The College Solutions Blog

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

Scholarships
Featured image for “Appealing a Financial Aid or Merit Award”
April 3, 2014

Appealing a Financial Aid or Merit Award

What happens when the financial aid or merit aid package that a student receives from a school is inadequate? Is it possible to extract more money from a college? I’ve been getting questions about this lately from parents who are disappointed by some of the awards their children have been receiving. One parent, for instance, told me that she was...
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March 26, 2014

How to Cut the Cost of College

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...
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Featured image for “Don’t Be Tricked By Misleading Financial Aid Letters”
March 24, 2014

Don’t Be Tricked By Misleading Financial Aid Letters

FInancial aid letters are often confusing. I believe many colleges and universities intentionally make financial aid awards hard to decipher to trick families into thinking that their institutions are being generous even when they aren’t. Obfuscation is an effective way to keep parents off balance. Since this is the time of year when students are receiving their financial aid letters,...
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Featured image for “Who Isn’t Filing the FAFSA?”
March 21, 2014

Who Isn’t Filing the FAFSA?

If you have a child in college or heading there this fall, have you filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid yet? Many parents never do file it. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Education less than 55% of high school seniors compete the FAFSA. That’s a depressing statistic when you consider that low and middle-income students...
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Featured image for “Learn How to Cut Your College Costs”
January 14, 2014

Learn How to Cut Your College Costs

Would you like to make college more affordable? I assume you do since you’re visiting my college blog. While visiting my blog and reading my book will certainly help you become a smart college shopper, plenty of parents, as well as college consultants, have urged me to create an online course that would include step-by-step instructions on how families can...
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Featured image for “Can This Student Win an Athletic Scholarhip?”
January 8, 2014

Can This Student Win an Athletic Scholarhip?

I wanted to share an email from a dad who is interested in his son getting an athletic scholarship. Goucher College in Maryland is looking for my son to play soccer, but it is expensive. Here is my question: How should I approach the college about an athletic scholarship? The Scoop on Athletic Scholarships There is no need to approach...
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Featured image for “Schools That Award Lots of Merit Scholarships”
December 16, 2013

Schools That Award Lots of Merit Scholarships

I recently wrote a post that shared the colleges and universities that say that they meet 100% of financial need for the majority of their families. If you missed it, here it is: List of Colleges That Meet 100% of Financial Need The story prompted a mom to email me over the weekend with this question: Have you ever published...
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Featured image for “10 Things You Need to Know About Private Scholarships”
December 12, 2013

10 Things You Need to Know About Private Scholarships

Winning private college scholarships can certainly help make college more affordable, but you need to know the realities of competing for college cash. Before you start hunting for private college scholarships, here are 10 things you should know about these awards: 1. Private scholarships aren’t the biggest source of college cash. My pet peeve about private scholarships is that people...
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Featured image for “How to Spot a Lousy Net Price Calculator”
November 4, 2013

How to Spot a Lousy Net Price Calculator

As I’ve mentioned in previous college blog posts, net price calculators allow you to obtain a personalized estimate of what a school will cost after deducting any scholarships and grants that your child might be receiving. Before you let your child apply to any colleges, make sure you have used each school’s net price calculator. Unfortunately, not all calculators are...
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Featured image for “Finding the Most Generous Colleges”
August 26, 2013

Finding the Most Generous Colleges

How can you find the most generous colleges? The ones that meet 100% of financial need or close to it? And what about the schools that provide merit scholarships for affluent students who don’t qualify for need-based aid? How can you find schools that provide a large number of these scholarships? You can find the answers to those questions by...
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