Published by FT Press (April 23, 2012) © 2012
Lynn O'ShaughnessyProduct Information
This bestseller has been completely updated to provide you with the answers that you need to find wonderful colleges and universities at more affordable prices. The second edition of The College Solution, which contains approximately 90% new material, is aimed at helping parents and teenagers become empowered consumers as they navigate through the college process. Billions of dollars are available to pay for college, but not everybody gets their share. It's not always the families with the brightest students or the parents who are struggling financially who receive the most money. The College Solution shares the secrets of how you can capture some of this money for your own family. The book provides advice on such topics as financial aid, merit scholarships, athletic scholarships, admission hooks, the important differences between colleges and universities, college rankings, the best student loans and the latest online tools to evaluate the generosity of schools. O’Shaughnessy presents an easy-to-use, proven road map for getting past the ratings, and finding the right schools at the right price. No other book offers this much practical guidance on choosing and paying for college now – and no other book will save you as much money!
Introduction xiii
PART I Shrinking the Cost of College
Chapter 1 Making College More Affordable 2
Chapter 2 Show Me the Money 4
Chapter 3 The Colleges with the Best Financial Aid 9
Chapter 4 Who Gets Financial Aid? 16
Chapter 5 Winning the Educational Lottery 21
Chapter 6 Calculating Your Expected Family Contribution 25
Chapter 7 A Revolutionary Calculator 28
Chapter 8 The Allure of Out-of-State Public Universities 33
Chapter 9 Looking Across State Lines for a Bargain 40
Chapter 10 Capturing Private Scholarships 44
Chapter 11 Will Saving for College Hurt Your Financial Aid Chances? 48
Chapter 12 Maximizing Financial Aid 53
Chapter 13 More Ways to Shrink the Cost of College 58
Chapter 14 Appealing the Verdict 62
Chapter 15 Getting Grandma to Help 67
PART II Increasing Your Admission Chances
Chapter 16 Boosting Your Chances 72
Chapter 17 Finding the Right Match 74
Chapter 18 Ditching the Test 79
Chapter 19 Showing a College Some Love 85
Chapter 20 When Talent Is the Hook 89
Chapter 21 The Realities of Athletic Scholarships 91
Chapter 22 The Geographic Hook 99
Chapter 23 Why Being Rich Helps 104
Chapter 24 The Legacy Hook 107
Chapter 25 Playing the Gender Card 110
Chapter 26 Diversity Blueprint 113
Chapter 27 The Asian Student Dilemma 120
Part III Knowing Your Academic Choices
Chapter 28 What’s the Difference Between a College and a University? 124
Chapter 29 The Ivy League Myth 127
Chapter 30 What Is a Research University? 132
Chapter 31 What University Professors Do 137
Chapter 32 The Beauty of Liberal Arts Colleges 141
Chapter 33 What Is a Medium-Sized University? 149
Chapter 34 Why Community Colleges Are Popular 153
Chapter 35 Nine Ways to Generate College Ideas 158
Part IV Evaluating the Academics
Chapter 36 Are Students Really Learning? 162
Chapter 37 What’s Wrong with US News & World Report’s College Rankings 169
Chapter 38 The Right Way to Use College Rankings 175
Chapter 39 College Rankings: An Alternative 179
Chapter 40 The Hallmarks of a Student-Centered University 182
Chapter 41 Staying in College Too Long 186
Chapter 42 Grading Academic Departments 193
Chapter 43 Kicking the Tires 195
Part V Admission Nuts and Bolts
Chapter 44 What You Need to Know About High School Counselors 202
Chapter 45 What You Need to Know About Independent College Counselors 209
Chapter 46 Knowing What to Do When 216
Chapter 47 Writing Your Way Into College 222
Chapter 48 Visiting College Campuses 226
Chapter 49 Acing the College Interview 230
Chapter 50 Transferring to a Different College 235
Chapter 51 Getting Credit for Your Work 240
Part VI Borrowing for College
Chapter 52 The Best Student Loans 244
Chapter 53 Private College Loan Perils 248