The College Solutions Blog

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 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 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...

January 15, 2010

I periodically get emails from teenagers, who are freaking out because their parents plan to contribute little if anything to their college education. Many of these kids are from affluent families, who could afford to kick in far more than they are planning. I don’t understand parents with good paying jobs who have no problem dumping the entire college expense...

January 14, 2010

Close to one out of every three students who attend a state flagship university is affluent. Specifically, 30% of students at flagship universities have parents with incomes in the top 20% of all American households. This is just one of the findings of a new study released this week by The Education Trust, which is a nonprofit that promotes education...

January 12, 2010

Need help completing the FAFSA, otherwise known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid? I can sympathize with you. I’m filing out the FAFSA application myself this year and some of the schools that my son Ben is applying to have financial aid deadlines as early as Feb. 1. If you’re struggling with the FAFSA form or CSS/Financial Aid...

January 11, 2010

Want to research colleges, but not sure where to start? It’s no surprise. When I just typed “college” into Google, I got 634 million college websites. To make your job easier, I’m sharing wonderful websites that can help you assemble a great list of colleges. If you want to research specific colleges, here are my Top 10  College Websites: College...