The College Solutions Blog

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

College Majors: What the Scottish Can Tell Us

This is my third post on college majors and my last for awhile on this topic. I promise. If you missed my previous posts, here they are: 5 Tips on Choosing a College Major Stressing About College Majors The Scottish Way of Choosing Majors Is getting a head start on a college major a good thing? Not according to a...

5 Tips On Choosing a College Major

How do you choose a college major? I explored that question yesterday. If you missed it, here’s the link: Stressing About College Majors Today I want to share some five tips on selecting a college major: 1. Rethink a business major. Business is the most popular major in the country, but don’t assume that you have to major in business...

Stressing About College Majors

Stressing About College Majors Last spring I bumped into a dad I know whose daughter had attended the same middle school as my son. I asked him where his daughter would be attending college in the fall and he said: She’s going to a community college. I was surprised because Rachel is a very bright girl. The dad explained,...

A Great Resource for Researching Colleges

Summer is a great time to research schools. So today I want to share a great online resource to help you evaluate colleges. It’s called COLLEGEdata. COLLEGEdata can provide a ton of information on any college. I think it’s more indepth than what you can find by heading to the College Board and accessing a college’s profile through its College...

The Dangers of Perfect Parenting

Could you be too good of a parent? It’s not a strange question. A fascinating cover piece in The Atlantic suggests that perfect parenting is prompting young adults to seek therapy. I wrote a post about this for my college blog over at CBS MoneyWatch. Here’s an excerpt from that post: According to The Atlantic article, perfect parenting is driving...

Grandparents: Doing More Harm Than Good

It’s great when grandparents can help with college costs, but you don’t want their generosity to backfire. At a 4th of July party this weekend, I talked with a couple whose children’s college choices have, strangely enough, been diminished by grandparents money. Here’s what happened: Years ago the grandparents gave each of the three children a significant amount of money...

Should You Really Go to Graduate School?

I’ve met a lot of college students who assume that they must slog their way through graduate school to enjoy a successful and lucrative career. What is troubling, however, is how little information young adults know about what is involved in earning a graduate degree that can be expensive and a huge time commitment. No one should pursue a graduate...

Don’t Believe the Sticker Price: The Most Expensive Colleges in the Country

This week the U.S. Department of Education released lists of the most expensive state and private colleges and universities in America. The goal of pointing fingers, which was mandated by Congress, was to shine the spotlight on schools which don’t seem at all ashamed of their high prices. Here’s where you can find all the college lists. I wasn’t surprised...

8 Ways to Boost Your ACT and SAT Scores

Summer is a great time to get ready for the SAT and ACT, which will kick off the 2011-2012 season in September. Here are eight ways for teenagers to improve their SAT and ACT scores or limit the damage of mediocre results: 1. Select the test that plays to your strengths. Teenagers who tend to earn high ACT scores have...

Getting Into Great Schools With Poor SAT and ACT Scores

I don’t have to tell you that one of the biggest stresses of the entire college process is the standardized testing. The prospects of taking the SAT and/or ACT is daunting, particularly since so much can ride on the results. I resented the amount of time and money spent in my house on these darn tests for my own two...