The College Solutions Blog

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

Admissions

When Should You Start Visiting Colleges?

When should families start visiting colleges? A parent recently asked me that question and I’m going to respond by sharing the advice of Kris Hintz, a very smart college consultant in New Jersey, who addresses this issue in her upcoming book – the title is still not firmed up or I would share it. Kris believes that until a teenager...

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 %,...

Winning College Admission Essays

Summer is a great time to write those dreaded college admission essays. Teenagers have more time to devote to college essays, but a surplus of time won’t necessarily make an admission essay better. While students will find plenty of advice about how to write a college essay, here is one of my favorite tips: Don’t bore the admission readers with...

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:...

Don’t Waste Your Summer!

Here is something that really irritates me about the whole college process: too many families view it as a game. Their aim is to get their child into the best school possible. Fair enough, but what’s often overlooked is making sure that teenagers are well prepared for whatever college they end up at. Too many parents assume that their children...

SAT or ACT: Which Scores Are Better

Every college and university in this country will accept either the SAT or ACT. It makes no difference whether you submit one or the other or both. With the 2010-2011 testing season winding to a close this month, I wanted to share the chart below that should help you to decide which scores to submit to colleges. Obviously, you will...

College Admissions and HomeSchooled Students

For those who have been following my college blog this week, I’ve been answering questions from readers. These questions came from a mom and her homeschooled teenagers. Here is what she had to say: Question No. 1: Homeschooling has been our educational choice. When my son completed various applications, sections were often dedicated to “leadership and offices held.”He had to...

Measuring a College for the Right Fit

This week I’m sharing answers to questions posed by my blog visitors that I passed along to college admission officers who attended the annual conference of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling. Here are some answers: Question No. 1: What do admission officers feel are the three most important criteria points for a student and their family to look...

Do I Dare File For Financial Aid?

A couple of days ago I asked my blog visitors to submit questions that I could direct to college admission officers at the annual conference of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling. Now I want to start sharing answers. The admission experts whom I talked to today came from such disparate schools as Colgate University, Carroll College, Chapman University,...

College Conference: Day 1

I spend a lot of time in my extremely messy office writing posts for my three college blogs. Usually the only one around during the day is Minerva, my golden retriever, who drops tennis balls at my feet. It’s easy to forget that there are people out there who regularly read what I write. And that’s why Tuesday was a...