The College Solutions Blog

January 25, 2012

The federal government has been trying for years to make the Free Application for Federal Student Aid less complicated. It should get kudos for the effort, but millions of parents still mess up when tackling this financial aid form. But bless its heart, the federal government is trying, in what might be it’s biggest push ever, to make completing the...

January 24, 2012

Now that we’re in the thick of FAFSA season, I wanted to answer some questions on my college blog that I’ve been getting about financial aid forms. If you have your own questions, please leave them in the comment box below. Lynn O. Mom’s question: Try as I might I still can’t get my hands around the whole financial aid...

January 23, 2012

It’s FAFSA season so I’m going to devote at least a couple of college blog posts this week to financial aid forms. The post today was actually written by Michael Szarek, an independent college counselor with Counseling for the Rest of Us in New Jersey. If you have any questions about the FAFSA or CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, just share them with...

December 30, 2011

FAFSA season begins on Sunday. New Year’s Day is always the first day that parents can file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. While it’s been simplified in recent years, the FAFSA still isn’t what I’d call a user friendly document and it’s easy to make mistakes. Paula Bishop, a CPA friend of mine in Bellevue, WA., who fills...

December 8, 2011

If your child will be heading to college next fall, now is the time to prepare for applying for financial aid. Your first step is to know what type of financial aid applications you will have to complete. Students won’t be eligible for financial aid unless they complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. Filling out the...

November 28, 2011

Many families worry that their college savings accounts will kill their chances for financial aid. It’s been my experience that it’s usually dads who get stressed out about how colleges will treat their college accounts for financial aid purposes. Some fathers whom I’ve talked are down right bitter. They are especially incensed at the possibility that families that didn’t set...

October 12, 2011

What is Your Expected Family Contribution? Do you know what the term Expected Family Contribution or EFC means? Most of you probably don’t so I’m devoting the next couple of college blog posts to explaining what an Expected Family Contribution or EFC is and why it’s so important. If you file for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal...

October 6, 2011

Filing for financial aid can be more complicated when the parents are divorce. A Divorced Dad From Massachusetts I thought I’d bring this up because of an email that I received from a divorced dad from Massachusetts, who has not remarried. He makes about $100,000 a year and doesn’t own a home. His ex-wife did remarry and she and her...

September 29, 2011

4 Stubborn Financial Aid Myths I think that many of the misconceptions that people possess about the college process revolve around financial aid. With the college admission season about to head into high gear, today I want to share the four financial aid myths that are probably the most common. Myth No. 1:  I make too much money to qualify...

August 16, 2011

Is your family going to qualify for financial aid? Many families I talk to assume that they won’t qualify for financial aid. Why are so many parents pessimistic about their chances for financial assistance? I think a lot of them assume that the money they’ve squirreled away in their college savings accounts will kill their chances. I find it ironic...