The College Solutions Blog

April 10, 2009

Colleges loath the “N” word. Administrators hate it when parents call them up and want to negotiate a better financial aid package. Well, that’s too bad. Colleges cost too much money for families to automatically agree to a six-figure commitment. If you’re going to negotiate, however, you’re nearly out of time. The traditional deadline for deposits to secure a spot...

March 21, 2009

Community college scholarships are going begging. That’s what the faculty senate president at a community college in San Diego told me this morning when I bumped into him at the dog park. He wasn’t talking about federal Pell Grants or other state or federal aid. He was referring to community college scholarship that benefactors have started at particular schools. Sometimes...

March 17, 2009

Will my chances for college financial aid be hurt if I have saved for my child’s college education? I an always running into parents (usually dads) who worry that their college savings accounts will penalize their chances for financial aid. These parents also tend to be angry at the prospect that colleges will reward families who saved nothing. My response...

February 13, 2009

I’m in the midst  of organizing my family’s taxes, which is one reason why I haven’t been as faithful to my blog. I’ve got my receipts, 1099 forms, statements from financial institutions and other documents scattered all over my oak dining room table. When my husband, son and I eat at night all this stuff gets pushed to the side...

February 10, 2009

If you want to be scared straight about college costs, read a Forbes Magazine article entitled The Great College Hoax.The piece argues that graduates who believe that a college degree will start them off on a yellow brick road that leads to greater salaries and a $1 million lifetime advantage over the poor souls who never make it past high...

December 1, 2008

FAFSA. This acronym has made millions of parents weep. That may be overstating it, but it’s turned the college application process into more of a hassle than it needs to be. FAFSA is a clumsy acronym for an even more awkward title: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Every time I mention FAFSA during a conversation or a speech I...

October 6, 2007

Last week I talked about how it’s important to determine whether your family will qualify for financial aid or not before you embark on that great college odessey. Once you’ve got a pretty good idea of where you stand on that score, you’ll want to look for schools that are either generous with financial aid, merit aid or both. A...