The College Solutions Blog

Valuable insights from Lynn O’Shaughnessy
a nationally recognized college expert.

Muhlenberg College
July 3, 2012

Hope for the 3.4 GPA Student!

Yesterday I wrote a post about a teenager with a 3.4 GPA who failed to capture a scholarship from any of the schools where he applied. This is hard to do when you consider that two-thirds of college student don’t pay the sticker price for college. If you missed yesterday’s post, here it is:  Getting Stiffed by Colleges After reading...
Read More
8
July 3, 2012

Hope for the 3.4 GPA Student!

Yesterday I wrote a post about a teenager with a 3.4 GPA who failed to capture a scholarship from any of the schools where he applied. This is hard to do when you consider that two-thirds of college student don’t pay the sticker price for college. If you missed yesterday’s post, here it is:  Getting Stiffed by Colleges After reading...
Read More
8
November 22, 2011

Should You Apply to a Reach School?

Do you know what a reach school is? Many parents and teenagers don’t understand what the term means. I discovered just how elusive a concept it is during college talks that I occasionally give at high schools and other settings. When I ask, “Who knows what a reach school is?” I usually get only one or two people raising their...
Read More
9
October 5, 2011

SAT Test Takers: Pay Attention to US News’ Footnote No. 9

If you do poorly on the SAT or ACT, you can always apply to colleges and universities that are test optional. It’s been awhile since I wrote about this subject and you can find the link to a previous post below, but today I want to share with you a new twist to the trend. Getting Into Great Schools With...
Read More
0
July 15, 2011

Anatomy of a Stingy College and a Generous One

My last post focused on net price calculators that colleges and universities must have installed on their websites by late October. If you missed it, here it is: A New Way to Add Up the Cost of College Today, I want to share a nifty online tool from COLLEGEdata that can help you get a sense of how much a...
Read More
1
November 2, 2010

Should You Apply to a Reach School?

Do you know what a reach school is? I’ve been surprised recently to find out that many parents and teenagers don’t understand what the term means. I discovered just how elusive a concept it is during college talks that I occasionally give at high schools and other settings. When I ask, “Who knows what a reach school is?” I usually...
Read More
0
August 24, 2010

A Financial Aid Crystal Ball

One of the problems with paying for college is that you don’t know how much it’s going to cost. Many students won’t receive their financial aid awards until the spring. And colleges expect families to start paying a short time later. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could know well ahead of time whether a school is going to be...
Read More
0