The College Solutions Blog

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

Financial aid

College Loans: When Parents Need to Borrow

Are you a parent looking for a college loan? Most of the press attention is focused on college loans that students take out, but there are parent loans as well. In case you missed them, I wrote about federal student loans in my last two college blog posts: 4 Things You Need to Know About Federal Student Loans Federal Student...

4 Things You Need to Know About Federal Student Loans

It’s that time of year when parents and students are thinking about college loans. A few days ago, I wrote a college blog post that answered this question: Federal Student Loans: Where Do I Apply? Today, I want to answer three questions about Stafford Loans, which are the most popular federal student loans. Here’s the first question: Question No. 1:...

Federal Student Loans: Where Do I Apply?

Federal student loans are going to be a reality for most college students whether they will be freshmen in the fall or returning students. I’ve started getting questions about student loans from my college blog visitors so I’m going to start tackling them periodically. Here is the first student loan question in the queue: 1. Where do I apply for...

Biggest Financial Aid Myths: Do You Know Them?

Will your family qualify for college financial aid? I bet you that most parents think they won’t qualify for financial aid although most will. Here’s a shocker: even families that make $150,000 or even $200,000 may qualify for close to $25,000 in financial aid at very expensive schools. In the college admission process, financial aid misconceptions can easily punish families....

College Costs: Don't Believe the Sticker Price

College costs for many students attending private schools are shrinking. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. That’s because what counts is not the sticker price, but a family’s “net” college costs. What do parents and students really pay after they receive financial aid and scholarships? At private colleges, only about 18% of families pay the sticker price. A new survey by...

College Scholarships: Can I Ask for More?

I heard this week from the mother of a college freshman at a private college in Texas, who posed this question: Is there any possibility of the school renegotiating my son’s scholarship if we made less money in 2009? Do most schools give money on a year-to-year basis? Let me explain why the answer to both questions is yes. First...

Student Aid: 5 Ways to Negotiate for More Financial Aid

Student aid letters are hitting mailboxes across the country this month. My son has been getting these financial aid letters and so have millions of other families. All this mail inevitably leads to a question that’s on many parents’ minds: If you are distressed with the dollar amount in a student aid letter, is it possible to negotiate for more...

Federal Student Loan Reform: Biggest in a Generation

Congress is on the verge of enacting the biggest federal student loan reform in a generation. I’ve been following the high-stakes fight on Capitol Hill between the student lending giants and the Obama administration for some time, but I didn’t feel compelled to share the news until the legislation looked like a sure thing. The Democrats have tucked the federal...

Financial Aid Award: What to Do When You Need More

Can you get a better financial aid award if you are laid off from your job? That’s the question that many parents, including my sister Julie and brother-in-law Mike are grappling with right now. Last night, I got a call from Mike, who recently received a financial aid award letter from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, where my niece Molly...

UC And Cal State Crisis Prompts Students to Look Elsewhere

The University of California and the Cal State universities are in serious financial trouble. This reality is finally resonating with teenagers, which is why more of them have applied outside the state instead of assuming that their Cal State or UC admission applications will be successful. With the UC And Cal State schools experiencing their biggest financial crisis ever, the...