The College Solutions Blog

November 11, 2016

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...

June 29, 2015

How do you generate ideas for a college list that doesn’t look like everybody else’s? Students typically end up looking at a fairly narrow lineup of schools, which is not always a smart strategy if you want to find good academic fits, as well as colleges that will be more affordable. Today I want to share the following three helpful...

May 21, 2015

Creating a college list can be intimidating. And it’s no wonder since there is a lot riding on drawing up a solid list of promising colleges and universities. Getting it wrong can lead to students being miserable at their schools. It also is a reason why so many unhappy undergrads end up transferring to different institutions. In extreme cases, creating...

July 18, 2014

The following guest post was written by my friend Michelle Kretzchmar, who created an incredibly helpful college blog called DIYCollegeRankings. Michelle, a data analyst by trade, created her own college rankings when she was looking for a college for her son. She is launching a four-week course in mid August that will help you discover great value schools by using...

March 26, 2014

Along with Michelle Kretzschmar at DIY College Ranking, I am launching a five-week course  – Cutting the Cost of College – on April 16 that will provide you with a step-by-step blueprint on how to make college more affordable. This class is recommended for the parents of teenagers, independent college consultants, high school counselors and financial aid professionals, who want...

July 29, 2013

Today I’m sharing with you a guest blog from Michelle Kretzschmar, my friend and the creator of Do It Yourself College Rankings. Michelle and I are busy developing an online class for parents that is focused on shrinking college costs.We hope to roll out the course in the fall. Lynn O’Shaughnessy As the cost of attending some the nation’s colleges...

July 8, 2013

If you missed our college webinar on Sunday, here is a second chance to listen. This webinar is part of a series that Michelle Kretzshmar of Do It Yourself College Rankings and I have been holding this summer. In this webinar I demonstrate a handy College Board tool that will help you form a good idea about whether a school...

June 19, 2013

Does saving for college (or any other savings for that matter) hurt your chances for financial aid? It’s a question that I’ve heard many times from parents who are worried that their home equity, as well as money they have saved for retirement, college and other financial goals will kill their chances for need-based aid. If you’ve been stressing about...

June 3, 2013

On Sunday Michelle Kretzschmar at Do It Yourself College Rankings and I launched our summer college webinar series. We want to thank the hundreds of people who showed up to listen to our webinar and also a big thank you to those who asked questions. Wow. Were there a lot of great questions! If you didn’t have a chance to...