The College Solutions Blog

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

Academics

What Colleges Have Your Major?

I got an email yesterday from a mom whose teenage daughter wants to become a registered nurse. The mother wanted to know how her daughter could find a list of colleges and universities that offer nursing degrees. This is a great question and the answer is relevant to anybody who wants to cast a wider net when looking for colleges....

My Favorite Books on College: A YouTube Review

Interested in some summer reading? I’ve got bookcases packed with college books in my home office. In this YouTube video, however, I share some of my favorite books about college. College Workshop I’ll be giving the final college workshop this Saturday (July 23) in a summer series for parents and teenagers at the University of California, San Diego. If you’d...

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,...

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...

A Dean’s Perspective: Why We Need the Liberal Arts

Today I’m sharing a piece written by Scott Coltrane, the dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon, on the beauty and practicality of a liberal arts degree. The popularity of liberal arts degrees is clearly declining. According to a thought-provoking article I read this month in The New Yorker, only 40% of college students graduate with a...

Are We In a Higher-Ed Bubble?

Are we trapped in a higher-ed bubble? Some college insiders are offering persuasive arguments that we are. Reminiscent of the recent stock market and real estate bubbles, escalating college prices are continuing to reach new heights. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, average tuition in the past 2 ½ decades has risen by 440 %,...

Why Too Many College Students Aren’t Learning

Earlier this year, I wrote a couple of posts about this reality: many students are graduating from college without absorbing much of an education. From a parent’s perspective that’s a lot of wasted money. And, of course, there are serious ramifications for students who have spent their college years living in a Bud Lite commercial. Here are the two posts:...

Acing Your Final Exams

What is the best way to ace your final exams? This is a timely question as millions of high school and college students are preparing to take their final exams. You might assume that reading textbooks and notes over and over again is the best way to study, but researchers from Purdue and Washington University insist that it’s not the...