I want to give a big thanks to all of my regular visitors — and the new folks too — who helped to make 2011 the best year ever for The College Solution! I know 2011 was my best year because I use Google Analytics to keep track of how many people visit my college blog.
Now that we’re in a new year, I used the analytic tool today to see what my most popular college blog posts were for 2011. If you missed them the first time, I thought you might enjoy reading them.
1. Don’t Believe the Sticker Price: The Most Expensive Colleges in the Country
I wrote this post in July after the U.S. Department of Education released its list of the most expensive state and private colleges and universities in the country. Seven of the 10 priciest institutions are art schools and music conservatories. Unless you’re wealthy, I’d stay away from these schools.
2. Popular College Majors With the Highest and Lowest Unemployment
I took a look at the most popular college majors and discovered which ones have the best and worst unemployment rates. Architecture majors seems to face the lousiest prospects while medical technology technicians enjoy the best.
3. Do You Know the Difference Between a College and a University?
In this May post, I explain the difference between universities and colleges. I firmly believe that if more students understood the differences, more undergrads would be enrolling at colleges.
4. Best and Worst Paying College Degrees
I personally don’t believe you should choose college majors just because of potential pay and frankly most students can’t qualify for the best-paying jobs because most of them require math skills.
4. Grinnell College: A College Admission Success Story
This was a story about a kid from St. Louis who won the educational lottery when got into Grinnell College, which is among a few dozen schools in the country that offer the best financial aid policies.
5. 10 Great Ways to Shrink the Cost of College
The best way to cut college costs is to be an educated consumer. You an start by checking out these money-saving tips.
6. 30 Liberal Arts Colleges In or Near Cities
I wrote this post because so many teenagers want to attend college in a city. Many liberal arts colleges, including that pair that my kids attend(ed) are not near urban areas, which is what turns off some teenagers who believe (rightly or wrongly) that they have to live in cities during college. I wrote this post for these kids. You should also read the next day’s post where I include the liberal arts schools that I had overlooked : More Liberal Arts Colleges In Or Near Cities
7. Anatomy of a Stingy College and a Generous One
This was one of my favorite blog posts of the year. I compare two Pennsylvania schools — Muhlenberg College and Drexel University – to explain why it’s important examine the financial aid policies of individual schools. FYI, Drexel is the stingy school.
8. Getting Into College With Learning Disabilities
David Montesano, a college consultant in Bellevue, WA, wrote this great guest post for high schools students with learning disabilities. You’ll find a lot of helpful advice on this topic.
9. What is the Best Student Loan?
The best college loan for students is the Stafford Loan. I provide a link to a bunch of my student loan posts.
I write about a teenager with divorced parents who blew it when developing her list of schools. The blog posts shares how different schools treat families of divorce.
Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller, and a financial aid workbook, Shrinking the Cost of College: Great Ways to Cut the Price of a Bachelor’s Degree, which is only available on her website.