The College Solutions Blog

October 20, 2011

The college degree is the only game in town. At least that’s the way it’s been for a very long time. Most Americans believe they need a college degree to succeed professionally and the statistics certainly bear this out. College graduates earn considerably more during their careers. Among Americans ages 25 to 32, for instance, women and men with college...

October 19, 2011

Is your university need blind? I once saw a couple of  enthusiastic young admission reps from a pair of Catholic universities back East try to answer that question at a college conference. The reps were specifically asked whether their schools might reject some applicants if they required a lot of financial assistance. Both admission reps vigorously assured the counselor who...

October 17, 2011

I want to major in art. This is the college major that perhaps more than any other strikes fear in the hearts of parents, who worry that an art degree will condemn their children to a life eating Cheerio’s for dinner and driving old subcompacts with bald tires. The truth is there are a myriad of careers in a wide...

October 17, 2011

Should colleges be evaluated more like baseball players? I’m raising this question today because the St. Louis Cardinals are going to the World Series! I had the good fortune of growing up in the 1960s in St. Louis when the Cardinals made it to the World Series three times. Among my fondest childhood memories was being able to watch the...

October 14, 2011

I heard from a mom this week, who is worried about some of the schools her daughter has begun applying to. I wanted to share what the mother wrote: As I watch my daughter start her college applications, I’m cringing inside because she’s wanting to apply to out of state public schools such as UCLA, Georgia Tech and Purdue. Although...

October 13, 2011

In my last blog, I talked about why it’s important to know what your EFC or Expected Family Contribution is. Here is the post: What Is Your Expected Family Contribution? Today, I’m going to show you how you can get a preliminary EFC, which is not as tough as you might assume. You just need to use an online EFC...

October 12, 2011

What is Your Expected Family Contribution? Do you know what the term Expected Family Contribution or EFC means? Most of you probably don’t so I’m devoting the next couple of college blog posts to explaining what an Expected Family Contribution or EFC is and why it’s so important. If you file for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal...

October 11, 2011

How happy are a college’s freshmen? It’s a question that any families should be asking as they evaluate schools. Ideally you want to attend a college or university where the vast majority of freshmen return for a second year. The schools that enjoy the highest freshmen retention rate are going to be the most selective institutions. This makes sense because...

September 29, 2011

4 Stubborn Financial Aid Myths I think that many of the misconceptions that people possess about the college process revolve around financial aid. With the college admission season about to head into high gear, today I want to share the four financial aid myths that are probably the most common. Myth No. 1:  I make too much money to qualify...

September 28, 2011

College Admissions: The Rich Kid Advantage A new ambitious survey of hundreds of senior college admission officials from across the country has revealed just what kind of high school students are in big demand:  R-I-C-H kids. It’s no surprise that admission officers at both public and private colleges and universities are salivating over wealthy teenagers. Their parents have the money...