The College Solutions Blog

January 29, 2015

Parents and teenagers are already dreading the new, radically different SAT test that will debut in March 2016. If your child plans to take this test, you absolutely need to read the post below. Jed Applerouth, PhD, the founder of Applerouth Tutoring Services, shared his detailed thoughts about the revamped test with his own families and he gave me permission...

January 5, 2015

For families who struggle the most with college costs, some notable Catholic universities are among the nation’s stingiest. This has been one of my long-standing pet peeves so I was intrigued when I saw that Time magazine published the following article over the holidays that highlighted this discouraging reality: Catholic Colleges Tell Poor Kids to Go Elsewhere The Time article...

December 2, 2014

In my experience, high quality, independent test-prep firms produce some of the best college newsletters. One newsletter that I always make sure I read comes from Compass Education Group, which offers test prep in Northern and Southern California.  Today I am sharing a thought-provoking post that Matt Steiner, who is Compass Education’s marketing director, originally wrote for the test-prep firm’s...

November 17, 2014

Today I am excited to share an online conversation that I recorded with Janine Robinson, a journalist, a consultant and the creator of EssayHell, which is a wonderful website for students who want to learn how to write a great college essay. I invite you to watch the YouTube video during which Janine and I discuss tips on creating winning...

October 20, 2014

Is your university need blind? I once saw a couple of  enthusiastic young admission reps from a pair of Catholic universities back East try to answer that question at a college conference. The reps were specifically asked whether their schools might reject some applicants if they required a lot of financial assistance. Both admission reps vigorously assured the counselor who asked...

October 7, 2014

For many students the biggest source of money will be from the colleges themselves. That’s why it’s important for you to understand what would motivate any school to give your child one of its awards. Schools don’t dispense grants and scholarships to be nice. They give awards because they expect to get something valuable from a student in return. To...

September 22, 2014

High-achieving students who apply every year to the Ivies and other elites schools have heard the grim statistics about how ridiculously hard it is to get into these schools. That reality, however, doesn’t deter students from applying even though it’s pointless for most of them. Ambitious teenagers aiming to attend the nearly impregnable schools at the top of the rankings...

September 8, 2014

Today’s college blog post was written by Bruce Reed, a principal at Compass Education Group, a popular test-prep firm in California. In the past, Reed explores whether students can gain an edge by strategically picking their SAT testing dates. This is the last in a series of expert posts about ACT and SAT scoring. You’ll find links to the other...

September 2, 2014

This is the time of year when high school seniors aiming for prestigious colleges and universities contemplate applying Early Decision. When students apply early decision, they promise that they will attend if the institution accepts them. Students must make this commitment before they know what kind of financial aid or merit awards the school might provide. Because students are supposed...

August 25, 2014

My son Ben is heading back to high school this week. Ben graduated from Beloit College in May with a degree in mathematics, but his new school year started this morning at Lincoln High, a predominantly Hispanic school in Denver.  He will be spending the year as a teacher-in-training in the classrooms of two mentor mathematics teachers. Through the Teacher...