The College Solutions Blog

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

Lynn O'Shaughnessy
Featured image for “Why You Should Worry About the New SAT Test”
January 29, 2015

Why You Should Worry About the New SAT Test

Parents and teenagers are already dreading the new, radically different SAT test that will debut in March 2016. If your child plans to take this test, you absolutely need to read the post below. Jed Applerouth, PhD, the founder of Applerouth Tutoring Services, shared his detailed thoughts about the revamped test with his own families and he gave me permission...
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Featured image for “Avoid These FAFSA Mistakes”
December 24, 2014

Avoid These FAFSA Mistakes

Happy holidays everyone! While I’m spending Christmas with family in Colorado, I decided to share this post about avoiding mistakes when completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Parents can start filing the FAFSA beginning January 1. If you missed it, here is another post I shared about the FAFSA earlier this month: Getting Ready to Tackle the FAFSA...
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Featured image for “Do Need-Blind Colleges Really Exist?”
December 16, 2014

Do Need-Blind Colleges Really Exist?

Today I am sharing a guest blog post that Jon Boeckenstedt, an associate vice president for enrollment management and marketing at DePaul University in Chicago wrote on his blog (Jon Boeckenstedt’s Admissions Weblog).  It’s rare that admission administrators speak candidly about controversial aspects of the admission process, but refreshingly Jon doesn’t hold back. People pan eriodically ask me to identify...
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Featured image for “How To Write a Great College Essay”
November 17, 2014

How To Write a Great College Essay

Today I am excited to share an online conversation that I recorded with Janine Robinson, a journalist, a consultant and the creator of EssayHell, which is a wonderful website for students who want to learn how to write a great college essay. I invite you to watch the YouTube video during which Janine and I discuss tips on creating winning...
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Featured image for “A Quick Way to Find Generous Colleges”
July 6, 2014

A Quick Way to Find Generous Colleges

How can you find the most generous colleges and universities? I’m talking about the institutions 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? In the six-minute video...
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Featured image for “Seriously: The Best Way To Cut College Costs”
June 23, 2014

Seriously: The Best Way To Cut College Costs

When you are contemplating how much a bachelor’s degree is going to cost your family, you must keep this in mind: Colleges and universities are high-stakes businesses that want to charge you more than you feel comfortable paying. Your best weapon to make college more affordable is to become an empowered consumer. I am absolutely dead serious when I say...
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Featured image for “Saying No to Northwestern University”
May 5, 2014

Saying No to Northwestern University

A highly effective way to make college more affordable is to enroll in my upcoming course, The College Cost Lab. You can learn more about the class and enroll here. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Will your child end up going to his or her dream school? The odds are that your child won’t if the college or university is a rankings alpha...
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Featured image for “We Are Done Paying for College”
April 27, 2014

We Are Done Paying for College

Last month, my husband and I sent off our final college payment. Bruce and I made monthly payments for seven consecutive years for our daughter Caitlin and our son Ben, who will be graduating from college in May. We did not take out any loans to pay for college and neither did our children. Our daughter Caitlin took the picture...
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Featured image for “How to Cut the Cost of College”
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 “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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