The College Solutions Blog

Valuable insights from Lynn O’Shaughnessy
a nationally recognized college expert.

Financial aid
October 24, 2012

A Great New Tool to Pinpoint Financial Aid Awards

Earlier this year, I wrote a college blog post after hearing from an affluent mom in Washington state named Lynne, who used 66 net price calculators (!!) to determine which schools would offer the best awards to her bright daughter. Making Cost Comparisons a Snap It can take a long time to using these invaluable net price calculators and clearly...
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11
October 5, 2012

Net Price Calculator Hanky Panky

I’d love to hear from parents who have tried using the net price calculators that nearly every college and university must post on their websites. Have you had good experiences or have the net price calculators tried to trick you into believing that a school is going to be affordable? I’ll mention why I am asking in a minute. First...
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12
September 28, 2012

4 Stubborn Financial Aid Myths

Many of the misconceptions that people possess about the college process revolve around financial aid. So with the college admission season heading into high gear, I am sharing the four financial aid myths that are probably the most common. Myth No. 1:  I make too much money to qualify for aid. You shouldn’t automatically assume that you won’t qualify for...
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12
September 21, 2012

A New Tool for Merit Scholarship Searches

During a workshop that I held this summer, a mom interrupted me when I was talking about a College Board search engine that parents can use when they are looking for the schools that provide the best need-based financial aid. “What if you’re not going to qualify for financial aid?” the mom asked. “Is there a search engine that will...
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3
September 19, 2012

A Shrinking Financial Aid Package

When families look at financial aid packages they often assume that a school’s financial aid support will remain the same for four years. That, however, is a dangerous assumption to make. The financial support that some colleges and universities give students will shrink after their freshmen year even as their yearly costs continue to rise. Checking Aid Packages Why would...
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9
September 14, 2012

A Trailblazer Slashes College Tuition by 33%

A report released on Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau documents what a lot of people have been feeling for many years. Household income has been eroding for so long that it has now fallen to levels last seen in 1995. Median household income is now at an inflation-adjusted $50,054, which is 8.9 percent below its all-time high of $54,932...
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3
August 15, 2012

Case Study: What 66 Schools Would Cost This Family

As I’ve said many times, students shouldn’t be applying to colleges unless they have a good idea of what those institutions will cost them. It’s easy to obtain these formerly elusive cost figures now that schools have installed net price calculators on their web sites. Today I’m sharing the results from a mom (Lynne) who has used the net price...
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22
August 7, 2012

Checking the Generosity of Your Child’s College Picks

When students are developing their college lists, most of them (unless their parents are wealthy and don’t mind writing monster checks) should be paying attention to the net price of all their school picks.  Net price is what a school will cost you after scholarships and grants are deducted. An email that I received from a mom over the weekend...
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5
July 24, 2012

A Great Website Remodel for Families

I’ve been linking my posts to the federal student aid sites for years, but I haven’t done it with any enthusiasm. These websites, which have included information about federal student loans and grants, have been disjointed and borderline unhelpful. The websites reeked of bureaucratic jargon and didn’t provide any context for federal aid programs. I felt sorry for the parents...
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0
July 24, 2012

A Great Website Remodel for Families

I’ve been linking my posts to the federal student aid sites for years, but I haven’t done it with any enthusiasm. These websites, which have included information about federal student loans and grants, have been disjointed and borderline unhelpful. The websites reeked of bureaucratic jargon and didn’t provide any context for federal aid programs. I felt sorry for the parents...
Read More
0