The College Solutions Blog

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

Student loan
April 23, 2012

What You Need to Know About Borrowing for College

As recently as the early 1990s, most students did not take out college loans. Today about two out of every three students borrow to pay for college. One reason for the dramatic change is this fact: during the last-quarter century, tuition has risen four times faster than the consumer price index. The typical student borrower is now leaving school with...
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June 23, 2011

The Nuts and Bolts of Stafford Loans

This is the time of year when colleges start sending their bills out to new and returning students. And that’s why this is also the time of year when parents and students begin inquiring about college loans. This is as good a time as any then  to answer some questions about Stafford Loans, which are the most popular federal college...
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April 8, 2011

When You Don’t Have Enough Money for College

I’ve had a lot of parents  asking me lately  about whether they should give the green light to their children, who have been accepted into expensive schools without enough financial aid. In response, I want to share a cautionary post that I wrote for my other college blog over at CBS MoneyWatch. Here is part of that post: Here is...
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September 15, 2010

Coconuts and College

I knew I was in a foreign country today when I looked outside my hotel window and saw a billboard that contained this message: Be health conscience. Eat a coconut every day. I’m in Jamaica, where I’ll be the featured (and apparently heavily promoted) speaker at a first annual college conference in Kingston. What could I possibly tell these Jamaican...
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August 9, 2010

College Loan Debt Just Passed Credit Card Debt!

Americans now owe more money on their college loans than they do on credit cards. I just read about that scary reality on The Wall Street Journal’s website. According to Mark Kantrowitz, the financial aid guru over at FinAid and Fastweb, Americans owe about $829.7 billion in student loans. In comparison, consumers owe $826.5 billion in revolving credit card debt....
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July 12, 2010

Borrowing for College With a Home Equity Loan

We’re approaching the peak of the student loan season. Parents and students are struggling with the prospects of paying for all their college costs. The best loan for students is the federal Direct Stafford Loan. Earlier this month, I wrote a post that provides lots of links to my past advice on student loans, as well as education loans  for...
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April 30, 2010

Private School Loans: 6 Tips to Pick the Right Loan

If you need a private school loan, here are some final suggestions as I wrap up a week of blogging about college loans: 1. First, read this week’s posts on student and parent loans: 5 Things You Need to Know About Private School Loans College Loans: When Parents Need to Borrow 4 Things You Need to Know About Federal Student...
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April 29, 2010

5 Things You Need to Know About Private School Loans

Earlier this week, I talked with Tim Ranzetta, a national expert on college loans and the founder of Student Lending Analytics. Today, I wanted to share some of his advice about private school loans that can save you money! Here are some things that you absolutely need to know about private school loans: 1. Students should max out their federal...
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April 26, 2010

4 Things You Need to Know About Federal Student Loans

It’s that time of year when parents and students are thinking about college loans. A few days ago, I wrote a college blog post that answered this question: Federal Student Loans: Where Do I Apply? Today, I want to answer three questions about Stafford Loans, which are the most popular federal student loans. Here’s the first question: Question No. 1:...
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April 23, 2010

Federal Student Loans: Where Do I Apply?

Federal student loans are going to be a reality for most college students whether they will be freshmen in the fall or returning students. I’ve started getting questions about student loans from my college blog visitors so I’m going to start tackling them periodically. Here is the first student loan question in the queue: 1. Where do I apply for...
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