The College Solutions Blog

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

Federal financial aid
March 8, 2010

How To Decode a Financial Aid Letter

It’s the college financial aid season. Some parents are still struggling to complete their financial aid application, while others are just beginning to receive their financial aid packages in the mail. Once you receive a financial aid award, the challenge is to decipher it. I’m going to help you master these financial aid letters by looking at the scholarships, grants...
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April 28, 2009

Fill Out The FAFSA!

Everybody whose child is in college or is heading there in the fall needs to repeat after me:  I will not leave money on the table. Huh? I suggested the oath after I discovered that millions of students are not applying for federal student aid. According to a new analysis by Mark Kantrowitz, who runs FinAid.org, 8.4 million students never...
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March 17, 2009

Will Saving for College Penalize My Chances for Financial Aid?

Will my chances for college financial aid be hurt if I have saved for my child’s college education? I an always running into parents (usually dads) who worry that their college savings accounts will penalize their chances for financial aid. These parents also tend to be angry at the prospect that colleges will reward families who saved nothing. My response...
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February 22, 2009

Simpliflying the FAFSA

It’s hardly news that the FAFSA is a pain to fill out. There’s been many calls in Washington to dumb down the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, but nothing has worked yet. The New York Times published a front-page story today on the latest calls to simplify the federal financial aid form. Reformers suggest there are a couple of...
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December 1, 2008

Financial Aid: The Word on FAFSA

FAFSA. This acronym has made millions of parents weep. That may be overstating it, but it’s turned the college application process into more of a hassle than it needs to be. FAFSA is a clumsy acronym for an even more awkward title: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Every time I mention FAFSA during a conversation or a speech I...
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