The College Solutions Blog

December 16, 2013

I recently wrote a post that shared the colleges and universities that say that they meet 100% of financial need for the majority of their families. If you missed it, here it is: List of Colleges That Meet 100% of Financial Need The story prompted a mom to email me over the weekend with this question: Have you ever published...

November 8, 2013

Excuse me if this sounds ridiculously elementary, but here goes: One way to cut your college costs is to look for schools with lower sticker prices. My nephew Matt attends Westminster College in Fulton Mo, a liberal arts college, where the tuition and room/board is $30,490. Ninety eight percent of the students at Westminster don’t pay full price. The average...

November 4, 2013

As I’ve mentioned in previous college blog posts, net price calculators allow you to obtain a personalized estimate of what a school will cost after deducting any scholarships and grants that your child might be receiving. Before you let your child apply to any colleges, make sure you have used each school’s net price calculator. Unfortunately, not all calculators are...

August 16, 2013

I recently received an email from a single mom who is stressed out about how she is going to afford college. I wanted to share her email and solicit suggestions from you. I have my own ideas, but I’ll hold onto them for the next post. I always love to read the suggestions from my readers so if you have...

March 22, 2013

Many financial aid letters  — heck almost all of them —  are confusing. I’ve always wondered why award letters are so difficult to understand. Perhaps the staffers generating these letters in the bowels of universities have been conversing in financial-aid speak for so long that they have lost their ability to communicate in standard English. Of course, the cynical explanation...

March 1, 2013

I’ve got to confess that it’s rare that I find a book about college strategies that I like. Today I wanted to share with you a book that I actually believe is helpful. The name of the book is Right College, Right Price: A New System for Discovering the Best College Fit at the Best Price.  Frank Palmasani, who is...

January 14, 2013

Today I’m answering a question from a father, who is puzzled by the Expected Family Contribution figure he generated when using an EFC calculator. I think my answer to him will be helpful for just about anybody who will eventually be filing for financial aid. If you don’t understand what the term EFC is, please read this post first:  What...

January 11, 2013

I’ve been asking visitors to my college blog and Facebook page this week to send me questions regarding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. I am sharing some of their questions and my answers today because I know other people are just as puzzled about aspects of these two financial aid applications. If you...

October 24, 2012

Earlier this year, I wrote a college blog post after hearing from an affluent mom in Washington state named Lynne, who used 66 net price calculators (!!) to determine which schools would offer the best awards to her bright daughter. Making Cost Comparisons a Snap It can take a long time to using these invaluable net price calculators and clearly...

October 15, 2012

I’m sharing an email that I received from an anxious dad in North Carolina, who asked me for advice about an early decision application.  I ran this post last year, but it will be just as helpful today for those contemplating applying to colleges via early decision. Here is what the dad wrote: Dilemma from a Dad from North Carolina...