The College Solutions Blog

March 21, 2009

Community college scholarships are going begging. That’s what the faculty senate president at a community college in San Diego told me this morning when I bumped into him at the dog park. He wasn’t talking about federal Pell Grants or other state or federal aid. He was referring to community college scholarship that benefactors have started at particular schools. Sometimes...

March 17, 2009

Will my chances for college financial aid be hurt if I have saved for my child’s college education? I an always running into parents (usually dads) who worry that their college savings accounts will penalize their chances for financial aid. These parents also tend to be angry at the prospect that colleges will reward families who saved nothing. My response...

March 7, 2009

If you want your child to snag an athletic scholarship, there’s no better sport than women’s rowing. Last year The New York Times completed an exhaustive research on the odds of winning an athletic scholarship and women’s rowing topped the list. According to the newspaper, 2,359 teenage girls row in high school and 2,295 girls receive rowing scholarships. EXCELLENT ODDS!...

March 2, 2009

Before the housing bubble burst, plenty of parents worried that their home equity was going to scotch any chance of receiving college financial aid. Even in this environment, it’s still going to be a concern for families who have owned a home for a long time. Here’s what you need to know: If your teenager applies to a state school,...

February 22, 2009

It’s hardly news that the FAFSA is a pain to fill out. There’s been many calls in Washington to dumb down the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, but nothing has worked yet. The New York Times published a front-page story today on the latest calls to simplify the federal financial aid form. Reformers suggest there are a couple of...

February 21, 2009

  When parents start talking to me about college, they often mention that they’ve been haranguing their kids about applying for private scholarships. It happened again on Wednesday night before I gave a talk at High Tech High in San Diego, which is where my son is a junior. A mother expressed frustration that her teenage son wasn’t prowling for...

February 15, 2009

No doubt most teenagers who attend state universities never look beyond their borders. If you’re a kid living in Los Angeles, the cost of going to UCLA or Berkeley is going to be cheaper than attending another flagship like the University of Texas or the University of Michigan. What keeps plenty of kids from wandering too far from home is...

February 13, 2009

I’m in the midst  of organizing my family’s taxes, which is one reason why I haven’t been as faithful to my blog. I’ve got my receipts, 1099 forms, statements from financial institutions and other documents scattered all over my oak dining room table. When my husband, son and I eat at night all this stuff gets pushed to the side...

February 10, 2009

If you want to be scared straight about college costs, read a Forbes Magazine article entitled The Great College Hoax.The piece argues that graduates who believe that a college degree will start them off on a yellow brick road that leads to greater salaries and a $1 million lifetime advantage over the poor souls who never make it past high...

February 9, 2009

Believe it or not, a handful of colleges charge less tuiton than a bag of theater popcorn. Actually, they are free.The New York Times wrote about one of the schools, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in today’s edition. Not surprisingly, students submitting 2009 early decision applications to the school, which is an amazing place for...