The College Solutions Blog

February 15, 2010

How much is a college degree worth? Turns out that a bachelor’s degree might not be as valuable as you think. For years the College Board has suggested that a college graduate earns about $800,000 more over his or her lifetime than high school graduates. This earnings figure, however, is apparently way off. The real lifetime earnings advantage could be...

January 31, 2010

6 Reasons to File the FAFSA Should you file the FAFSA? Here’s my answer for just about everybody, including myself: Absolutely yes. I admit it’s not fun to complete the FAFSA, which I am going to do today. If it’s any consolation, the FAFSA is easier to fill out than the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, which I am also tackling today....

January 9, 2010

15 Best and Worst Jobs In America In my most popular college blog post on CBSMoneyWatch this week, I wrote about a list of the 200 best and worst jobs based on much more than pay. When you see lists of the best and worst jobs in America, the creators are usually focusing on salaries. CareerCast.com developed the list based...

November 30, 2009

With the economy in the toilet, more students think they need to major in something practical, which is one reason why business is the most popular college major. Many students also believe they need to declare their college major before they ever step foot on their campuses. Actually, more and more universities are requiring that their students select a major...

November 23, 2009

The job news is grim for soon-to-be graduating college students. Employers, according to The National Association of Colleges and Employers are expected to hire 7% fewer graduates of the Class of 2010 than they did with the last batch. With this shrunken pool of college graduate jobs, how can soon-to-be graduates get ahead in this jobless recovery? Here are seven...

November 16, 2009

You can’t hide in college forever. I’m sure that’s what millions of college students are thinking as they contemplate eventually finding a job during the worst job market since the Great Depression. One way to prepare for the inevitable leap into the dreary job market is to become entrepreneurial. Students can launch their own business while they are still at...

September 24, 2009

College rankings are sexy and fun to read, but have you ever wondered if they are really legitimate? If you have, I urge you to check out my latest story for CBSMoneyWatch.com that explores a variety of college rankings. In my article, I take a look at the methodology of various college rankings and then rate the rankers. My favorite...

September 15, 2009

What are the best colleges in America? Not so fast with your answer. The best colleges aren’t always the ones that enjoy the biggest, shiniest name brands and monopolize the rankings. So how do you find the colleges and universities that do a fantastic — if unheralded — job of educating students? You’re going to have to dig a little...

August 9, 2009

As usual, I’m sharing with you the posts that I wrote last week for my college blog for CBSMoneyWatch.com. The post that got the most hits, and also great play on the CBS site, focused on Forbes’ latest college rankings. As you’ll discover when you read The Best Colleges You’ve Never Heard Of, the magazine’s more realistic rankings system humiliated...

July 25, 2009

I was surprised this week to see such heavy traffic on the college blog post that I wrote for CBSMoneyWatch.com on the the college degrees that generate that highest paying and lowest paying jobs for new college graduates. I guess it’s only natural that people are curious about what college degrees are the most lucrative. Engineering degrees dominate the list. New...