The College Solutions Blog

August 26, 2009

Are professors spending too much time publishing and not enough time teaching? Absolutely! What I want to share with you today is an research paper that argues that professors are neglecting students because they are so busying writing papers and books that hardly anybody cares to read. The reason for the fixation on scholarly research is simple, according to Mark...

August 25, 2009

Now here’s a shocker:  College admissions are getting even more competitive at Ivy League schools and other highly elite colleges. That’s the conclusion of a new study, Playing the Admissions Game: Student Reactions to Increasing College Competition, which was written by profs at Harvard and the University of Michigan. Reading the report would make many parents think that their children...

August 24, 2009

David Hays, an investment adviser in Indiana, interviewed me for his radio program over the weekend. He was kind enough to send me the link to the podcast  of the interview. We talked for more than 30 minutes and here are some of the subjects that we discussed: Getting the best financial aid packages. Winning college scholarships. Why college rankings...

August 23, 2009

As usual, here is my roundup of posts that I wrote for my CBSMoneyWatch.com college blog during the past week. Why U.S. News’ College Rankings are a Joke First up, and my favorite, is my take on U.S. News & World Report’s latest college rankings that were released on Thursday. It’s a provocative headline, but I think it’s true. How...

August 21, 2009

I read a story in The Wall Street Journall this week, which should make “B” and “C” students hopeful. Universities have traditionally based their college admission decisions primarily on a student’s grades and test scores. But some school, including Tufts University, Boston College and DePaul University, are now eager to evaluate applicants on noncognitive traits that have nothing to do...

August 20, 2009

U.S. News & World Report released its 2010 college rankings in the wee hours this morning. For those who couldn’t wait to see the latest results, the magazine had posted a clock on its website that informed rankings enthusiasts of how many days, hours and minutes were left until the unveiling. In the university rankings competition, Harvard and Princeton tied...

August 19, 2009

What is the average ACT score? For 2009 high-school graduates, the average ACT score was 21.1, which is identical to last year’s number. The ACT, which measures English, math, science and reading, uses a scale of 1 to 36. The average ACT score remained the same even though a record 1.48 million students — 4% more than last year —...

August 18, 2009

College students, as I’ve learned through my daughter, share their own slang. If you’re curious about the latest college speak, you may want to pick up a copy of U.C.L.A. Slang 6. Every four years, UCLA’s linguistics department updates its dictionary of college slang  and the newest edition has just been released. Here are a few college slang examples of...

August 17, 2009

Those of you who read this blog regularly might be wondering where I’ve been. My son, daughter, husband and I headed to Zion National Park in Utah for a short vacation before my daughter flies to the University of Barcelona for her junior year of college. We only brought my daughter Caitlin’s laptop and when I tried to post anything...

August 14, 2009

Every weekend, I like to share the most recent college posts that I wrote for CBSMoneyWatch.com. The post that generated the most traffic — and great placement on CBSMoneyWatch.com — focused on a young woman, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in just two years.Even for a bright student that’s quite a feat. As I mention in the...