The College Solutions Blog

August 18, 2014

I’ve looked at plenty of college essays over the years and the vast majority of them have been b-o-r-i-n-g. The essays that I’ve seen have usually been guilty of one or more of these no-no’s: 1. They lacked details. 2. They didn’t convey the student’s voice. 3. They covered too much territory. (Writing about something that lasted seconds, minutes or...

August 13, 2014

To learn more about the recruiting process, I talked with Avi Stopper, a former college athlete and a co-founder of CaptainU, which could be called an athletic LinkedIn that helps student athletes to connect with athletic coaches. Stopper, who is a former men’s soccer coach at the University of Chicago, launched CaptainU when he was in the school’s MBA program....

August 7, 2014

Have you given any thought to how home equity might hurt your child’s chances for financial aid? Luckily, at most state and private colleges and universities, the equity in your primary home is a non-issue. That’s because most schools only require families to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) when applying for financial aid, which doesn’t even...

August 1, 2014

I recently ran a post that Brian Eufinger, who is co-owner of Edison Prep in the Atlanta, wrote that suggests that the ACT has recently gotten harder. If you missed that post, here it is: Is the ACT Getting Harder? Today I’m sharing an email that I received from Jed Applerouth, the owner of Applerouth Tutoring Services, about the evolving...

July 27, 2014

Students who perform poorly on the SAT or the ACT enjoy the option of applying to test-optional colleges and universities. At schools that have embraced this policy, teenagers can typically apply to schools without having to submit their test scores, which can boost a teenager’s chances of getting into more prestigious schools. This might sound great for students who struggle...

July 22, 2014

Today I am happy to share an interesting article that Brian Eufinger, the co-owner of Edison Prep in Atlanta, wrote regarding undetected changes in the ACT that he says are making it harder for high-achieving students to earn stellar ACT scores. I can always count on Brian to share insightful observations about what’s happening with the ACT or SAT. And boy...

July 18, 2014

The following guest post was written by my friend Michelle Kretzchmar, who created an incredibly helpful college blog called DIYCollegeRankings. Michelle, a data analyst by trade, created her own college rankings when she was looking for a college for her son. She is launching a four-week course in mid August that will help you discover great value schools by using...

July 14, 2014

How do you know if the college or university that your child ultimately attends will provide him or her with an excellent education? You won’t. College pricing is inching closer to transparency thanks to net price calculators, but it’s largely impossible to form an educated opinion about the strength of a school’s learning environment beyond checking  an institution’s graduation rates....

July 11, 2014

Today I’m running a guest blog post by Jessica Yeager, a grad of Harvard and MIT, who is a tutor and college consultant for high-achieving students and their parents. You can get her four-step workbook: Base Brainstorming Workbook  for free. The college application is one of the most stressful, scary, and overwhelming experiences for most teenagers and their parents. How can...

July 6, 2014

How can you find the most generous colleges and universities? I’m talking about the institutions that meet 100% of financial need or close to it? And what about the schools that provide merit scholarships for affluent students who don’t qualify for need-based aid? How can you find schools that provide a large number of these scholarships? In the six-minute video...