The College Solutions Blog

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

Scholarships

Financial Aid: How to Find Out If You Qualify

Today I want to share one of the many financial aid questions that I tackle in my new eBook, Shrinking the Cost of College: 152 Ways to Cut the Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree. This question happens to be one that I believe most families worry about: How do you know if you will qualify for financial aid? Here are...

What You Don't Know About Athletic Scholarships

I hadn’t planned on writing about athletic scholarships for three days in a row, but a father of a Division I athlete at Indiana University emailed some great observations that I wanted to pass along. I should mention that his daughter is a rower, which is the only sport that I know of where just about any girl who rows...

The Hazards of Chasing an Athletic Scholarship

I wanted to share a great response about athletic scholarships that I received after posting, 2 Worst Places to Find College Cash. I heard from Kris Hinz, who is a college counselor at Position U 4 College, who was agreeing with me that too many parents think that their kids are going to win athletic scholarships. Only 2% of high...

2 Worst Places to Look for College Cash

This week I intend to share with you a few of the money saving tips in my new eBook, Shrinking the Cost of Colleges: 152 Tips to Cut the Price of a Bachelor’s Degree. Inside the eBook, you’ll find the best sources of college cash. Here’s Lesson No. 1: One of the most important things you can do to shrink...

New College eBook: 152 Ways to Cut the Cost of College

Are you worried about how you’re going to pay for college? I thought so, which is why I wrote an eBook that’s packed with ways to cut college costs. The title of my new eBook is Shrinking the Cost of College: 152 Ways to Cut the Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree. Click the book icon on the right to learn...

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...

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...

January 11, 2010

Top 10 College Websites for Finding Great Schools

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 8, 2010

10 Things About College That High School Counselors Don't Know

Yesterday I wrote this provocative post: Why High School Counselors Don’t Know Much About College. Today I wanted to follow up with 10 things that the typical high school counselors doesn’t know. Here goes: 1. There are roughly 50 colleges and universities in the country that are no-loan schools, which means they meet a student’s financial aid need with grants...

January 4, 2010

Can This Teenager Win a College Scholarship?

I wanted to share with you an email that I received last night from a high school freshman, who spent her Christmas break stressing out: Dear Lynn, I am a freshman in high school, and I am enrolled in all advanced placement classes. For the first marking period, I received all B’s and one A+. My second marking period grades...