The College Solutions Blog

December 17, 2009

Want to know what college admission officers are really thinking? The Wall Street Journal and Unigo managed to get admission deans from eight prestigious schools, including Bryn Mawr College, Grinnell College,  Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania and Weslyan University to parpticipate in a panel discussion that touched on many issues that are relevant to collegebound teenagers. You can watch the...

December 8, 2009

Graduation rates at most universities is a disgrace.  Fewer than 60% of  college  students graduate in six years. Many of the rest never do earn  a bachelor’s degree. I’ve written about low graduation rates many times (see links below) and it’s always struck me as unfair that so many educators blame this tragedy solely on the students. That’s why I...

December 1, 2009

Will colleges hand out more college scholarships and financial aid for the latest crop of high school seniors? Last year private colleges and universities, in particular, dug deeper and increased the amount of money they awarded through college financial aid and merit scholarships. Last time I checked, the financial misery index is still alarming, but colleges might not be as...

November 20, 2009

Most families do not pay the sticker price for college.  In fact, most parents pay far below the published tuition. About two out of three full-time college students receive grants, otherwise known as scholarships, to attend school. If you just look at private institutions, the number who receive college scholarships is a whopping 80%. I obtained those figures by reading...

November 12, 2009

Today I want to share with you a great new web site that can help you research colleges:  College Insight. College Insight has gathered detailed information on nearly 5,000 colleges and universities in this country. You can find statistics for any school on such topics as these: College affordability. Check out statistics on tuition and total cost of attendance, average...

November 8, 2009

When my daughter Caitlin was exploring colleges a few years ago, I worried that she would have to be more accomplished than the boys she was competing against to boost her college admission chances. As you’ll read in my college blog post for CBSMoneyWatch.com, Are Colleges Discriminating Against Girls, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is investigating whether private liberal...

November 5, 2009

A friend of mine called me last week to ask whether her daughter should apply early action to Boston College. For a lot of high school seniors, applying to a college early action is a great idea. But early action isn’t for everyone including my friend’s daughter Julia. I’ll explain why momentarily. First of all, I want to emphasize that...

October 25, 2009

As usual, I am sharing with you the posts that I wrote for my college blog for CBSMoneyWatch.com during the past week. Baby Einstein Bust: Toys That Will Make Your Child Smarter. Did parents really think that plunking their infants in front of Baby Einstein DVDs was really going to make them geniuses. Come on. Surely they knew Baby Einstein...

October 19, 2009

I subscribe to a list serve that is popular with high school and independent college counselors. I’m always amused when a counselor posts a plea for help in assembling a list of great colleges and universities for students who often possess eclectic taste. I’ve seen requests like this:  I am helping a student, who is interested in architectural engineering and...

October 17, 2009

Yesterday was bittersweet for me.  My son Ben and I wrapped up our final college tour before he begins applying to colleges. Our last stop was Lawrence University, a lovely liberal arts college in Appleton, WI., where the autumn leaves provided a stunning backdrop for a campus that’s perched above the picturesque Fox River. I am keenly aware of the...