The College Solutions Blog

July 10, 2013

Will having a summer job hurt a student’s chances for financial aid? That’s a question that a lot of families wonder about. Today I’m sharing a guest post from Kenneth O’Connor, who is director of student advocacy at CUStudentLoans.org, which is an umbrella organization of credit unions that offer college loans. His post will answer the jobs question. If you’d...

July 8, 2013

If you missed our college webinar on Sunday, here is a second chance to listen. This webinar is part of a series that Michelle Kretzshmar of Do It Yourself College Rankings and I have been holding this summer. In this webinar I demonstrate a handy College Board tool that will help you form a good idea about whether a school...

July 3, 2013

I want to thank everyone for such thoughtful and helpful responses to the dad who is stressing out about encouraging his daughter to walk away from an expensive acceptance from Boston College and instead trot off this fall to the honors college at the University of Pittsburgh. I think it’s safe to say that there was an overriding consensus that...

June 26, 2013

I was thrilled recently when I discovered Essay Hell. I believe any teenager, who will have to tackle a college essay, should visit this EXCELLENT website for valuable tips on how to write a killer college essay. Janine Robinson, who is a former newspaper reporter and an essay coach, has stuffed her website with advice on how to write a...

June 24, 2013

My son Ben wants to become a high school math teacher, which means his formal education won’t be over after he graduates with a mathematics degree from Beloit College next year. Ben will have to obtain a credential and possibly a master’s degree before he ends up with a teaching position. That’s why I was particularly discouraged, but not surprised...

June 21, 2013

I’ve always thought that it’s wonderful that many colleges require their incoming freshmen to read a book during the summer. I’m bringing this up because I want to nominate a book for this summer’s college reading lists that I think represents the best possible selection: The Thinking Student’s Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education. Andrew Roberts,...

June 19, 2013

Does saving for college (or any other savings for that matter) hurt your chances for financial aid? It’s a question that I’ve heard many times from parents who are worried that their home equity, as well as money they have saved for retirement, college and other financial goals will kill their chances for need-based aid. If you’ve been stressing about...

June 17, 2013

I don’t have to tell you that one of the biggest stresses of the entire college process is the standardized testing. The prospects of taking the SAT and/or ACT is daunting, particularly since so much can ride on the results. I wasn’t happy about the amount of time and money spent in my house on these tests for my own...

June 14, 2013

I am sharing an email that I received this week from a dad who had just completed a college trip with his daughter and had some helpful suggestions for schools on how to operate better college tours. At the end of his suggestions, you will see which state university that the family visited. Lynn O’Shaughnessy Hi Lynn, I hope you...

June 12, 2013

In my last blog post, I shared this reality:  many college career service offices are lame. Too many schools are failing to prepare students adequately for the work world and part of the problem can be traced to moribund career services. If you missed the post, here it is: What’s Wrong With College Career Offices A college career services office...