The College Solutions Blog

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

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May 7, 2011

Happy Mother’s Day

I’m not celebrating Mother’s Day today. My kids are away at college, but my husband and I will be seeing them later this week when we meet up at Juniata College for my daughter Caitlin’s big day — her college graduation! Ben and Caitlin agreed to postpone Mother’s Day until a mutually agreeable Sunday this summer when we’re all back...
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May 6, 2011

What Is a Research University?

In my last blog post I complained that too many high school students pick schools based primarily on size. And most of these students only want to look at schools that are large. Here is where I vented: Do You Know the Difference Between A College and University? What’s more important, I argued, is a school’s mission. Today, I want...
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May 4, 2011

Getting Into College With Learning Disabilities

Today I’m quite pleased to share some valuable and hopeful advice for high school students who possess learning disabilities and are wondering how that will impact their college search. The expert suggestions come from David Montesano, a very smart admission strategist in Bellevue, WA, who operates College  Match Educational Consultants, which maintains multiple offices on the West Coast, as well...
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May 3, 2011

Colleges and Universities With the Best Graduation Rates

In my last post, I shared how you can pinpoint the four-year graduation rates of any college or university. If you missed it, here is the post: Will Your Child Graduate From College in 4 Years? As I mentioned yesterday, it should be no surprise that students at private non-profit schools typically graduate sooner than students at state universities, but...
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May 2, 2011

Will Your Child Graduate from College in 4 Years?

One of the best ways to cut the cost of college is to graduate in four years. This might seem like a no-brainer, but most college students can’t pull it off. Just over 50% of students, who started out as full-time freshmen, end up graduating in six years. In general, private schools do a better job than state schools of...
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April 29, 2011

ACT or SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT test keep this in mind: the ACT AND SAT require different kinds of skills. Some teens can significantly increase their scores just by picking the right standardized test to take.  Here are reasons why the ACT or SAT might be better than the other: Teens who do well on the ACT...
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April 28, 2011

2 Colleges: Which One Is Stingy?

How do you know if a school is going to be generous to your child? Here’s a quick answer:  Check the numbers. Or as I like to say, check the financial fingerprint of any school that’s on your teenager’s list. There are many ways to determine whether a school is generous or not, but today I’m going to focus on...
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April 27, 2011

Asking a College For More Financial Aid

When you appeal a college’s financial aid award what happens to your request? The Chronicle of Higher Education provided an inside glimpse on how a financial aid appeal is handled internally in a fascinating article today entitled: When Families Ask Colleges for More Money A Chronicle reporter observed a financial aid deliberation that took place among senior admission and financial...
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April 26, 2011

Should You Be Worried About Your Child’s College Major?

Should you be worried about your child’s future college major? Many moms and dads are. I want to share three extreme examples of parental majoritis:   Parent No. 1 After hearing my talk at a high school last week, a mom confided to me that she was worried about her daughter because she didn’t know what her major would be....
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April 24, 2011

No. 1 Reason Why College Rankings Are Lame

As many of you know, I’m not a fan of US News and World Report’s college rankings. I think the methodology is dreadful and the college rankings have encouraged colleges to behave very badly. After a mom emailed me to complain about the rankings, I decided to use this as an opportunity to share one of my biggest pet peeves...
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