The College Solutions Blog

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

Beloit College
May 30, 2012

Do-It-Yourself College Rankings, Part II

If you didn’t catch yesterday’s college blog post, I’d urge you to check it out: Do-It-Yourself College Rankings I wrote about Michelle Kretzschmar,  who created an impressive spreadsheet system to help families assemble a list of promising colleges based on their own priorities. In today’s post I’m sharing some of the steps that Michelle, the founder of DIYCollegeRankings.com, and her...
Read More
5
April 2, 2012

Visiting Ben at Beloit College

My husband Bruce and I visited Beloit College over the weekend to attend a biannual parent committee meeting and – of course – we were excited to see Ben, who is finishing up his sophomore year. When you live in San Diego, it’s hard to pinpoint when spring arrives since it is green year round. Actually, more greenish/brownish. At Ben’s...
Read More
11
August 31, 2011

8 Ways to Pick Great College Classes

Before my son Ben left to start his sophomore year at Beloit College, we talked about the advice in a chapter of The Thinking Student’s Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education. I’ve mentioned before how much I love this book and I think every college-bound student should read it. Andrew Roberts, an assistant professor of political...
Read More
0
August 9, 2011

Two College Sophomores Give Advice to Freshmen

Today I’m sharing a YouTube video that I made when one of my son’s good friends from Beloit College came to visit this summer. I asked Ben and Max, who are sophomores, to give incoming freshmen advice about how to survive their first year at college. I’d love to hear other advice that freshmen could use. If you have any...
Read More
0
June 7, 2011

Attending a College With Lousy Weather

I am answering a question from a mom from Southern California today. Here is what she wrote: Could you comment on choosing colleges that are in different weather areas? After reading your blogs and talking to other parents, a student can get more more merit aid if she applies out of state. My daughter plans on applying to Gonzaga University,...
Read More
0
April 11, 2011

Finishing Year One at a Liberal Arts College

I got an opportunity to visit my son Ben this weekend at Beloit College in Wisconsin and I was surprised about what he wanted to talk about when we met up for dinner. Moral relativism. Ben has been studying moral relativism in his philosophy class and he finds the concept intriguing.  Over a meal of tacos and burritos (truly dreadful...
Read More
1
January 2, 2011

Ushering in the New Year With College Freshmen

Our family ushered in the New Year last night with our annual over-the-top holiday party. I haven’t counted up how many came, but it’s got to be over 80 people. My mega pot of George’s at the Cove’s signature soup is gone and so is the Corn, Red Pepper Leek Soup. The appetizer that vanished first was the Mini Asian...
Read More
0
November 15, 2010

Why State Universities Aren't Always a Bargain

If you’ve been a regular visitor to my college blog, you know that college price tags are meaningless. A $50,000 college, for example, could cost some families less than a $25,000 school. More families in my state of California are beginning to realize this. I bet that’s why expensive private schools such as Whitman College, Colgate University and Swarthmore College...
Read More
2
October 24, 2010

Visiting My Son in College

When I dropped my son Ben off at Beloit College (WI) in mid August, I left with a lot of questions. Would he adjust well to college? Could he handle his classes? Would he make friends?  And would he tell his mom or dad if the answers to any or all of the preceding questions were  “no.” The first positive...
Read More
2
September 7, 2010

A Hidden Jewel: 3-2 Engineering Degree Programs

My family lives in California where roughly 84 percent of the state’s college-bound students enroll in public colleges and universities here. With such a strong tradition of students staying put for college, my son Ben wasn’t surprised at the reaction he routinely received this spring when students at his high school in San Diego asked him this question: “Where are...
Read More
5