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The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price,
 
 

The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price, [Kindle Edition]

Lynn O'Shaughnessy
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is the eBook version of the printed book.

The College Solution helps readers look beyond over-hyped admission rankings to discover schools that offer a quality education at affordable prices. Taking the guesswork out of saving and finding money for college, this is a practical and insightful must-have guide for every parent!”

—Jaye J. Fenderson, Seventeen’s College Columnist and Author, Seventeen’s Guide to Getting into College

 

“This book is a must read in an era of rising tuition and falling admission rates. O’Shaughnessy offers good advice with blessed clarity and brevity.”

—Jay Mathews, Washington Post Education Writer and Columnist

 

“I would recommend any parent of a college-bound student read The College Solution.”

—Kal Chany, Author, The Princeton Review’s Paying for College Without Going Broke

 

The College Solution goes beyond other guidebooks in providing an abundance of information about how to afford college, in addition to how to approach the selection process by putting the student first.”

—Martha “Marty” O’Connell, Executive Director, Colleges That Change Lives

 

“Lynn O’Shaughnessy always focuses on what’s in the consumer’s best interest, telling families how to save money and avoid making costly mistakes.”

—Mark Kantrowitz, Publisher, FinAid.org and Author, FastWeb College Gold

 

“An antidote to the hype and hysteria about getting in and paying for college! O’Shaughnessy has produced an excellent overview that demystifies the college planning process for students and families.”

—Barmak Nassirian, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

 

For millions of families, the college planning experience has become extremely stressful. And, unless your child is an elite student in the academic top 1%, most books on the subject won’t help you.

Now, however, there’s a college guide for everyone. In The College Solution, top personal finance journalist Lynn O’Shaughnessy presents an easy-to-use roadmap to finding the right college program (not just the most hyped) and dramatically reducing the cost of college, too.

Forget the rankings! Discover what really matters: the quality and value of the programs your child wants and deserves.

O’Shaughnessy uncovers “industry secrets” on how colleges actually parcel out financial aid—and how even “average” students can maximize their share. Learn how to send your kids to expensive private schools for virtually the cost of an in-state public college...and how promising students can pay significantly less than the &ldq...

About the Author

Lynn O’Shaughnessy has been a professional journalist for three decades. She is a former Los Angeles Times reporter and syndicated columnist, and a financial journalist. Her previous books include Unofficial Guide to Investing, Investing Bible, and Retirement Bible. She has contributed to such publications as BusinessWeek, Money Magazine, USA Today, Chronicle of Philanthropy, AARP The Magazine, Wealth Manager Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s Retirement Report, Bottom Line Personal, and Consumer Reports MoneyAdviser. She is a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia.


Product Details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 586 KB
  • Print Length: 304 pages
  • Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
  • Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (June 6, 2008)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B001ANYF3E
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,115 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for every parent with a (hopefully) college-bound kid, August 16, 2008
As a mother of a HS junior who attends a local school in France, I have to take a more active role with the US college search since his school has no guidance counselor and there are no college road shows in the vicinity. I find myself reliant on word of mouth and written sources : guidebooks, blogs ,, newspaper articles, books /websites & advice and have invested the better part of son's junior year compiling information for the college search.
I ordered this book after reading a reference on a college admissions blog. I finished it during a train ride - and found it so riveting that I missed my stop.
Based on the title, I had expected to find just tips for affording college education but was pleasantly surprised by the author's insistence on quality -how to get your money's worth. So often the writers authoring these books report from the hallowed halls of academia. This author is a parent - and bases her experience as a mother of a college freshman while wearing her financial reporter thinking cap. How many college admission books are written from this point of view?
One innovation is that the book reverses the criteria for the college search by starting with match schools , not reach, where the student has more chance of obtaining scholarship money. The bottom up approach also instructs on how to find the best fit academically with several chapters on grading academic departments and discussions on professor ratings. Not stopping with the college admissions process, she addresses another under looked category - undergraduate research. And thanks to the author's chapter on freebies & best buys, I have added another school to the list.
The book closes with a list of informational websites, helpful cheat sheets and timelines in the appendix.
The author has packed an enormous amount of information here but has addressed the most salient points in a practical college admissions and quality education search. I could have saved a considerable amount of time and money had I read this book first and feel more empowered now for the final year of the search.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The College Solution, August 2, 2008
This is a most helpful guide. As we make college videos, I was particularly interested in what you had to say in chapter 36, Visiting Campuses. You made two excellent points: one is usually wrong in newspaper articles and the other is almost never mentioned. First, I hate being told that summer is a great time to visit the colleges. Yes, the students may be off from school, but small colleges are deserted and even the large state universities have only limited students on campus. The campus itself, however, will look better than at any time during the academic year.
Very important too is the need to have the college build a file on the student. The best way is to visit the college itself. It shows real interest. Admissions counselors say that all things being equal, a "stealth" candidate (one where the college first learns about your interest when the application arrives) has a lower chance of acceptance than one who has shown previous contact with the college. You are a realist in saying that because of financial and time consideration, an actual visit may not be possible, and you urge your readers to show their early interest "through a request for literature, a call to the financial aid office, or a conversation during a college fair." That advice alone could justify the cost of the book.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars #1 Book on College Today - The Best Fit at the Least Price!, July 8, 2008
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This book covers it all in the college search to include both the academic side as well as the financial side. Most college books focus on how to get in - this book teaches you how to pursue the schools that value your student's profile and rewards them financially for being a good fit for their college. The author goes into depth on how to find the best academic programs for the majors your student wants to pursue, and how to evaluate these programs and the professors. She discusses the importance of undergraduate research opportunities, leading to active student engagement, and consequently a more successful college experience. Lynn understands the financial aid process, and addresses both the FAFSA form as well as the CSS Profile, a much more comprehensive form that many private colleges use to dig deeper into the financial lives of families. Very few financial aid books cover the Profile form with such useful information in an easy to understand and interesting manner. This book is recommended for parents, students, high school guidance counselors and independent college admissions advisors. 'College Solutions" is the current #1 leader of the college search books, and highly recommended!
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More About the Author


I am a financial journalist and the author of The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price.

I am a former Los Angeles Times reporter, who has been writing about financial issues 15 years. My work has appeared in countless magazines, newspapers and Web sites. I am also the author of three other books, including Retirement Bible and Investing Bible (John Wiley & Sons).

I've contributed to such publications as BusinessWeek, USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Wealth Manager Magazine, Consumer Reports MoneyAdvisor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Medical Economics and Kiplinger's Retirement Report. For several years, I was also a syndicated newspaper columnist.

A native of St. Louis, I graduated with honors from the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. I live with my husband and our teenage son in La Mesa, CA. Our daughter is attending a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.

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&quote;
You can learn whether a school is typically miserly or generous by looking at its profile on CollegeBoard.com. Once on the site, type the name of a college in the College QuickFinder and then click on the Cost & Financial Aid link. &quote;
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The Education Trust (www.collegeresults.org) &quote;
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One tool you should check out is the federal government's FAFSA4caster (www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov). &quote;
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