The College Solutions Blog

October 13, 2022

From Applying early decision to college is often a highly effective way to increase the odds of getting accepted at many colleges that offer this admission option. At plenty of colleges, applying early action can also boost admission odds. Students and parents, who are interested in applying early decision or early action, need to know the advantages and disadvantages of...

December 2, 2021

An easy way for you to cut your college costs can be as easy as depositing money into a 529 account for  just 24 hours. After moving money into a 529 account, many savers can quickly turn around and withdraw the cash to pay for their child’s college tuition and other qualified expenses. Here’s why you would want to make...

November 24, 2021

Upcoming changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will make it easier for grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents and anyone else outside the nuclear family to help with college costs without hurting eligibility for financial aid. Before explaining the change, it’s important to understand what the situation is right now. Currently, parents are supposed to share on...

October 19, 2021

In my last college blog post, I wrote about the pros and cons of applying to college early decision. Here is more to consider before you apply early decision or early action to college: 1. While students who apply early decision to a college must promise to attend the school, as a practical matter, a college can’t force an accepted...

March 30, 2020

When should you appeal a financial aid letter? I wanted to answer this question from a mother in Seattle because during this coronavirus pandemic, it’s relevant to many more families. If you haven’t received enough help to pay for college, please keep reading and good luck! Lynn O’Shaughnessy Question: If you’ve had one financial setback and you think more are...

March 27, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting the higher-ed world hard. Colleges across the country shut down during a crucial time in the college admission season. It’s the spring when colleges heavily court high school seniors as they urge them to attend their schools in the fall. But this year’s accepted student days were cancelled. Campus visits dried up. Previous freshmen enrollment...

March 26, 2020

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, I decided to answer a college question a day for stressed out parents and students. In today’s question, I am tackling the question of a dad from Los Angeles regarding making a college deposit during the coronavirus pandemic. I hope you find it helpful! Lynn O’Shaughnessy Question: Our original plan was to visit colleges after...

June 17, 2018

In honor of Father’s Day, I am rerunning a post that I wrote back in 2009 about my dad. In the main photo, he is watching one of his granddaughter’s play basketball with family including my daughter Caitlin with the broken arm. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Today I’d like to share a 65-year-old story that illustrates the power of a college degree,...

August 14, 2017

How do you know if the colleges that interest your teenager would provide him or her with an excellent education? You won’t. College pricing is inching closer to transparency thanks to net price calculators and other tools,  but it’s difficult to form an educated opinion about the strength of a school’s learning environment. Evaluating an Institution’s Professors To get a...

December 20, 2013

Want to take your mind off college for the holidays? I don’t blame you. Here’s my suggestion to do just that. Sit back and listen to some fascinating lectures from some of the most intriguing people on the planet. You can find more than 1,500 lectures by visiting the website of TED, a nonprofit which originally got its name by...