The College Solutions Blog

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

UCLA
Featured image for “Searching for Colleges by Price Tag”
January 4, 2018

Searching for Colleges by Price Tag

College price tags are meaningless. Most students do not pay full tuition price for college. That said, paying attention to college prices can be extremely helpful in making college more affordable. Here’s a simple example: Getting a $20,000-a-year merit scholarship from a school that has a published price of $45,000 will obviously make a college much more affordable than receiving...
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Featured image for “Professor Ratings: Some Surprising Results”
June 14, 2016

Professor Ratings: Some Surprising Results

How do you know if the colleges or universities that your child is looking at would provide him or her with an excellent education? You won’t. College pricing is inching closer to transparency thanks to net price calculators and other tools,  but it’s difficult to form an educated opinion about the strength of a school’s learning environment. Evaluating an Institution’s...
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Featured image for “Where Should This Teen Attend College? Part II”
July 18, 2013

Where Should This Teen Attend College? Part II

I was delighted with all the insightful comments that parents sent me this week after they read my last blog post entitled: Where Should This Teen Attend College? I’d urge you to read the post about a high-achieving, future valedictorian from North Carolina, who wants to attend the University of Virginia and has other elite public and private schools on...
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Featured image for “Where Harvard Law Students Come From”
May 29, 2013

Where Harvard Law Students Come From

Today I’m passing along an interesting list that I pulled from the website of Harvard’s law school. The list that you see below includes the 161 colleges and universities where members of the law school’s Class of 2015 received their bachelor’s degrees. Harvard’s law school accepted 865 applicants out of a pool of 5,438 for an acceptance rate of 15.9%....
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Featured image for “Part II: College Prestige vs. Cost”
April 26, 2013

Part II: College Prestige vs. Cost

Should you attend a prestigious university if it’s going to cost a crazy amount of money or attend a state university? The post that I wrote this week addressing this question – Deciding Between College Prestige and Cost – generated a lot of discussion so I decided to take one more stab at the topic before May 1. That’s the...
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October 19, 2012

Where to Find the Best College Professors

How do you know if the college or university that your child ultimately attends will provide him or her with an excellent education? You won’t. College pricing is inching closer to transparency thanks to net price calculators, but it’s largely impossible to form an educated opinion about the strength of a school’s learning environment beyond checking  an institution’s graduation rates....
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May 8, 2012

Finding the Success Rates for Law, Medical, MBA and Grad Programs

I’m answering a question today from a reader, who is interested in locating MBA placement rates. The advice is also pertinent to those wondering if a particular school will give a child a boost when applying to graduate school and other professional degree programs. Is there any info out there on colleges with a good track record for MBA admissions...
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May 8, 2012

Finding the Success Rates for Law, Medical, MBA and Grad Programs

I’m answering a question today from a reader, who is interested in locating MBA placement rates. The advice is also pertinent to those wondering if a particular school will give a child a boost when applying to graduate school and other professional degree programs. Is there any info out there on colleges with a good track record for MBA admissions...
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February 6, 2012

Surprising Facts About College Freshmen

During my college workshop at the University of California, San Diego, on Saturday, I asked the parents in attendance this question: What percentage of high school seniors do you think got accepted into their No. 1 college last year? One dad blurted out, “Six percent.” From the other side of the room, a mom provided this answer: “Two percent?” I...
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January 12, 2012

Snobs, Pushy Relatives and Misinformed Teachers

If you didn’t read my college blog post yesterday, I hope you do because it focused on a lot of hot-button issues for parents and teenagers trying to navigate the college process. The post, which was actually an email from the mom of a high school senior, touched upon such issues as: Brand name snob appeal Pushy relatives Mistrust of...
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