The College Solutions Blog

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

Rating College Professors

On a lark, I decided to attend a conference being held this week in San Diego that is focused on improving the lives of professors. Understandably this is not a subject that worries families, who are too freaked out about paying for college. The conference, which was sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, brought together heavy-hitter speakers,...

Public University Bargains for Affluent Students

While everyone likes to gripe about the cost of college, in the world of state flagship universities true bargains exist. UCLA and the University of California, Berkeley, are two of them. The tuition at each of those schools is below $7,000. In comparison, Harvard’s tuition is more than $36,000. The protests against annual rises at state institutions, however, has masked...

Giving Rich Kids a College Advantage

The New York Times published a front-page article recently which discussed how some colleges are giving preferential treatment to rich students. The trend shouldn’t be surprising. Actually, the vast majority of private colleges have been playing out of this rule book for many years. It didn’t take the current financial crisis to trigger it. Regardless of how you feel about...

Slashing Out-of-State Tuition Costs

No doubt most teenagers who attend state universities never look beyond their borders. If you’re a kid living in Los Angeles, the cost of going to UCLA or Berkeley is going to be cheaper than attending another flagship like the University of Texas or the University of Michigan. What keeps plenty of kids from wandering too far from home is...

Eating for the SAT Test

Usually when my son Ben arrives home after school he strides right past my office and pretends he doesn’t hear my stock question: How was your day? But yesterday was different. He walked up to me and mumbled something that sounded like, “Mom, you were right.” I was stunned and curious about what could have prompted this remarkable observation. “You...

March Madness & University Graduation Rates

During March Madness, I’ve been rooting for my alma mater – the University of Missouri. I’ll be thrilled if Missouri wins its first national championship, but that wouldn’t keep me from feeling sorry for the school’s basketball players. Only 25% of Mizzou’s basketball players ultimately graduate. And that pathetic number is hardly a fluke. The Higher Ed Watch Blog recently...

Are Prepaid 529 Plans in Trouble?

Are prepaid 529 college plans in trouble? Thanks to the stock market implosion, it’s a question families are naturally asking. This particular breed of 529 plan — the most conservative of the bunch — typically allows parents to buy all or a part of a college degree at today’s costs. If you bought a year’s worth of tuition, for instance,...

Getting a High SAT Score

Does a teenager who wants a high SAT score need to take an expensive SAT preparation class to do it? I don’t think so. I think the key is motivation. If a teenager wants to do well on the SAT test and he or she works hard towards that goal, a higher SAT score is almost inevitable whether he takes...

Getting a Community College Scholarship

Community college scholarships are going begging. That’s what the faculty senate president at a community college in San Diego told me this morning when I bumped into him at the dog park. He wasn’t talking about federal Pell Grants or other state or federal aid. He was referring to community college scholarship that benefactors have started at particular schools. Sometimes...

6 Ways to Improve Your SAT Essay

Want to know how your teenager can improve the score on his or her SAT essay? I learned a few tips last night when I shared the stage at a high school college event with an SAT guru from the Princeton Review. She shared with the crowd these six SAT essay tips: 1. Come prepared. Show up on test day...