The College Solutions Blog

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

Net price calculators
Featured image for “10 Things You Need to Know About College Net Price Calculators”
September 18, 2017

10 Things You Need to Know About College Net Price Calculators

Here is what typically happens during college admission season: Students apply to whatever colleges they want without having any clue about whether these schools will give them grants and/or scholarships. Parents are often nervously okay with their children disregarding price when finalizing their lists. The attitude of these moms and dads can be summed up this way:  Go ahead and...
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November 11, 2016

9 Signs That Your Teen Graduates with Student Loans

Today I’m happy to share a guest blog post by Michelle Kretzschmar, who is the creator of an incredibly helpful website called DIYCollegeRankings. If you’re looking for colleges and wondering how you’re going to pay for them, I’d urge you to visit Michelle’s website! Lynn O’Shaughnessy By Michelle Kretzschmar Many people don’t know how much they’ve borrowed from college until...
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September 1, 2015

Don’t make this dangerous college mistake

Here is what typically happens during college admission season: Students apply to whatever colleges they want without having any clue about whether these schools will give them grants and/or scholarships.  Parents are often onboard with their children disregarding price when finalizing their lists. The attitude of these moms and dads can be summed up this way:  Go ahead and apply...
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November 4, 2013

How to Spot a Lousy Net Price Calculator

As I’ve mentioned in previous college blog posts, net price calculators allow you to obtain a personalized estimate of what a school will cost after deducting any scholarships and grants that your child might be receiving. Before you let your child apply to any colleges, make sure you have used each school’s net price calculator. Unfortunately, not all calculators are...
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Featured image for “College Abacus:  A One-Stop Shop for Net Price Calculators”
October 9, 2013

College Abacus: A One-Stop Shop for Net Price Calculators

Today I’m sharing a conversation that I had yesterday with Amy Seldin, the founder of College Abacus. College Abacus is the place that I’d recommend heading to when you want to use any college or university’s net price calculator. If you don’t know what a net price calculator is, here is a brief description: A net price calculator will provide...
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March 1, 2013

Save Money By Reading This Book

I’ve got to confess that it’s rare that I find a book about college strategies that I like. Today I wanted to share with you a book that I actually believe is helpful. The name of the book is Right College, Right Price: A New System for Discovering the Best College Fit at the Best Price.  Frank Palmasani, who is...
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October 24, 2012

A Great New Tool to Pinpoint Financial Aid Awards

Earlier this year, I wrote a college blog post after hearing from an affluent mom in Washington state named Lynne, who used 66 net price calculators (!!) to determine which schools would offer the best awards to her bright daughter. Making Cost Comparisons a Snap It can take a long time to using these invaluable net price calculators and clearly...
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June 27, 2012

Is It Okay to Hide Home Equity?

If you missed it, on Monday I wrote a post for my college blog on the dramatic impact that home equity can have on a family’s financial aid package. Here is the link:  Will Your Home Equity Hurt Financial Aid Chances: A Case Study If you read the post, you’ll see that even a huge amount of home equity (in...
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August 2, 2011

5 Things High School Seniors Should Be Doing Now

If you are a rising high school senior, you probably thought you had all summer to get prepared for the upcoming college admission frenzy. But guess what? You’re running out of time. To avoid the time crunch in the fall, here are five things you can do now: 1. Examine school prices. I think it’s reckless to apply to a...
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July 14, 2011

A New Way to Add Up the Cost of College

A New Way to Add Up the Cost of College By the end of October, colleges and universities across the country must install a net price calculator on their websites. As I’ve mentioned previously, these net price calculators are going to be a tremendous boon to families. For the first time, a family will have a reasonable idea of what...
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