The College Solutions Blog

January 30, 2013

In my last post, a mom (Rebecca) expressed her frustration with merit scholarship policies. Many parents responded, which I appreciate. It’s clearly an issue that parents like to vent about. If you missed the post, I’d urge you to read it: Are Merit Scholarships Are Fair? I have been in a position similar to what Rebecca described. When my daughter...

January 29, 2013

I wanted to share this note that I got today from a mother, who wonders about the fairness of merit aid scholarship policies. In my next post, I’ll comment on Rebecca’s note. I’d urge you to share your thoughts on this subject in the comment box below. — Lynn O’Shaughnessy Hi Lynn, I would love it if you would write...

January 18, 2013

I’m answering a quick financial aid question that I received on my Facebook page. Plenty of parents are asking the same question. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Mom’s Question: My son applied Early Action to a number of colleges and has gotten into a variety of them with varying amounts of merit aid. Even with this aid, the schools are still very expensive....

January 16, 2013

Do you assume that most teenagers face lousy odds of getting accepted into a good college? Lots of families believe that the admission process is stacked heavily against applicants, but this isn’t true. I largely blame the media’s obsessive coverage of the most elite universities for that misconception. A report from the College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2012, clearly...

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 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 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...

November 30, 2012

This week the National Association for College Admission Counseling released its 10th annual report on college admission trends. Here are some of the study highlights: College Enrollment Since the turn of the century, college enrollment has grown 37 percent. In 2000, 15.3 million Americans were attending college while today there are more than 21 million. The number of high school...

November 14, 2012

My last post focused on whether families should indicate on a college application whether they will seek financial aid. Here’s my position: if you need financial aid to attend college, you should apply for aid. In case you missed it, here is the post: Why Failing to Apply for Financial Aid Can Be a Mistake My post prompted a mom...