The College Solutions Blog

May 12, 2010

In these hard economic times, it’s best to cast a wide net when applying for colleges. But most college students continue to stay close to home. Staying close to home for college can sometimes be a mistake.  For some students, the best colleges — financially and economically — will be a time zone or two away. Why aren’t state schools...

April 1, 2010

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...

March 18, 2010

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...

February 25, 2010

Beginning this week, it became much harder for college students to obtain a credit card. Many college kids who aren’t 21 yet must get a cosigner to obtain a student credit card. Frankly, I think that’s a good thing. A far better alternative to that first credit card in college is a debit card, which you can use just about...

February 15, 2010

How much is a college degree worth? Turns out that a bachelor’s degree might not be as valuable as you think. For years the College Board has suggested that a college graduate earns about $800,000 more over his or her lifetime than high school graduates. This earnings figure, however, is apparently way off. The real lifetime earnings advantage could be...

February 12, 2010

I wanted to follow up on yesterday’s post: How Much College Loan Debt Is Too Much? In that post I talked about what is an acceptable level of college loans that students should assume. That post prompted Stuart, a blog visitor, to ask me this question about PLUS loans: What about the parents? What is a reasonable amount of student...

February 9, 2010

What schools offer the best college financial aid? Last month, I wrote this post: 51 Colleges With the Best Student Financial Aid. Please take a look at the list because it includes schools with awesome financial aid policies that will reduce your stress about how you will pay for college. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Amherst College assembled...

January 17, 2010

Beware of  The Princeton Review’s latest college rankings of the 100 Best Value Colleges for 2010. Here’s why I’m not a fan of Princeton Review’s generous college rankings: Some parents who use this list on their college search could up spending more than $200,000 for a college degree. Some deal, huh? Kiplinger’s best value college rankings doesn’t make clear who...

January 11, 2010

Want to research colleges, but not sure where to start? It’s no surprise. When I just typed “college” into Google, I got 634 million college websites. To make your job easier, I’m sharing wonderful websites that can help you assemble a great list of colleges. If you want to research specific colleges, here are my Top 10  College Websites: College...

January 1, 2010

Happy New Year. I want to usher in 2010 by sharing 10 of my college blog posts from last year that I think will help you: Cut the cost of college. Find scholarships. Snag better financial aid packages. Locate great schools. Cutting the cost of college with better grades How to Negotiate for a Better Financial Aid Package Will Saving...