The College Solutions Blog

December 1, 2008

FAFSA. This acronym has made millions of parents weep. That may be overstating it, but it’s turned the college application process into more of a hassle than it needs to be. FAFSA is a clumsy acronym for an even more awkward title: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Every time I mention FAFSA during a conversation or a speech I...

November 29, 2008

  More colleges and universities than ever are handing out merit aid to students.   I blogged about this phenomenon right before Thanksgiving. It was one of the conclusions of a new report that was released by the National Association for College Admission Counseling that explored financial aid policies of the nation’s colleges and universities.   What I wanted to...

November 26, 2008

I have a friend who is so wealthy that she and her husband don’t qualify for financial aid even though they have three kids attending college right now. She’s a financial planner and her husband is an attorney and they can easily write checks to all three schools including Georgetown University which costs around $50,000 a year. Last spring I...

November 6, 2008

Don’t overlook free money. That’s unfortunately happening too often as students and families try to figure out how to pay for college. A recent study from the U.S. Department of Education concluded that nearly 40% of full-time students who attend community college don’t fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Even more amazing, 29% students with family...

November 2, 2008

It’s hard to give much thought to college with election day in sight. I’m heading to a phone bank in San Diego shortly, but I thought I’d write a quick blog. I received an email the other day from a dad in St. Louis, who heard me give a talk about college while I was back there last week. The...

October 31, 2008

Here’s a news bulletin that’s certainly appropriate for Halloweeen: The cost of a bachelor’s degree has climbed again. According to the College Board, tuition and fees for the 2008-09 school year jumped anywhere from 4.5% to 6.5%, depending on the type of institution. Here are today’s typical tuition costs: Four-year public institution: $6,585. Four-year private college: $25,143. Community college: $2,300....

October 25, 2008

One of the niftiest tools you can use when evaluating whether you can afford a college or university is its Common Data Set. When I was researching my book, The College Solution, I remember I was excited when I discovered the Common Data Set. Anytime that I research a school, I check out its latest Common Data Set. When you...

October 22, 2008

In my last post, I shared how you can get a pretty good idea if your family will qualify for financial aid. You need this information if you are eager to slash the cost of your child’s bachelor’s degree. Here’s an example:  Let’s suppose a bright teenager, whose parents are wealthy, gets accepted into Georgetown University in Washington DC. Here...

October 20, 2008

We visited Drew University today, which is a beautiful campus in New Jersey that’s located in a forest. My son was impressed by the physics chairman, who was nice enough to meet with him and answer his questions for 45 minutes. Ben was also intrigued by the squirrels that are attracted by all the trees on the campus. (You can...

October 19, 2008

I was visiting Wheaton College in Norton, MA, yesterday with my husband and son, who is just beginning to get interested in finding a college. While I was at the beautiful campus during the fall open house, I sat in on a session devoted to financial aid. Lots of parents had showed up to hear the financial aid officer and...