The College Solutions Blog

January 26, 2010

Are you worried that saving for college will ruin your chances for financial aid? Relax. Parents who save for college are almost never penalized in student financial aid considerations. In fact, only about 4% of families who complete financial aid forms are penalized for their savings. Here are the two biggest reasons why saving money shouldn’t hurt your financial aid...

January 18, 2010

It’s FAFSA season, which is why I’ve been bumping into parents who are grumbling about filing out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s no wonder that parents grumble. The FAFSA isn’t a user friendly document and it’s easy to make mistake. Paula Bishop, a CPA friend of mine in Bellevue, WA., who fills out a lot of FAFSA...

January 17, 2010

Beware of  The Princeton Review’s latest college rankings of the 100 Best Value Colleges for 2010. Here’s why I’m not a fan of Princeton Review’s generous college rankings: Some parents who use this list on their college search could up spending more than $200,000 for a college degree. Some deal, huh? Kiplinger’s best value college rankings doesn’t make clear who...

January 15, 2010

I periodically get emails from teenagers, who are freaking out because their parents plan to contribute little if anything to their college education. Many of these kids are from affluent families, who could afford to kick in far more than they are planning. I don’t understand parents with good paying jobs who have no problem dumping the entire college expense...

January 14, 2010

Close to one out of every three students who attend a state flagship university is affluent. Specifically, 30% of students at flagship universities have parents with incomes in the top 20% of all American households. This is just one of the findings of a new study released this week by The Education Trust, which is a nonprofit that promotes education...

January 12, 2010

Need help completing the FAFSA, otherwise known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid? I can sympathize with you. I’m filing out the FAFSA application myself this year and some of the schools that my son Ben is applying to have financial aid deadlines as early as Feb. 1. If you’re struggling with the FAFSA form or CSS/Financial Aid...

January 7, 2010

Is your teenager’s high school counselor an expert on college? Probably not. In fact, the odds are high that your counselor’s knowledge about college admission strategies, standardized testing and scholarships is limited.  Ironically during this period of skyrocketing college costs, financial aid is often the subject that high school counselors know the least about. Many high school counselors are unfortunately...

January 5, 2010

For  some parents, the FAFSA form has gotten simpler. And you can thank the Internal Revenue Service for that. Families which complete the online application for the spring 2010 semester will be able to push a button and import their IRS tax figures right into their Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Thanks to the IRS’s involvement, parents won’t have...

January 1, 2010

Happy New Year. I want to usher in 2010 by sharing 10 of my college blog posts from last year that I think will help you: Cut the cost of college. Find scholarships. Snag better financial aid packages. Locate great schools. Cutting the cost of college with better grades How to Negotiate for a Better Financial Aid Package Will Saving...

December 15, 2009

This is the time of year when families of high school seniors start asking questions about financial aid forms. Most parents will only need to complete the FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. A few hundred private schools also require the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. I just got a call from a dear friend, who had been notified by...