The College Solutions Blog

February 28, 2011

If your family will need significant financial aid, you will increase your chances of receiving a lot of outside help if you get accepted to schools with Cadillac financial aid packages. These schools meet 100% of a student’s demonstrated financial need. Here’s an example: Let’s say that the financial aid methodology says your family can afford to pay $20,000 for...

February 24, 2011

I hadn’t planned on videotaping a college blog post on Wednesday, but I had to get my picture taken at a professional photo studio this afternoon and since that required getting my hair done, putting on makeup and wearing a crisp white blouse, I thought why not. I went to all to all this trouble because I need a photo...

February 22, 2011

I’m trying something different today. I have posted a college video of myself talking about the importance of the Expected Family Contribution. Riveting stuff! If you don’t know what your EFC is, you really should find out now! FYI, I plan on posting college videos on various topics on a regular basis....

February 18, 2011

Want to know what the nation’s most generous colleges are? If so, you’ll want to take a look at US News & World Report’s newly released list of schools. All the institutions on the list say that they meet 100% of their students’ demonstrated financial need. Not surprisingly, nearly all of the schools on this list are private. You can...

February 17, 2011

There are many websites that you can research the financial aid practices of individual schools. Today I’m going to focus on an especially helpful site — the federal College Navigator. The College Navigator is not flashy, but it contains incredible tools that tap into the US Department of Education’s vast college database. The College Navigator provides information on individual schools...

February 15, 2011

This week I’m going to focus on some financial aid nuts and bolts. I want to address one of the questions that puzzle families the most:  Will a college award my child any money? Most parents have no clue how to answer this question. In fact, they usually don’t find out if a college is willing to kick in some...

February 11, 2011

I attended a mini college conference yesterday in San Diego that was sponsored by the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC). A couple of enthusiastic young admission reps from a pair of Catholic universities back East were the presenters at one of the sessions.  I wanted to share one of the questions that the reps fielded. An audience member...

February 8, 2011

I’m resurrecting a college blog post that I wrote last spring because it’s going to be timely again when high school seniors begin getting their acceptance letters. We are approaching the time of year when parents agonize about sending their children off to expensive colleges and universities even if they can’t afford the price tag. When acceptances arrive, common sense...

February 4, 2011

Thought I’d share my response to a message that I received from a mom, who was interested in finding private colleges that just use the Free Application for Federal Student or FAFSA. Here is Patrice’s question: Is there a way to determine which private colleges use the FAFSA method for financial aid?  I would like to focus in on those...

January 17, 2011

American colleges and universities are continually getting slammed for costing too much, but there are precious few people suggesting concrete ways to shrink these costs. The Center for College Affordability and Productivity, however, has produced a white paper that lays out: 25 Ways to Reduce the Cost of College There are some excellent suggestions on the center’s list. What do...