The College Solutions Blog

November 6, 2008

Don’t overlook free money. That’s unfortunately happening too often as students and families try to figure out how to pay for college. A recent study from the U.S. Department of Education concluded that nearly 40% of full-time students who attend community college don’t fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Even more amazing, 29% students with family...

November 4, 2008

It’s ridiculous trying to compete with the election hoopla, but I’m going to try and then I’ll be following the returns for the rest of the night… During the Bush years, the federal government argued that colleges and universities needed to prove that they are successfully educating their students. While I agreed with George W. Bush on few issues —...

November 2, 2008

It’s hard to give much thought to college with election day in sight. I’m heading to a phone bank in San Diego shortly, but I thought I’d write a quick blog. I received an email the other day from a dad in St. Louis, who heard me give a talk about college while I was back there last week. The...

October 31, 2008

Here’s a news bulletin that’s certainly appropriate for Halloweeen: The cost of a bachelor’s degree has climbed again. According to the College Board, tuition and fees for the 2008-09 school year jumped anywhere from 4.5% to 6.5%, depending on the type of institution. Here are today’s typical tuition costs: Four-year public institution: $6,585. Four-year private college: $25,143. Community college: $2,300....

October 29, 2008

When I woke up this morning I was still thinking about a young woman who I talked to last night. I was in my hometown of St. Louis to give a speech about college strategies to a large gathering of CPAs and I also squeezed in a book signing at a Barnes & Noble during the visit. At the bookstore,...

October 27, 2008

When my daughter was looking at colleges I used to worry that Caitlin would get a raw deal from a school simply because she was a girl. At many liberal arts colleges, 60% of the students are girls and 40% are boys. Some college administrators believe that the tipping point is reached when women make up more than 60% of...

October 25, 2008

One of the niftiest tools you can use when evaluating whether you can afford a college or university is its Common Data Set. When I was researching my book, The College Solution, I remember I was excited when I discovered the Common Data Set. Anytime that I research a school, I check out its latest Common Data Set. When you...

October 22, 2008

In my last post, I shared how you can get a pretty good idea if your family will qualify for financial aid. You need this information if you are eager to slash the cost of your child’s bachelor’s degree. Here’s an example:  Let’s suppose a bright teenager, whose parents are wealthy, gets accepted into Georgetown University in Washington DC. Here...

October 20, 2008

We visited Drew University today, which is a beautiful campus in New Jersey that’s located in a forest. My son was impressed by the physics chairman, who was nice enough to meet with him and answer his questions for 45 minutes. Ben was also intrigued by the squirrels that are attracted by all the trees on the campus. (You can...

October 19, 2008

I was visiting Wheaton College in Norton, MA, yesterday with my husband and son, who is just beginning to get interested in finding a college. While I was at the beautiful campus during the fall open house, I sat in on a session devoted to financial aid. Lots of parents had showed up to hear the financial aid officer and...