The College Solutions Blog

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

NACAC
Featured image for “How to Increase Your Admission Chances by 40%”
July 31, 2017

How to Increase Your Admission Chances by 40%

Should you visit a college before you apply? According to a new study, for some students there is a powerful benefit to visiting highly selective schools. According to the researchers, teenagers, who apply to highly selective colleges and visit the campuses, are up to 40% more likely to be admitted than comparable students. The study suggests that the applicants who...
Read More
5
Featured image for “A Dirty Little FAFSA Secret”
October 30, 2013

A Dirty Little FAFSA Secret

If you’ll be filling out the FAFSA during this admission season for a high school teenager, be careful how you list the colleges that your child will be applying to. Colleges could use that information against you. Some schools — no one knows how many – are checking the FAFSA to see in what order an applicant lists his or...
Read More
16
Featured image for “Common Application Pandemonium”
October 16, 2013

Common Application Pandemonium

College blog post update: Since I first wrote the post below, there have been more developments in the continuing Common App fiasco: More schools are extending their Common App deadlines for Early Action and Early Decision. Here are the names of some of them:  Duke, Roanoke, Marist, Boston University, SUNY Geneseo Northwestern, University of Chicago, Columbia, Tufts, Barnard. The Common...
Read More
7
Featured image for “The Latest College Admission Trends”
November 30, 2012

The Latest College Admission Trends

This week the National Association for College Admission Counseling released its 10th annual report on college admission trends. Here are some of the study highlights: College Enrollment Since the turn of the century, college enrollment has grown 37 percent. In 2000, 15.3 million Americans were attending college while today there are more than 21 million. The number of high school...
Read More
0
October 7, 2011

Transfer Students: 8 Things You Need to Know

I’ve been running into more and more parents, who are curious about sending their children to community colleges. I can understand the attraction. Community colleges are often much cheaper than four-year schools and they can offer a more personalized education than big state universities. Out here in California, for instance, a freshman can take introductory courses with 30 to 40...
Read More
3
December 29, 2010

A College Admission Weak Link

It’s going to be a hectic week for me because our family is having our annual holiday party and I’ll be making all the food for 80 people.  All I’ve gotten done so far is a mousse pate, puff pastry pinwheels and spicy pecans so I’ve got a lot to do. I will quickly share with you a post that...
Read More
0
September 22, 2010

eBook Giveaway: What Do You Want to Know About College?

I’ve been cranking out college blog posts for the past two years. (It makes me tired just thinking about it.) During this time, I’ve been pretty much picking college topics to write about that interest me as a mom and journalist. I hope that the topics that I’ve chosen, including scholarships, college costs,  financial aid, SAT and ACT tests, college...
Read More
12
May 7, 2010

College Vacancies: 240 Colleges Where You Can Still Apply

Don’t like where you’re heading to college in the fall? Take heart: There are still at least 240 schools with college vacancies. Most of the schools with college vacancies have room for both incoming freshmen and transfer students. All but one school on the list still has financial aid available and 236 still have dorm space. You can find the...
Read More
1
January 7, 2010

Why High School Counselors Don't Know Much About College

Is your teenager’s high school counselor an expert on college? Probably not. In fact, the odds are high that your counselor’s knowledge about college admission strategies, standardized testing and scholarships is limited.  Ironically during this period of skyrocketing college costs, financial aid is often the subject that high school counselors know the least about. Many high school counselors are unfortunately...
Read More
13
June 9, 2009

Latest College Admission Season Results

With the admission season over for the newest crop of college freshmen, preliminary figures are now in that reveal what choices these teenagers made during these tough economic times. Here are some of the latest college admission findings from the National Association of College Admission Counseling: More students will be attending community colleges this fall. Sixty three percent of public...
Read More
0