why the ACT or SAT might be better than the other: Teens who do well on the ACT...

January 18, 2010

It’s FAFSA season, which is why I’ve been bumping into parents who are grumbling about filing out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s no wonder that parents grumble. The FAFSA isn’t a user friendly document and it’s easy to make mistake. Paula Bishop, a CPA friend of mine in Bellevue, WA., who fills out a lot of FAFSA...

January 17, 2010

Beware of  The Princeton Review’s latest college rankings of the 100 Best Value Colleges for 2010. Here’s why I’m not a fan of Princeton Review’s generous college rankings: Some parents who use this list on their college search could up spending more than $200,000 for a college degree. Some deal, huh? Kiplinger’s best value college rankings doesn’t make clear who...