The College Solutions Blog

March 12, 2013

This is the time of year when students are receiving their financial aid awards. I’m sharing a letter today from a mom who is unhappy about financial aid letters that her son has been receiving. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Hi Lynn, I’m a parent relatively new to the financial aid process and I have a question.  Once you have completed the FAFSA...

January 21, 2013

Are you intimated at the prospects of tackling your financial aid applications? Join the crowd. It’s easy to make mistakes on the forms and these errors could cost you a ton of money. Resources exist, however, to help you survive the process. Here are six resources to get you started: 1. Use FAFSA on the Web. The federal government can...

November 14, 2012

My last post focused on whether families should indicate on a college application whether they will seek financial aid. Here’s my position: if you need financial aid to attend college, you should apply for aid. In case you missed it, here is the post: Why Failing to Apply for Financial Aid Can Be a Mistake My post prompted a mom...

November 12, 2012

Here’s a variation of a question that I always get at this time of year: Someone told me yesterday that it’s better to answer “No” to the “Do you intend to apply for need based financial aid” question on the Common Application.  My son has already submitted his applications and he answered “yes” to that question as we are not...

November 2, 2012

Many parents worry that their college savings accounts will kill their chances for financial aid. If that’s what you’re stressing about, here’s my advice: take a deep breath! Most families who save for college are not hurt in student financial aid considerations. Why Your Savings Won’t Hurt Financial Aid Chances Here are the two biggest reasons why saving money often...

October 15, 2012

I’m sharing an email that I received from an anxious dad in North Carolina, who asked me for advice about an early decision application.  I ran this post last year, but it will be just as helpful today for those contemplating applying to colleges via early decision. Here is what the dad wrote: Dilemma from a Dad from North Carolina...

September 28, 2012

Many of the misconceptions that people possess about the college process revolve around financial aid. So with the college admission season heading into high gear, I am sharing the four financial aid myths that are probably the most common. Myth No. 1:  I make too much money to qualify for aid. You shouldn’t automatically assume that you won’t qualify for...

August 15, 2012

As I’ve said many times, students shouldn’t be applying to colleges unless they have a good idea of what those institutions will cost them. It’s easy to obtain these formerly elusive cost figures now that schools have installed net price calculators on their web sites. Today I’m sharing the results from a mom (Lynne) who has used the net price...

August 7, 2012

When students are developing their college lists, most of them (unless their parents are wealthy and don’t mind writing monster checks) should be paying attention to the net price of all their school picks.  Net price is what a school will cost you after scholarships and grants are deducted. An email that I received from a mom over the weekend...

July 24, 2012

I’ve been linking my posts to the federal student aid sites for years, but I haven’t done it with any enthusiasm. These websites, which have included information about federal student loans and grants, have been disjointed and borderline unhelpful. The websites reeked of bureaucratic jargon and didn’t provide any context for federal aid programs. I felt sorry for the parents...