The College Solutions Blog

October 2, 2009

Where do you find a great college? I hear that question all the time. You can pour through the big fat college guides from folks like the Princeton Review and Fiske, but they ignore most schools. For instance, Princeton Review’s latest guide covers 371 schools, but there are more than 2,200 four-year colleges and universities in this country. What I’m...

September 30, 2009

I  spent some time yesterday afternoon listening to  Peter Johnson, the dean of admissions at Columbia University, talk to a dozen or so attentive students at High Tech High in San Diego.  The visit from an Ivy League admission dean at my son’s school isn’t as unusual as you might think. During the fall, it’s common to see admission officers...

September 29, 2009

When it comes to checking out colleges, I’m a big believer in casting a wide net. Look at big, small, public and private institutions. And check out schools that aren’t in your time zone. Most families don’t do this. The vast majority of students never look beyond the public universities in their own state and most don’t wander more than...

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...

September 14, 2009

My son Ben’s best friend just returned from a tour of some liberal arts colleges that I suggested he visit in the Midwest. Nathan visited Carleton, Grinnell and Macalester colleges and I’m sure that any one of these schools would be thrilled to welcome him as a freshman next fall. Nathan is slated to be his high school’s valadictorian, his...

September 3, 2009

I got an email this morning from a women who had become frustrated after reading my blog post about the usefulness about the Common Data Set. As an example, I mentioned Washington University’s Common Data Set in the post and she tried tracking it down on the Internet. She couldn’t find it and neither could I. “So now what?” she...

September 1, 2009

As I mentioned yesterday, most teenagers don’t know how to truly evaluate colleges and universities. Finding the right academic fit, however, is crucial, which is why this week I’m going to be sharing my favorite tools to research colleges. Today I’m focusing on CollegeResults.org. CollegeResults.org, which you’ll find on the Education Trust’s website, provides the four-, five- and six-year graduation...

August 31, 2009

Despite all the hype about Ivy League schools and other elite private colleges, most teenagers end up attending public universities in their own states. Too many teenagers, however, pick state schools on a whim. I rarely find teens who ask meaningful questions and instead they select schools for these sorts of lame reasons: I love the football team. It’s my...

August 27, 2009

Out here on the West Coast, I know parents who believe that their children will be condemned to mediocre lives if the University of California, Berkeley, doesn’t send them an acceptance letter. Okay, it might not be that bad, but plenty of parents and teens believe that getting into UC Berkeley is the ultimate academic achievement  for a teenager. Unfortunately,...

August 26, 2009

Are professors spending too much time publishing and not enough time teaching? Absolutely! What I want to share with you today is an research paper that argues that professors are neglecting students because they are so busying writing papers and books that hardly anybody cares to read. The reason for the fixation on scholarly research is simple, according to Mark...