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What I’ve Been Up To Lately

What I’ve Been Up To Lately

My husband took this picture of me and Minerva, my office assistant, yesterday in my horribly messy office. I thought it would help illustrate what I’ve been doing for the past few months. My office is a wreck because I’ve been totally preoccupied with writing the second edition of The College Solution: A Guide for [...]

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The Rise of the Anti-Lecture?

The Rise of the Anti-Lecture?

About a third of students begin college expecting to major in a STEM discipline – science, technology, engineering and math. Less than half of them manage to leave with a STEM degree. At some point, most students switch to an easier major. A couple of years ago UCLA released a study that broke down by [...]

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A Dilemma: Liberal Arts College vs. Journalism School

A Dilemma: Liberal Arts College vs. Journalism School

I received an email over the weekend from a mom who is stressing about whether her accomplished daughter would be better off attending a liberal arts college or a journalism school. I happen to be a graduate of the the nation’s oldest journalism school at the University of Missouri (see photo) and I’ll share some [...]

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The Colleges Where PhD’s Get Their Start

The Colleges Where PhD’s Get Their Start

What schools produce the most undergraduates who end up heading off to graduate school? The subject came up yesterday because a friend of mine was telling me about a brilliant teenager who wants to eventually get a PhD in physics. The student lives in California, but the mom wants him to apply to schools in [...]

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Where Every Week Is Finals Week

Where Every Week Is Finals Week

Last week our son Ben called the house wanting to know if we wanted to Skype. We usually call him every Sunday to find out how he’s doing so whenever he contacts us it’s a big surprise. His primary reason for calling was to share with us how hard he was studying for his math [...]

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How Hard Is It To Get Into College?

How Hard Is It To Get Into College?

Do you assume that most teenagers face lousy odds of getting accepted into a good college? Lots of families believe that the admission process is stacked heavily against applicants, but this isn’t true. I largely blame the media’s obsessive coverage of the most elite universities for that misconception. A new report from the College Board, [...]

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