The College Solutions Blog

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

Evaluating Schools
August 19, 2008

Colleges & Personalities

Before teenagers start pouring over the Fiske Guide to Colleges, the Princeton Review’s 368 Best Colleges, U.S. News & World Report rankings or any other publication, they need to think about what makes them tick. Teens can’t really find wonderful academic fits until they examine their own personalities, as well as their likes and dislikes. A friend of mine who...
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August 15, 2008

Gunning for U.S. News & World Report's College Rankings

I’ve only run across two or three people out here in California, who have heard of my daughter’s college. Even when Caitlin tells people the name of her school-–Juniata College–they stumble on the pronunciation. I used to do the same thing before we visited the college that’s nestled in the Allegheny Mountains in rural Pennsylvania. It’s obviously easier on the...
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July 7, 2008

College Graduation Rates: Getting Out of College in Four Years

When students and families start shopping for schools, they often don’t ask this crucial question: How likely is it that a teenager will graduate in four years? At most colleges and universities the answer is not very likely. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s 2007-2008 Almanac, only 52.6% of students attending public institutions graduated in SIX years. That number...
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April 12, 2008

Learning in a Crowd

Last week, I promised that I’d post a portion of my upcoming book, The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price, that focuses on how to make attending a large public university a more intimate learning experience. Since 84% of Californian students attend state public schools, I thought it was worth sharing....
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October 6, 2007

Finding Free Money for College

Last week I talked about how it’s important to determine whether your family will qualify for financial aid or not before you embark on that great college odessey. Once you’ve got a pretty good idea of where you stand on that score, you’ll want to look for schools that are either generous with financial aid, merit aid or both. A...
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