The College Solutions Blog

January 14, 2013

Today I’m answering a question from a father, who is puzzled by the Expected Family Contribution figure he generated when using an EFC calculator. I think my answer to him will be helpful for just about anybody who will eventually be filing for financial aid. If you don’t understand what the term EFC is, please read this post first:  What...

January 11, 2013

I’ve been asking visitors to my college blog and Facebook page this week to send me questions regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. I am sharing some of their questions and my answers today because I know other people are just as puzzled about aspects of these two financial aid applications. If you...

January 9, 2013

Now that we’re officially into the 2013-2014 FAFSA season, I wanted to answer some questions on my college blog that I’ve gotten about financial aid forms. If you have your own questions, please leave them in the comment box below. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Mom’s question: Try as I might I still can’t get my hands around the whole financial aid picture. ...

January 7, 2013

It’s extremely easy to make financial aid mistakes. Paula Bishop, a CPA friend of mine in Bellevue, WA., who has filled out countless financial aid forms for clients, tells me that she’s never seen any parent complete a  application without at least one mistake.  Now that’s depressing and it can also be costly if you insert even one error in...

January 4, 2013

Today I’m sharing with you a post written by Mark Skoskiewicz, who is the founder of MyGuru, a provider of in-person and online private ACT tutoring based in Chicago, IL.  Mark attended Indiana University-Bloomington and holds an MBA from Northwestern University-Kellogg School of Management. – Lynn O’Shaughnessy When I talk to parents and students I tell them that the ACT...

January 2, 2013

What happens if your child recently received a college admission deferral in the mail? Plenty of students, who applied to schools via early action and early decision applications, received their deferral notices around the holidays.  The news clearly wasn’t the kind of gift these teenagers were expecting, but students need to understand that a deferral doesn’t mean that their hopes...

December 24, 2012

I wanted to wish everyone who visits my college blog a happy holiday. Unless you are a high school senior or the parent of one, I’d suggest this is an excellent time to forget about college for a week. That’s what I intend to do, which is why I won’t be writing any more blog posts until 2013. I am...

December 21, 2012

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that most students dread writing their college essays. I fear that the task will become harder for many students beginning in the next admission season. As I mentioned in a previous post, the nonprofit that overseas the Common Application has announced plans to eliminate what many consider to be the best college...

December 19, 2012

Many of you probably aren’t aware of the changes that are in store next year for the main essay in the Common Application. The news isn’t good.  After conferring for 1 1/2 years, a committee of counselors decided to strike a blow against teenage creativity. If you’ve seen the Common Application, you can appreciate that there isn’t a lot of...

December 17, 2012

Winning private college scholarships can certainly help make college more affordable, but you need to know the realities of competing for college cash. My pet peeve about private scholarships is that people assume that they are the biggest source of college cash when they are really the puniest. Before you start hunting for private college scholarships, here are eight facts...