The College Solutions Blog

December 21, 2010

Want to take your mind off college for the holidays? I don’t blame you. Here’s my suggestion to do just that. Sit back and listen to some fascinating lectures from some of the most intriguing people on the planet. You can find countless lectures by visiting the website of TED, a nonprofit which originally got its name by bringing together...

December 20, 2010

I’ve been feeling guilty about ignoring the issues that college-bound students with learning disabilities face. Let’s just say it’s been on my to-do list. I was happy, however, when I discovered a story that Kim Clark, my friend over at US News, wrote that contained tips for teenagers with learning disabilities. What follows are some of Clark’s tips for learning...

December 18, 2010

Race to Nowhere, a documentary about the stress that college-bound teenagers experience, has gotten a lot of attention. I first heard about Race to Nowhere a couple of weeks ago after I gave a college presentation to a group of financial advisers and their clients in Irvine, CA. An adviser, who raved about the film, wrote its title on his...

December 17, 2010

I’m giving the commencement speech today for the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. I graduated from the J School back in 1978 and I was stunned when the dean asked me to be the commencement speaker for the December graduating class. I thought I’d share the speech here. It’s going to be most relevant for students who are contemplating...

December 15, 2010

I wrote this post a year ago when my son was asking for college recommendations. He’s in college now, but I thought parents and teenagers could benefit from what I wrote in 2009. This is the time of year when high school counselors and teachers are flooded with requests to write college recommendation letters. Writing a college recommendation letter is...

December 14, 2010

What happens if your teenagers has made a bad mistake during his or her high school years? I’m talking about a suspension from school. A drunk driving ticket. A cheating incident. How do you handle these kinds of mistakes on your college application? Lee Bierer, an independent college counselor in Charlotte, NC, and a syndicated columnist, tackled this thorny college...

December 13, 2010

Ivy League schools always hog the top spots in the college rankings, but are Ivy League professors the best teachers? Heck no. I’ve written a college blog post for CBS MoneyWatch that reveals that the undergrads who attend Ivy League schools aren’t nearly as happy with their teachers as you might expect. I drew that conclusion after looking at the...

December 12, 2010

Yesterday was my birthday and I spent it with 8 wonderful women. Bear with me and you’ll understand why I’m writing about this in on my college blog. I decided to throw the first birthday party that I’ve had since I was a kid. The reason? Because I didn’t want to be alone on my birthday. Without realizing the date,...

December 8, 2010

What is the best way to ace your final exams? Reading your textbook and notes over and over again isn’t going to cut it, according to some interesting research. While poring over the written material seems like a no brainer, researchers from Purdue and Washington University insist that it’s not the best approach. Here’s a better way to improve test...

December 8, 2010

I’ve been getting emails about home equity and financial aid. Consequently, I decided to run a college blog post that I wrote last year on the topic: Before the housing bubble burst, plenty of parents worried that their home equity was going to scotch any chance of receiving college financial aid. Even in this environment, it’s still going to be...