The College Solutions Blog

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

CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE
Featured image for “11 Common FAFSA Mistakes”
December 19, 2016

11 Common FAFSA Mistakes

If your child will be heading to college next fall, you should be tackling the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and, if applicable, the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE now. While filing for financial aid is extremely important, it is incredibly easy to make mistakes which can hurt your family’s ultimate awards. In this post, I’m sharing 11 FAFSA mistakes to...
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October 13, 2016

10 Things to Know About the New FAFSA Changes

Big financial aid changes have arrived for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. If you’re hoping that your child qualifies for financial aid, you need to know what these major new developments that kicked off this month. Millions of parents annually fill out the FAFSA. Completing this aid application is necessary to qualify for...
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January 10, 2016

Q&A: Financial Aid Applications

This is the time of year when people are filing for financial aid. In this post, I’m sharing a few of the questions that I’ve gotten about applying for aid. What financial aid applications do my husband and I have to fill out if we want financial aid for our child? All colleges require parents to file the Free Application...
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September 14, 2015

Your First Financial Aid Step

If paying for college is going to be a challenge, and it usually is, it’s important that you obtain your Expected Family Contribution before your begin looking at colleges with your teenagers. In fact, obtaining your EFC should be the FIRST STEP you take in the college process. Here is a quick rundown of what an EFC is, why it’s important, how...
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January 12, 2015

Answering Your FAFSA Questions

Now that we’re officially into the 2015-2016 FAFSA season, I wanted to share some questions that I’ve gotten about financial aid forms via my blog and my popular online courses for professionals and for parents. If you have your own questions, please leave them in the comment box below. To avoid costly FAFSA mistakes, I’d recommend downloading an invaluable new...
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Featured image for “Will Your Home Equity Hurt Financial Aid Chances?”
August 7, 2014

Will Your Home Equity Hurt Financial Aid Chances?

Have you given any thought to how home equity might hurt your child’s chances for financial aid? Luckily, at most state and private colleges and universities, the equity in your primary home is a non-issue. That’s because most schools only require families to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) when applying for financial aid, which doesn’t even...
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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 “It’s Time for FAFSA Questions”
January 6, 2014

It’s Time for FAFSA Questions

You can learn much more about how to afford college by enrolling in my upcoming online course –  Cutting the Cost of College. I designed this course to help you save money by making you a smart college shopper.    Lynn O’Shaughnessy Now that we’re officially into the 2014-2015 FAFSA season, I wanted to answer some questions on my college blog...
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Featured image for “Why College Savings Usually Won’t Hurt Financial Aid Chances”
October 14, 2013

Why College Savings Usually Won’t Hurt Financial Aid Chances

Many parents worry that their college savings accounts will kill their chances for financial aid. Most families, however, who have saved for college are not hurt in student financial aid considerations. Here are the two biggest reasons why saving money often won’t jeopardize your financial aid chances: 1. Colleges don’t care how much you (or your child) has saved for...
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Featured image for “It’s Time for FAFSA Questions”
January 9, 2013

It’s Time for FAFSA Questions

Now that we’re officially into the 2013-2014 FAFSA season, I wanted to answer some questions on my college blog that I’ve gotten about financial aid forms. If you have your own questions, please leave them in the comment box below. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Mom’s question: Try as I might I still can’t get my hands around the whole financial aid picture. ...
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