The College Solutions Blog

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

College Life
August 6, 2012

Studying Abroad: What Parents Need to Know

Below you’ll find a guest blog that Bob Bessette, the father of a rising senior at Bowdoin College in Maine, wrote. This post first appeared on my college blog in December when Bessette’s daughter  was finishing up her semester abroad in Ireland. I am rerunning this blog post primarily because my own son Ben, who is a rising junior at...
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July 12, 2012

A Wealthy Mom’s College Questions

I am sharing an email that I got this week from a wealthy single mom, who is anticipating her college costs for her twins. I comment on her situation below and I’d love to hear from you too. If you have any advice, please share it in the comment box below. Mom’s Email: Lynn, I just finished your new book, ...
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July 10, 2012

What Advice Would You Give This Mom?

Today I’m sharing an email from a mom from New Mexico, who is understandably stressed about the college bill she is gearing up to face for the third of her four children. I’ve got my own thoughts, but I’d love to hear what advice you might give this family. A Mom’s Question Here is the mother’s note: Do colleges take...
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February 27, 2012

Deadbeat Parents Who Won’t Help Pay for College

The No. 1 way to cut the cost of college is to become an educated consumer. You can learn how by attending my popular online course, The College Cost Lab. Learn more about The College Cost Lab that will start in June, 2017. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Deadbeat Parents Who Won’t Help Pay for College I got an email over the weekend...
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February 22, 2012

Studying Abroad: Where Are the Guys?

This is the time of year when college students are making plans to study overseas in the fall. Many students attend colleges overseas during their junior year. Curiously enough, most of those students are women. Young men only represent about a third of the 270,600 American students studying overseas. That percentage, by the way, has remained about the same for...
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February 9, 2012

The Dangers of Being a Perfect Parent

I was reading my latest copy of The Atlantic last night as I was falling asleep and I noticed that an article that prompted me to write a post last spring was one of the magazine’s most provocative pieces in 2011.  This article generated the fifth most comments from readers: How To Land Your Kid in Therapy I am swamped...
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February 9, 2012

The Dangers of Being a Perfect Parent

I was reading my latest copy of The Atlantic last night as I was falling asleep and I noticed that an article that prompted me to write a post last spring was one of the magazine’s most provocative pieces in 2011.  This article generated the fifth most comments from readers: How To Land Your Kid in Therapy I am swamped...
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January 20, 2012

Perspective of a College Veteran: Why Students Behave Badly

The last  couple of days, I’ve been  exploring why some teenagers can’t emotionally handle their freshman year in college while other students behave worse than toddlers. Here are the posts:  A Nightmarish Experience at an Ohio University Could This Student’s Freshman Year Have Been Saved? I was ready to move on to other topics – some parents have been asking...
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January 19, 2012

Could This Student’s Freshman Year Have Been Saved?

I want to thank everyone who commented on the plight of a bright young woman, who left the University of Dayton after her freshman year. Her first roommates were pigs and her experience unnerved her and her mother. If you missed the post and the accompanying comments, here is where you can find them: A Nightmarish Experience at an Ohio...
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January 18, 2012

A Nightmarish Experience at an Ohio University

I wanted to share with you today a comment that I received yesterday from a California mom, who shared the heart-wrenching experience of her bright daughter, who started college in Ohio. She was prompted to write after reading my college blog posts about students who desire to attend schools far from their homes. Here are two of them:  Snobs, Pushy...
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