The College Solution

Want to learn surprising ways to reduce the cost of college?

Discover college strategies by attending my free webinar. I'll include some case studies of families who have succeeded. Here is where you can register for any of the dates - Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/792031390949249795

Anyone who attends will receive my free eBook on what you need to know about early action and early decision applications.

register.gotowebinar.com

There is a HUGE difference in the prices of colleges in this country. This tool allows you in seconds to sort state and private colleges by price to find potential bargains.

Try it and let me know what you think!

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/searching-colleges-price-tag/

Searching for Colleges by Price Tag » The College Solution College price tags are meaningless. Most students do not pay full tuition price for college. That said, paying attention to college prices can be extremely helpful in making college more affordable. Here’s a simple example: Getting a $20,000-a-year merit scholarship from a school that has a publis...

Want to sort colleges across the country by price? This invaluable free tool from The Chronicle of Higher Education lets you do it!

http://www.chronicle.com/interactives/tuition-and-fees

Tuition and Fees, 1998-99 Through 2016-17 This table shows the "sticker prices" — published tuition and required fees — at more than 3,000 colleges and universities for the 2016-17 academic year. 

Any college questions today?

You can ask me directly today during my webinar at noon Pacific, 3 pm Eastern today (Nov. 3) and Sunday.

Everyone who attends will receive my 21-page resource guide on college graduation rates that includes the grad rates of more than 700 schools from best to worst.

Here is the link to register for the presentation on Six Winning College Strategies to Cut Your College Costs:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/7357228511803083265

register.gotowebinar.com

I'm holding a webinar on six college strategies today, as well as Sunday. Please join me if you have college questions! Here is where to register:https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/5664315956002034691

register.gotowebinar.com

Are you stressed (like most parents of teenagers) about how you're going to afford college?

Is so, then join me this week during my webinar when I share six INVALUABLE yet SIMPLE tips to shrink college costs.

You can learn more about the webinar via my one-minute video in my home office.

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/6-ways-cut-college-costs-live-presentation/

Six Ways to Cut College Costs - Live Presentation! » The College Solution Have you been procrastinating about seriously exploring your child’s college options? If so, I’d like to give you a supportive nudge. I’m inviting you to a webinar this week where you will discover… 6 Ways to Cut the Cost of College Click on the video of me chatting in my office to get a one-minute…

Have you run the net price calculators on the colleges on your teenager's list? If not, do it this weekend!

Any college questions for me?
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/why-you-must-use-college-net-price-calculators/

10 Things You Need to Know About College Net Price Calculators » The College Solution When college costs are an issue, parents must use college net price calculators to learn in advance what a university will cost their family.

The new FAFSA and PROFILE aid applications will be available in just 23 days. Here is a post on common FAFSA mistakes.

Any college questions today?

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/11-common-fafsa-mistakes/

11 Common FAFSA Mistakes » The College Solution Learn common FAFSA mistakes that can hurt your changes of getting financial aid. Free Application for Federal Student Aid can be tricky to complete.

Here is a primer on what the four main sources of college money are. Do you know which ones you might qualify for?

https://www.cappex.com/hq/articles-and-advice/blogs/columns/The-Four-Main-Sources-of-Grants-and-Scholarships-for-College

The Four Main Sources of Grants and Scholarships for College | Cappex To shrink the cost of college, you need to know about the main sources of free money for college.

Any college questions today?

I'm sharing a guest post on why student may not want to go to an elite school. Seriously!

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/benefits-of-attending-a-less-selective-college/

The benefits of attending a less selective college » The College Solution Attending a less selective college can provide you with advantages you wouldn't necessarily get at elite universities.

Any college questions today?

This is a sobering new report. State government cuts since the 2008 recession has driven up tuition significantly and reduced quality.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/a-lost-decade-in-higher-education-funding-state-cuts-have-driven-up-tuition-and-reduced

www.cbpp.org

Are you stressing about whether to apply early decision and early action? Here are some tips that should help!

https://www.cappex.com/hq/articles-and-advice/college-applications/calendar/What-You-Absolutely-Need-to-Know-before-Applying-Early-Decision

What You Absolutely Need to Know before Applying Early Decision | Cappex Here's everything you need to know before applying early decision.

In this post I share an awesome tool to sort colleges by price within any state or nationally. It will take seconds to use and it's free from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Any college questions today?

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/college-sticker-prices-can-matter/

When College Sticker Prices Can Matter » The College Solution College sticker prices are often meaningless because most students at state and private universities don’t pay it. Published prices, however, can be a helpful starting point when exploring what kind of price break, in the form of scholarship and grants, your child might get at a particular instituti...

Some of the worst professors for undergrads are at located Harvard. And Harvard has plenty of company among other elite universities. That is one of the conclusions that you can draw from the annual Princeton Review student survey. Here's my post on this reality:

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/colleges-with-the-best-and-worst-professors/

Colleges with the Best and Worst Professors » The College Solution Colleges with the most interesting and accessible professors and universities with the worst professors.

Anybody have any college questions today?

I'm sharing a column that I wrote that might make you happy or infuriate you.

https://www.cappex.com/hq/articles-and-advice/blogs/columns/How-College-Admissions-Policies-Favor-the-Ric

How College Admissions Policies Favor the Rich | Cappex The admission process heavily favors affluent students.

It's Friday, which means I'm happy to answer any college questions.

Here's an interesting story about a bill that would allow the federal government to create a database that would allow families to see what graduates are making at individual colleges.

That would be a very welcome development!

http://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2017/08/01/national_database_could_help_students_pick_collegeand_income_110183.html

National Database Could Help Students Pick College—and Income | RealClearEducation Routine data collected by the federal government could help students choose a college and a major—and help them calculate how much they stand to make once they graduate. Although the information...

New study shows a way for qualified students to boost their admission chances by up to 40% at high selective colleges.

http://bit.ly/2hhxdsu

How to Increase Your Admission Chances by 40% » The College Solution Should you visit a college before you apply? According to a new study, for some students there is a powerful benefit to visiting highly selective schools. According to the researchers, teenagers, who apply to highly selective colleges and visit the campuses, are up to 40% more likely to be admitted…

It's Friday! Anybody have an college questions today?

Here's a fascinating story on how grade inflation continues and particularly at high schools for affluent students.

http://bit.ly/2tQ631P

Study finds notable increase in grades in high schools nationally

Have questions about the SAT, ACT, PSAT and SAT Subject Tests, check out this extremely informative 90-page resource guide from Compass Education.

Also, it's Friday which means I'm happy to answer questions. Any college questions out there?

http://www.compassprep.com/compass-guide/

Guide

Any college questions today? It's Friday which is when I answer them.

If you missed my webinar on 8 secrets that colleges don't want you to know, listen to the replay. If you want to be a smart college consumer (alas most parents aren't), you should listen and take notes!

https://collegesolution14.lpages.co/replay-july-13/

Feb11noonwebinarreplay

To make the best college decisions, you first need to know what colleges are hiding.

I will shine the light on college behavior (that can help you save on your college costs!) TONIGHT.

Register now for my online presentation: 8 Secrets Colleges Don't Want You to Know.

https://collegesolution14.lpages.co/college-cost-webinar-11/

Insider Secrets to Shrinking College Cost Lynn O'Shaughnessy, National College Expert, conducts a Free Live Webinar on Shrinking College Cost (Q&A included)

Any college questions for me? It's Friday, which is when I am happy to answer any questions that you have.

Also, I am launching my class - The College Cost Lab - next week. If you enroll now, you'll get into the class instantly.

I am offering my loyal Facebook folks my absolute BEST DISCOUNT(15%) for new course members. Use the coupon code - Friday - for the 15% discount for today only. After today the coupon drops to 10%.

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/college-cost-lab-sales-page

collegecostlabsalespage

Do you have a college question that you'd LOVE to get answered. Here's your chance. On Fridays, I field questions here!

I used to answer college questions every Friday and then I stopped.😕 I'm going to start the tradition again. If you have a burning college question, please share with me!

Do you know the difference between a college and a university? Millions of parents don't! My post explains what a college is! You might be surprised!

..Anyone have any college questions today? Fire away!

https://www.cappex.com/hq/articles-and-advice/blogs/columns/What-Is-a-Liberal-Arts-College

What Is a Liberal Arts College? | Cappex Most students seeking a bachelor’s degree attend a university, not a college.

This summer I am going to be launching a monthly membership for parents, high school counselors and college consultants who want to learn more each month about how to pay for college and make smart college decisions.

I have been agonizing about what to name this monthly membership. I came up with The College Solution Success Club, but it sounds a bit too cheesy.

Can you come up with something better? If you come up with a name that I use, I'll give you a free membership for six months.

Please help!

Are you worried about small colleges on your list potentially closing? Check out what you can do to detect the warning signs: https://www.cappex.com/hq/articles-and-advice/blogs/columns/How-to-Tell-If-a-College-Will-Go-Bust

How to Tell If a College Will Go Bust | Cappex Colleges that you’ve never heard of sometimes offer the most tantalizing bargains for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

U.S. students and their parents are showing a lot of interest in Canadian universities lately. I'm sharing two new articles on the phenomenon.

This one just arrived in my inbox from Insider Higher Ed:
http://bit.ly/2qH95lW

This article ran last week in The New York Times:
http://nyti.ms/2rzozGg

www.insidehighered.com

College price tags are usually meaningless, but there is one BIG reason to pay attention to them. You're going to LOVE this unique college pricing tool from The Chronicle of Higher Education that I'm sharing with you today.

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/college-sticker-prices-can-matter/

When College Sticker Prices Can Matter » The College Solution College sticker prices are often meaningless because most students at state and private universities don’t pay it. Published prices, however, can be a helpful starting point when exploring what kind of price break, in the form of scholarship and grants, your child might get at a particular instituti...

5 Secrets to Cut College Costs

1. Check graduation rates

Graduating in four years can save you money, but here’s the problem:

Only 33% of students at state universities graduate in four years and just 53% of students at private colleges do. You can find grad rates at College Completion, a microsite of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Just Google “College Completion.”

2. Use net price calculators.

Net price calculators are absolutely indispensable to save you money because they provide you with a personalized estimate of what a specific college will cost YOU. You’ll learn what your real (net) price will be after the calculator subtracts any scholarships and grants for which your child is eligible.

DO NOT let your child apply anywhere without using these calculators!

Learn more about this essential tool by reading my post:

Why You MUST Use Net Price Calculators
http://www.thecollegesolution.com/32353-2/

3. Don’t count on private scholarships covering your costs.

Private scholarships represent only 7% of college money. They are often modest amounts and are usually just for one year. Instead, check out the next tip.

4. Look to colleges for major scholarships.

The biggest source of college money will often be from the universities themselves. At private colleges, 88% of freshmen don’t pay full price. At state universities, 58% of freshmen capture a price discount.

5. Discover if you will qualify for financial aid.

Use an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculator to determine if you should be targeting schools that provide merit scholarships or need-based financial aid.

An EFC, which is expressed as a dollar figure, indicates what a family would be expected to pay at a minimum for one year of college.

If you have a low EFC, look for schools with generous need-based aid. If you have a high EFC (there is no cap), look for schools that give lots of merit scholarships to affluent students.

You’ll find an excellent EFC calculator on the College Board website.