The College Solutions Blog

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

College Savings
March 7, 2012

Could College Affordability Become Fashionable?

Last week my best friend was complaining to me about how expensive Mount Holyoke College is. My friend’s daughter is a sophomore at the women’s college and she makes too much money to qualify for any financial aid. My friend can afford the tuition, but for the first time she was expressing her resentment that any college should cost that...
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March 1, 2012

Where Can You Find Cheaper College Prices?

In the higher-ed world, some things are highly predictable. Every year, for instance, millions of high school students head to college and every year schools raise their prices. Colleges and universities have rightfully taken a lot of flack for their annual price hikes. Traditionally, that’s been especially true with private institutions and particularly at the institutions that are now reaching...
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3
March 1, 2012

Where Can You Find Cheaper College Prices?

In the higher-ed world, some things are highly predictable. Every year, for instance, millions of high school students head to college and every year schools raise their prices. Colleges and universities have rightfully taken a lot of flack for their annual price hikes. Traditionally, that’s been especially true with private institutions and particularly at the institutions that are now reaching...
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3
February 23, 2012

Cash and the FAFSA

Today I’m sharing a guest post from Kenneth O’Connor, director of student advocacy at cuStudentLoans.org, which is a source for private student loans. If you end up shopping for a private student loan, the best place will almost always be at a credit union, but that’s a topic for another day. O’Connor  has written a post about how the Free...
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November 28, 2011

Will Saving for College Hurt Your Chances for Financial Aid?

Many families worry that their college savings accounts will kill their chances for financial aid. It’s been my experience that it’s usually dads who get stressed out about how colleges will treat their college accounts for financial aid purposes. Some fathers whom I’ve talked are down right bitter. They are especially incensed at the possibility that families that didn’t set...
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2
October 12, 2011

What is Your Expected Family Contribution?

What is Your Expected Family Contribution? Do you know what the term Expected Family Contribution or EFC means? Most of you probably don’t so I’m devoting the next couple of college blog posts to explaining what an Expected Family Contribution or EFC is and why it’s so important. If you file for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal...
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September 21, 2011

Last-Minute Investing in a 529 College Plan

Are 529 plans only for younger children? Not by a long shot. Many parents with college-bound teenagers, however, assume that their days of contributing to a 529 plan is over. By this time, parents are beginning to drain their 529 plan. You could save a bundle in taxes, however, if you continue to contribute to a 529 savings plan —...
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2
April 20, 2011

How Grandparents Can Safely Help With College Costs

I got a question this week from a mom about grandparent contributions to college. It’s great to have generous grandparents who want to help with college costs, but you don’t want any gifts to backfire. Here are five things to keep in mind when grandparents want to help with college: No. 1. If your family isn’t going to qualify for...
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2
March 16, 2011

Making Our Last College Payment!

My husband and I reached a milestone yesterday. We made our last payment for our daughter’s bachelors degree. Caitlin is graduating from Juniata College in May and we’ve managed to pay for her degree — she double majored in business and Spanish — without taking out loans.  I should have bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate, but my husband...
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January 30, 2011

529 College Plan: A Dirty Little Secret

Ever hear about college taxes? No this isn’t a joke. If you aren’t careful you could owe college taxes on your 529 plan. Nobody tells you that you could ultimately owe taxes on a 529 college plan, but plenty of people discover this nightmare during tax season. Before I get to the bad news, let me review why parents gravitate...
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