The College Solutions Blog

November 21, 2013

Today I am sharing two excellent how-to videos from a friend of mine, Tamika Lewis, who is an independent college consultant and a counselor in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Tamika put together an excellent tutorial on how to complete the Common Application, which is the document that more than 500 colleges are now using. In October I wrote...

November 18, 2013

Today I’m running an excerpt of a post that W. Kent Barnds, the executive vice president of Augustana College in IL, wrote in the Huffington Post. He was comparing the college admission process to what the National Security Administration does. What I find fascinating about the post was the insider view he provided on how college admission offices are using...

November 4, 2013

As I’ve mentioned in previous college blog posts, net price calculators allow you to obtain a personalized estimate of what a school will cost after deducting any scholarships and grants that your child might be receiving. Before you let your child apply to any colleges, make sure you have used each school’s net price calculator. Unfortunately, not all calculators are...

November 1, 2013

Since we’re in the midst of college essay season, I wanted to share some wonderful advice about how to write a great college essay. Janine Robinson, my go-to-person for the best college-essay tips, who shares her tremendous knowledge on her website – Essay Hell. What’s Happening In Your College Essay? Here’s one way to check if your college admissions essay...

October 30, 2013

If you’ll be filling out the FAFSA during this admission season for a high school teenager, be careful how you list the colleges that your child will be applying to. Colleges could use that information against you. Some schools — no one knows how many – are checking the FAFSA to see in what order an applicant lists his or...

September 30, 2013

Applying early action and early decision has become an increasingly popular practice among teenagers who are aiming for highly selective colleges and universities. Today I am happy to share with you a post written on this important topic by Peter Van Buskirk, a former admission dean,  higher-ed speaker and educational advocate for families. You can learn more about Peter by...

September 25, 2013

Do the schools that your children are interested in attending know that they exist? Or will they be stealth college applicants? As you’ll learn momentarily, stealth applicants can unwittingly hurt their admission chances at some colleges and universities. Growing Stealth Applications The number of teenagers who are applying as stealth applicants has been growing at both public and private colleges...

September 19, 2013

My last post focused on whether families should indicate on a college application whether they will seek financial aid. Here’s my position: if you need financial aid to attend college, you should apply for aid. In case you missed it, here is the post: Should You Apply for Financial Aid? My post prompted a mom to make this observation: Good...

September 17, 2013

Should I Apply for Financial Aid? Here’s a variation of a question that I always get during admission season: Someone told me yesterday that it’s better to answer “No” to the “Do you intend to apply for need based financial aid” question on the Common Application. My son has already submitted his applications and he answered “yes” to that question...

September 6, 2013

I received an email yesterday from a friend of mine whose son is a brilliant high school senior. She wanted to know what they should think about invitations her son has received to apply to colleges through VIP or priority applications. Here is her question: My son has received approximately 10+ email/print invitations from schools to complete their priority applications....