The College Solutions Blog

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

FAFSA
Featured image for “12 Expected Family Contribution Tips”
May 25, 2021

12 Expected Family Contribution Tips

One of the biggest questions that parents with college-bound children puzzle with is if their child has a chance for financial aid. The first step that you should take when grappling with this issue is to obtain your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). You should do this before seriously exploring your teenager’s college options. This is more confusing than you might...
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Featured image for “What’s Critical in a College Admission Checklist”
November 27, 2017

What’s Critical in a College Admission Checklist

Using  a college admission checklist is critical when your child is applying to colleges and universities. Allowing  a teenager to apply to any colleges without a solid game plan can be a financial and academic disaster. In fact, ignoring advance planning is one reason why ONE OUT OF THREE students who start at four-year universities end up transferring somewhere else....
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December 19, 2016

11 Common FAFSA Mistakes

If your child will be heading to college next fall, you should be tackling the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and, if applicable, the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE now. While filing for financial aid is extremely important, it is incredibly easy to make mistakes which can hurt your family’s ultimate awards. In this post, I’m sharing 11 FAFSA mistakes to...
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Featured image for “9 Signs That Your Teen Graduates with Student Loans”
November 11, 2016

9 Signs That Your Teen Graduates with Student Loans

Today I’m happy to share a guest blog post by Michelle Kretzschmar, who is the creator of an incredibly helpful website called DIYCollegeRankings. If you’re looking for colleges and wondering how you’re going to pay for them, I’d urge you to visit Michelle’s website! Lynn O’Shaughnessy By Michelle Kretzschmar Many people don’t know how much they’ve borrowed from college until...
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Featured image for “10 Things to Know About the New FAFSA Changes”
October 13, 2016

10 Things to Know About the New FAFSA Changes

Big financial aid changes have arrived for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. If you’re hoping that your child qualifies for financial aid, you need to know what these major new developments that kicked off this month. Millions of parents annually fill out the FAFSA. Completing this aid application is necessary to qualify for...
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Featured image for “10 Things You Need to Know About Expected Family Contributions”
July 28, 2016

10 Things You Need to Know About Expected Family Contributions

One of the biggest questions that parents with college-bound children puzzle with is if their child has a chance for financial aid. This is more confusing than you might think because at some schools a family could qualify for need-based aid if they make $200,000 a year and at another school, the ceiling for aid could be $70,000. The first...
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Featured image for “Two Ways Parents Can Borrow for College”
July 11, 2016

Two Ways Parents Can Borrow for College

Will you need to borrow to pay for college? As I mentioned in my last post, if you need to borrow the best loan will usually be the federal Direct Loan. These loans are the responsibility of students, but parents can repay this loan for their children. If you missed the post on student loans, here it is: The Best College...
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January 10, 2016

Q&A: Financial Aid Applications

This is the time of year when people are filing for financial aid. In this post, I’m sharing a few of the questions that I’ve gotten about applying for aid. What financial aid applications do my husband and I have to fill out if we want financial aid for our child? All colleges require parents to file the Free Application...
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Featured image for “Answering Your FAFSA Questions”
January 12, 2015

Answering Your FAFSA Questions

Now that we’re officially into the 2015-2016 FAFSA season, I wanted to share some questions that I’ve gotten about financial aid forms via my blog and my popular online courses for professionals and for parents. If you have your own questions, please leave them in the comment box below. To avoid costly FAFSA mistakes, I’d recommend downloading an invaluable new...
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Featured image for “Getting Ready to Tackle the FAFSA”
December 9, 2014

Getting Ready to Tackle the FAFSA

FAFSA season officially starts on Jan. 1, which is when students who will be attending college in 2015-2016 can begin completing this critical financial aid form. Families must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid  to qualify for need-based aid. The FAFSA is the federal financial aid form that roughly 20 million financial aid applicants complete every year. Sadly,...
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