The College Solutions Blog

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

Reciprocal agreement

Losing a Full-Ride Scholarship

Today I want to share a cautionary tale of a student who lost her full-ride scholarship. Her dad wrote and asked me for advice because the family can’t handle the out-of-state tuition at Louisiana State University. Frankly, this should never have been an issue for his daughter because she won a full-ride scholarship to Southeastern Louisiana University. I’ll let the...

Cutting the Price of Out-of-State Universities

The price tag for attending an out-of-state public university can be quite high. It’s easy to understand why. States are interested in holding down the costs for their own residents. You might, however, be able to capture a higher-ed bargain if your state maintains a reciprocal agreement with its neighbors. States commonly maintain reciprocal agreements with public colleges and universities...

January 8, 2010

10 Things About College That High School Counselors Don't Know

Yesterday I wrote this provocative post: Why High School Counselors Don’t Know Much About College. Today I wanted to follow up with 10 things that the typical high school counselors doesn’t know. Here goes: 1. There are roughly 50 colleges and universities in the country that are no-loan schools, which means they meet a student’s financial aid need with grants...

December 28, 2009

5 Ways to Cut Tuition Costs At Out-of-State Universities

Want to attend a public university outside your state? Often the out-of-state tuition costs are far greater at state universities, which naturally prefer to keep the costs lowest for their own residents. You can, however, find public universities willing to cut their state tuition for outsiders. Here are five ways to cut the costs of attending a public university outside...

February 15, 2009

Getting A Break on Out-of-State Tuition

No doubt most teenagers who attend state universities never look beyond their borders. If you’re a kid living in Los Angeles, the cost of going to UCLA or Berkeley is going to be cheaper than attending another flagship like the University of Texas or the University of Michigan. What keeps plenty of kids from wandering too far from home is...

September 6, 2008

Public Universities That Are Addicted to Out-of-State Students

I read a story in the Wall Street Journal yesterday about the flood of students from the Northeast who have been heading west to attend Indiana University. Among Indiana’s newest crop of freshmen, there are roughly 260 kids from the New York City area alone. With the snootiest schools on the East Coast continuing to reject nearly all comers, more...

Getting an Academic Bargain Across State Lines

If you want to attend a public university outside your state, the price tag can often be outrageously high. It’s easy to understand why. States are usually only interested in holding down the costs for their own residents. You might, however, be able to capture a higher-ed bargain if your state maintains a reciprocal agreement with its neighbors. States commonly...